Any Motörbike riders here?

AK99

Gentlemen, as I live and breathe, I do declare the 3 1/2 now does similarly

Can't post pics until I sort a replacement for IMGUR, but was out for the first ever ride on it today - on a private road of course, as there are some vehicular administrative matters still to sort, and it definitely could do with some newer tyres preferably from the current millennium.

I bought the bike as a non-runner, rebuilt years ago, but in 'need of some recommissioning'. Bit of a risk, but I knew the earlier rebuild had been done by Eddie Laycock the former 500cc GP racer and the general condition of the bike was pretty good.

The list of jobs that had to be worked through to get it back running properly included, cleaning the tank of a ton of rust and sh1te from broken down fuel, stripping, cleaning and rebuilding the little flat-slide carbs, fitting 2 new fuel taps (from a Guzzi LeMans), new fuel lines and filters, replacing the little rectifier/regulator, removing the dead-weight starter-motor, fitting a new new head-light unit (off a Superdream would you believe) - and finally pilfering the battery from the 675.

To my genuine surprise, everything on the bike now works - engine, all of the electrics (and this is a '70s italian machine remember), instruments, brakes, gears and clutch, and the pipes even have a nice throaty but muted little rumble.

First impressions from the road-spin ? It's a wee bit busy / noisy on the mechanical side of things, but a lot of that could be because it's air-cooled and has the dry clutch, and since I haven't even touched the tappets yet, I can't really complain. 'Tis a nice thing to ride though, very nice - but - the right side gear-change takes a bit of time to get used to. Moving off and accelerating up through the gears is fine. It's only when you're slowing down coming up to a junction with a bit of front brake on, then trying to blip the throttle, drop a gear or two and dab the footbrake to keep everything smooth that your long years of muscle-memory kicks back in and it all goes to cr@p.

I thought the wrong side gear change would be a piece of cake - but I find braking with your left foot is like left-foot braking in a car you just haven't got the motor skills trained up to the point where you can finesse just the right amount of pressure, and it's pretty easy to end up about 6 ft short of the line, or on occasion nearly put yourself over the handlebars. Also frustrating when you find yourself trying to hook the brake lever up to put the bike back into neutral..and it doesn't work.. And of course it t would all be just that bit easier if Morini had decided to fit a neutral light somewhere / anywhere on the bike. (I used to give out about wusses needing gear-indicators on the dash, but maybe I'll have to cut them a bit more slack now.)

Anyhoo - more practice required, but so far things looking good on the Tre e Mezzo front 

Kittyfrisk

^ We need videos with audio 

AK99

Aye, fair comment. I could probably do something on Youtube instead of Imgur - will give it a try.

TheBigDipper

AK99 said:

Gentlemen, as I live and breathe, I do declare the 3 1/2 now does similarly

<snip>

To my genuine surprise, everything on the bike now works - engine, all of the electrics (and this is a '70s italian machine remember), instruments, brakes, gears and clutch, and the pipes even have a nice throaty but muted little rumble.

<snip>

Great news about the Morini. 

Just as a humourous aside: My 1994 916 Strada stopped working after running it in,and about 3 months of use. Filtering in heavy traffic one day, it just stopped and there was clearly not enough juice in the battery to restart it. I called the roadside assistance people out. "Temperamental Italian bikes with their dodgy electrics" the man said as we agreed the reg/rec had probably failed and stopped recharging the battery. Then he went quiet as I pointed out that the reg/rec was a Bosch unit... 

Emp_Fab

So who are the fair-weather bikers here, putting the bike away for the winter, and who are the ones planning on suffering the elements regardless? 

I'm definitely in the former camp.  Fuck that getting cold and wet shit.

Dominic

I used to be more hardcore and do every day .....I even had one day last year coming back in snow on M25 but on the whole the bikes go away end of November and stay away til end Feb which isn't too precious.
If it's icy or skiddy and there is a perfectly good car on the drive it's simply stupid.
I do actually go for a couple of quick rides in December / Jan and Feb to keep the battery charged and everything working but they are only for 20 minutes when dry.

Koa

I’ll ride until the first salt gets spread on the roads then leave the bike on a charger until the salt’s gone in the early part of the year. Even with liberal coats of FS365 after every wash I see the difference to a bike that’s been spared a winter. To be fair cars suffer same we just don’t see the engine and suspension as easily. Its a scandal that better fasteners aren’t used on vehicles- removing rusted nuts and bolts is so time consuming!

Haych

Depends. I’m not averse to riding in the winter but depends on the conditions of the day. It’s actually this time of year that freaks me out the most with lots of leaf fall and other autumn debris on the road surface. 

If there’s a nice day to be had on the bike then I’ll ride whatever the season. 

To keep the cold out I’ll have the goretex suit on and the waterproof boots and gloves so if I get caught in the rain it’s not really a big deal. 

I don’t find the cold an issue, I’ve only ever felt it once on a long ride back from Folkestone, it chucked it down all the way. Even then I only felt the cold when I crossed the Severn Bridge and the temperature plummeted, but by then I was only a few miles from home. 

The only thing I hate about winter riding is the fogging up of the visor and glasses. Now that sucks. 

AK99

Kittyfrisk said:

^ We need videos with audio 

Dunno if this'll work, but give it a shot:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ogzu1WEy6Ho?feature=share

(edit - sounds pretty crap on the phone, but a lot closer to the real thing with better mids and bass on a PC with the bigger speakers)

Kittyfrisk

Great stuff. Revs very freely.
Weirdly (or maybe not) it sounds quite like my mate's Honda XRV750 Africa Twin   

thumpingrug

I bought my bike to commute to work and did this all year round.  Then the office was closed for covid, and I worked from home for 2 years.  Now I work within walking distance.  The bike has become a fair-weather toy.  Im not getting cold and damp for no reason.

cruxiform

Emp_Fab said:

So who are the fair-weather bikers here, putting the bike away for the winter, and who are the ones planning on suffering the elements regardless? 

I'm definitely in the former camp.  Fuck that getting cold and wet shit.

I ride through the winter but only on nice days, so a mix of both. I love those sunny, crisp days on the bike. 

We don’t really get the winters of our youth. Sure it’s cold  but gear is so good now there’s no need to suffer.

cruxiform

AK99 said:

Kittyfrisk said:

^ We need videos with audio 

Dunno if this'll work, but give it a shot:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ogzu1WEy6Ho?feature=share

(edit - sounds pretty crap on the phone, but a lot closer to the real thing with better mids and bass on a PC with the bigger speakers)

Gorgeous.

Emp_Fab

Haych

Emp_Fab said:

Weather systems typically move from west to east, hence why we get more than our fair share of precipitation in Wales (other westerly regions are also available).

The clouds dump the rain on the first landmass they hit.

Looking at that, it does make Norfolk look like an attractive place to be.

Emp_Fab

Imagine living somewhere that you could go outside 95% of the time and not get wet !  All the things you could do !!

Dominic

it's called Spain !

zepp76

Emp_Fab said:

So who are the fair-weather bikers here, putting the bike away for the winter, and who are the ones planning on suffering the elements regardless? 

I'm definitely in the former camp.  Fuck that getting cold and wet shit.

I've always ridden all year round come rain, sleet, snow and high winds, a case of having to and wanting to. That was up until recently as now since the crash I just hurt too much when the colder, wetter weather comes in and I'm also getting older and more prone to moaning these days too and it irritates me! I'm on the waiting list now to take driving lessons to give me an alternative method of transport when it's really crap out there and for when I just really aren't up to riding.

Corvus

Nice one @AK99, it looks tidy, sounds good...

The tyre issues has been decided - had an ace ride a few days back. Parked up, then needed to go out again. Back tyre completely flat, a nail going in and poking out.. must've happened very close to home.

Weather wise, I used to live in London and rode all year every day. Hated the tube, and getting on a bike at day's end was mini therapy. Now it's purely for fun so no rainy riding, don't mind a cold dry ride.

Kittyfrisk

Well, I chuckled...