Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1529190
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P121 with the jugs tucked inside the frame. As the staff forewarned, the little powerplant isn't going to wow its rider with sheer speed. Indeed, one works hard to keep the bike revving and in its sweet spot, with the end result being a good deal of vibration. "Three miles of spirited twisting," wrote the staffers, "will have that left paw tingling noticeably." The motorcycle shifted well, and the brakes were strong. There was only one niggling problem reported by the crew. The neutral light came on frequently and without purpose, as the bike was properly in gear at the time. This apparently caused the editors to release the clutch at stoplights and suffer the ignominy of stalling the machine, likely while pretty California girls were watch - ing and giggling. This continued until the Moto Morini's excessive vibration caused the neutral light's bulb to wiggle and fall out of the instrument cluster entirely and the absence of the misguided illumina - tion henceforth allowed the staff- ers to pull away from stops without further fear of emasculation. The Slater Brothers, distributors of the Moto Morini, supplied two machines to Cycle News. Along with the 3½, the staff had access to its big brother, the 500, a stun - ningly beautiful machine with a bright red paint job and gold mag wheels. The motorcycle attracted the attention of passersby, some of whom would stop, smile and say, "That's nice! What is it?" The 500 was even more de - termined to remind riders that it was built for serious scratching. Clip-on handlebars weren't stock equipment for motorcycles in this era, but there they were, bolted righted on to the Moto Morini 500, along with Marzocchi suspen- sion, front and rear, and Pirelli rub- ber on those gold wheels—racing components to be sure. The crew said "canyons," the 500 responded "bravo," and the real fun began. "It's easy to fling the 500 around," they wrote. The engineering team had provided ample ground clearance while designing the bike, so there was never a fear of grinding the footpegs. That was a good thing, the staff noted, since "the pegs don't fold." Obviously, the 500 was faster than its little brother, but Cycle News again pointed out that both machines were likely to be outgunned by the competition. A Yamaha RD400, Kawasaki KZ550 and the Honda CB750F were all mentioned as machines that were going to leave the Morini in the weeds, at least on the straightaways. But when that straight line bends, sweeps, zigs and zags—forza Italia! Details, details: neither bike gave much thought to the pos - sibility of roadside repairs, as the tool kits consisted of a handful of wrenches, a few of which didn't even fit any of the nuts and bolts on either bike. The headlight and taillights were dim and danger - ous. Fortunately, the Fiamm horn on the Moto Morini was nice and loud, so a rider would have the option to honk every few seconds to alert drivers of his presence in the dark shadows. Good handling, unique and fun—more than enough to over - ride the Moto Morini's lack of brutish horsepower. Moto Morini disappeared for a few years, then returned to the mc scene, thanks to a marriage of Italian engineering and Chinese manu- facturing. This year at the EICMA show in Milan, the company even displayed a new version of the 3½, complete with a new V-twin engine. Forza Italia! CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives The Moto Morini wasn't the fastest bike on the block, but it was sexy and loved twisty back roads.