June 13, 2010
Morini Sighting
First other Morini sighting today. It is hard to believe that I have been here five years and have seen none other than my own so far.
It was disc-brake, cast wheel, 3½ heading SBD Coors from EBD Montano, not so far from my own place.
Posted by Underblog at 3:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 16, 2009
Blog Neglect
So much and so little has happened since last post. I took the F1 up to Madrid, where she would not start due to some wires pulling loose. Also, the tail light had rattled completely loose and was hanging by its wires. In the midst of fettling with the wires, the headlight switch broke. After much tweaking of said wires with duct tape and some borrowed tools, the F1 came back to life and ran fitfully down the hill as far as Tijeras. I then called for help in the form of Roomie with Iris.
Clue to a "House"-style differential diagnosis: The battery had a charge when it began to not start in Madrid, for the headlight and tail light were how we could tell whether we were getting juice. That being said, the battery was not strong enough to turn over the motor.
I have heard tell that on old Italian bikes, most charging and ignition troubles can be traced to poor connections, and I would be surprised if the F1 did not have more than its share of bum wiring. In fact I know that it does and I have been responsible for some of it!
I knew since the bike arrived that it needed to be wired; now wiring is on the front burner. First thing to do is replace whatever cooked wiring I find and update the connections with modern, waterproof types.
In other news, I am preparing to take on the Morini 500 restoration. One of my repeat Morini Ricambi customers has a beautiful black Morini 500. I have to replace the swing-arm bushings on the bike anyway, and the paint is looking pretty faded. Once the F1 is dialed-in (just using the term with that bike tells me that it may be a while), breaking down the Morini for a cosmetic makeover is next on the docket.
Posted by Underblog at 5:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 17, 2008
Side Stand Shenanigans
The 750 F1 currently on its way to my garage from a garage in Oregon (by way of Wisconsin) possesses neither a center stand (as it came with originally) nor a side stand. The center stand removal was probably a good idea, since a common criticism of the F1 is that the stand impaired ground clearance. The limited-edition Montjuich, Laguna Seca, and Santamonica machines all came with side stands. Fitting a side stand from a Cagiva Ala Azzura using the frame lugs for the center stand would be an easy fix, but for the fact that those pieces of the frame have been removed from my F1.
Ducati TT1 and TT2 motorcycles (predecessors to the F1) came with no provision for a stand of any sort, since they were all sold as track bikes. The TT2 I rode around Italy had a small cavaletto that one installed between the frame and leaned the bike on. One carried it around to have a stand for places where a wall was not handy. I may end up fabricating a stand to be used in the same manner.
Another solution is to mount a side stand to the right-hand engine case lugs. Several of the roadworthy TT1/2 replicas and factory racing machines have had them added. The hitch in this plan is that almost all side stands operate from the left hand side of the machine. The TT2 solution will have to work from the right hand side since the exhaust exits on the left hand side. So: I will have to find a stand which operates from the right hand side or cobble something together that is wholly custom. Perhaps the old side stand from the Morini can be made to fit?
Posted by Underblog at 2:09 PM | TrackBack
August 16, 2008
Relief, redux
When I learn that I cannot afford a motorcycle that I am checking out, or that the motorcycle I am investigating turns out to be the wrong kind, or that the motorcycle has already gone to another home, I feel more than anything relief. Yesterday I was relieved when I learned that the 1957 and 1967 BSA twins located somewhere in the neighborhood had already sold. Evidently, rather that $2500 for the pair, the price was $2500 each. So I really would not have been interested unless they were in pretty much ready to ride condition.
As it is, I need to replace the fork seals on the Benelli, replace the swing-arm bushings on the Morini, and figure out what to do about the forks on the 750 Sport.
So the Miata can stay in the garage for the time being (though I am told that it may go away in the spring) and I can continue to find dust seals for the Benelli. Perhaps the failing economy will be responsible for putting a nice Hailwood replica or F1 on the market.
Posted by Underblog at 8:11 AM | TrackBack
March 27, 2008
No One Ever Crashed When We Rode
I heard from KB yesterday for the first time in years. He and I go way back. We met through friends and a common café in San Francisco right around the time I acquired my Lambretta SX200. He remembers (or should remember) when I graduated to "big wheels" and bought first the Honda CB350, then the BSA A65 Lightning, and ultimately the Morini 500. He And he respected my decision to stand by the little wheeled members of the stable.
We used to ride together every couple of weeks, first meeting for coffee and discussing the route then riding either north south or east of San Francisco to the coastal mountains and river valleys. We shared some other interests: fine art, wine, food, real estate, etc, but it was and is motorcycling that formed the real bond between us. I liked riding with Kent because when I tired of riding on large sweeping curves where the Guzzi's 2:1 advantage in displacement became evident, he never complained when I insisted on super-twisty roads where the Morini's flickableness and the road's narrowness prevented his passing me.
At one point, he shared a South of Market flat (with enclosed carport) with my Morini-friend TC. Though that particular arrangement did not work out in the long-run,* the three of us did once manage to ride to Yosemite. The ultimate object was Mono Lake, which happens to be the caldera of a dormant volcano. Walking back from dinner to the little housekeeping cabin, we felt the unmistakable rumble of an earthquake. The next morning we learned that all the roads in and out of the park, save one, were closed due to rock and mudslides. Thwarted in our attempt to photograph Mono Lake, we rode our bikes back to Healdsburg, where my future bride served us dinner.
KB has managed to hang on to his Guzzi CX100 Le Mans the entire time I've known him. He has made some substantial upgrades to his own fleet, adding a Guzzi 750 Sport (euro-model), a Le Mans 1000 (which he keeps in OR for Left Coast riding), and a 850 Le Mans. He was always more ready than I to suffer four-wheeled passion than I and has acquired since I've known him several Alfa-Romeo's, Porsche's, and most recently an Audi A4 Quattro. This last vehicle he deems a nod to practicality, since he needs a reliable way to get from Long Island City to his cabin up in Connecticut.
We talked about riding together again some time, perhaps near his place in the Adirondack's, perhaps in New Mexico. With the 851, he says, I might be able to finally keep up with him.
* After all, as Keynes famously said "In the long run, we are all dead."
Posted by Underblog at 6:05 AM | TrackBack
March 1, 2008
Reflections on a Garage Full of Motorcycles
I like having multiple motorcycles. Even more disturbing, I enjoy the thought of having even more. I understand that ownership and upkeep on a veritable fleet is difficult for non-collectors to understand, and indeed I struggle with the idea myself. One rationalization for having several bikes is that they serve different needs. I can ride my Trail 90 to work and back comfortably, since the traffic flow speed between there and home seldom exceeds the 90's top speed. (Every once in a while, I am slowed by a headwind.) However, I wouldn't dare ride the 90 to Cuba and beyond, much less Taos. I have reported here that it is nice to have a spare for a guest to use while they are visiting. This means that a pair of the bikes have to be suitable for the same kinds of roads.
Some bikes (in my case, the Benelli 250 SS and the Morini) simply deserve better than they have now. The Benelli I purchased as a potential lightweight commuter, and the Morini has served me for so long that getting rid of it now would seem more like a divorce than a business arrangement. Come to think of it the Morini has been with me longer than my wife, and it was hardly new to me when we were married. The Maicoletta is my retirement project, should I ever be so lucky as to (a) retire and (b) find the source of its mysterious inability to downshift.
So each bike in the fleet has its purpose, right? Of course not. I can ride only one motorcycle at a time, and as anyone who has bikes (plural) will tell you, there is one bike that ever gets the real miles put on it. In the past year, that is the 851. On the other hand, if I kept the 851 and ditched the others, the battery would go flat, the tires square, and it would seldom get beyond second gear. And rationalizations as above are no help in figuring out why I feel the need to compulsively review the eBay listings for F1's (too expensive so far) and early 90's 900 Supersports.
I will tell you this: When I walk through the garage, snaking between the bikes, I am thrilled in a beaming-smile-on-my-face kind of way. And that is worth something, I think.
Posted by Underblog at 5:46 PM | TrackBack
February 14, 2008
Swing-Arm Bushings
I was planning on taking the Morini out last Sunday, but I noticed that the swing-arm has excessive play. This is a common weakness on Morini's, and once upon a time I replaced the bushings on my 500. At the time, it took all the adjustment the bike offered to remove the free play altogether. This time, I hope to give myself a greater margin for future adjustment. Removing and replacing the swing-arm is kind of a dirty job, as it involves removing the chain, the rear wheel, the shock absorbers (which really ought to be replaced too) and a bunch of other stuff. But now that it is getting warmer, I may be able to stay up later and operate on it.
Posted by Underblog at 6:20 AM | TrackBack
January 27, 2008
Exhaust Coating
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been planning to take the 750's exhaust in for ceramic coating. I asked the folks at PJ's who they used, and they could not think of anyone working in the area locally. I asked my welder-neighbor about who they used, and he recommended Southwest Plating, who in turn referred me to a person named "Robert" who picks up specialty stuff once a week and ships it off out the area to be coated. Robert then referred me to Team Synergy (in Albuquerque's Midway industrial park, just across the gravel yard and the North Diversion Channel). "Bobby" was out when I dropped off the header for an estimate, but I spoke for a while with his mom. While there, I picked up a couple of brochures, one for PJ's and one for my gearhead-neighbor across the street.
Mike at PJ's appeared to be glad for the info, though he most often appears to say whatever the customer wants him to say. Turns out my neighbor across the street had already used them for the header on his "Pink Panther" Challenger, which he sold last year. Evidently, a concours-restoration project was too much for him to carry forward. Exhaust headers get pretty hot and they tend to cook off their own paint (and subsequently rust). Moreover, the heat they radiate places additional strain on surrounding components.
But I digress.
Once the folks at PJ's removed the exhaust and the wrap, it became clear that the wrap was in fact concealing a fair bit of rust. The rust was not limited to the header (which I had planned to have coated) but the intake end of the mufflers as well.
I decided to bring the mufflers over to the coater to see whether the mufflers should be disassembled to have the ends coated. The process allows for masking off of parts of pieces but since the only part I was concerned with leaving original was the "Fast By Ferracci" emblem, I decided to have the cans coated as well. After all, they get hot too. The emblems will have their rivets drilled out and will be replaced once the cans are coated.
Having the cans as well as the header coated effectively doubles the cost of the transformation, but I hope the results will be worth it. I am tempted also to have the Morini's header and exhaust coated the next time those pieces are removed from the bike, should it turn out that Team Synergy knows its stuff.
Posted by Underblog at 7:52 AM | TrackBack
July 14, 2007
Stuttering and Puttering
The Fridays when I work at the office, I try to have lunch with W., who grew up in the Valley and rides a motorcycle. We make a point of trying all the various places where we can sit outside. Two Fridays ago, I was mightily embarrassed when the Morini ran only fitfully. So the evening before this past Friday, I changed the spark plugs for two new ones and pulled the float bowls off the carbs. Lo and behold, the o-rings around both pilot jets had deteriorated. I blew out the jets just for giggles, slipped on new o-rings (see why I never throw anything away?), and the thing ran great. Even W. noticed.
If the trouble had been any more complicated than that, the Morini would have been put on waivers, probably for the season. Now I am working up the ganas to operate on the 851, perchance to cure its mysterious intermittent fuel-pissing ailment.
Posted by Underblog at 6:45 AM | TrackBack
March 18, 2006
Stop Right There!
This update brought to you by special requests of Generation Bob and Jonnee's Amerika for greater motorcycle content. By the way Jonnee, many people come to New Mexico to disappear, so you are welcome here. Just stay clear of the Minutemen.
The Morini's brakes have given me trouble for years. After the last time I tore down the brakes and replaced the seals (Minnesota), the RH side still leaked afterward. I had several sets of pistons and seals given to me by friends at Kosman Racing, and at one point (Maryland? Dunsmuir?) I kept the old seals just in case. I think it is time for me to dump all the old inventory (I need those cubic inches in the little plastic parts holding case) and replace the pistons and seals with fresh. For added performance and an abundance of caution I am replacing the 19mm GriMeCa master cylinder with a 14mm.
Brakes are a messy job. The sweet-smelling fluid is sticky and it removes paint quickly. Also, air gets trapped in the various parts and must be "bled" out. Really, it is more like burping than bleeding, but gearheads are far too macho to burp their brakes and clutches. "I am sorry sir, but before your car goes back on the road, the brakes must be burped." In any case, for a normal mechanic it would not be anything resembling a full-day job, but for me it will be.
The parts arrived yesterday (thank you Storz Performance, once more you have proven yourself reliable; I am looking forward to building up my XR750 repli-roadracer with your products and Jonnee has been bugging me to reveal in greater detail what my plans are for it), and I am penciling in Sunday as the big day. A project like this will require me to put the garage into greater order than it is now. Hence my excuse to put the brakes in sooner than later.
Posted by Underblog at 6:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack