Letter From Europe
LETTER FROM Europe
Moto Morini— A future assured
The long term future of Moto Morini seemed distinctly gloomy as recently as two years ago. The family-owned company, founded in l937 by Alfonso Morini, had been run since his death in 1969 by his daughter Gabriella. Morini remained profitable through rigorous cost control and steady sales, but simply lacked the capital to finance the new generation of V-Twin engines so badly needed for the future. Morini’s long-lived 72-degree pushrod V-Twin engine had been introduced back in 1973, and still has an enthusiastic following, but its days are numbered by more stringent noise and pollution regulations. A replacement was vital.
However, Gabriella Morini was reluctant to risk mortgaging the company’s main asset, its small but valuable factory site in downtown Bologna, to finance new model development. It seemed likely that Morini would go the way of Velocette twenty years ago: though profitable, it lacked the funds for new model development, and closed dow n when the controlling Goodman family decided to sell the factory off for building development.
The only reason this didn't happen to Morini can be summed up in one word: Cagiva. As with Ducati, the Castiglioni brothers came to the rescue, and purchased the company from the Morini family in February, 1987. The Bologna factory was shut down for six weeks, before reopening with former Ducati boss Mario Scandellari in charge. Since then, considerable investment in new machine tools and development funds has been made, and Morini itself has now been revitalised. Instead of the 3500 pushrod V-Twins built in 1986, a total of 8000 machines will be constructed in 1988 with the same basic engine, split between the revamped Excalibur custom, the racey Pasolike Dart, and the Coguaro trail bike range.
But even more exciting than that for Morini is the new liquid-cooled 8-valve V-Twin beginning to take shape under the guidance of 44-year old Franco Lambertini, head of Morini’s design office. This engine that will carry the Moto Morini name into the l 990s is a 67degree, liquid-cooled eight-valve V-Twin with several remarkable and innovative design features. Says Fambertini, “My aim is to present an engine that is as avantgarde, yet practical, as the current V-Twin was when we launched it back in l 973.”
To achieve that, Fambertini has designed the new engine as a fully load-bearing component that will comprise a major part of what would otherwise be the frame on a conventional bike. In spite of the extra strenth designed in the engine, the prototype weighs only l 10 pounds. According to Fambertini, this could lead to a dry weight for a complete motorcycle in street trim of no more than 375 pounds, and perhaps as little as 340.
The 8-valve Morini engine’s fairly narrow V-angle was chosen to result in a compact power unit, permitting in turn a slim. small bike: offset crankpins, as used on recent Honda V-Twins, eliminate the resultant vibration. “I truly admire the 90-degree Ducati V-Twin engine,” says Fambertini, “but it has one great drawback which is the inevitably long wheelbase you must adopt. I humbly believe my design will result in an easier-handling, lighter feeling machine in keeping with the Morini tradition.”
The prototype currently under development is a 720cc unit measuring 84 x 65mm. Fambertini intends to scale it up to a full 750 with dimensions of 86 x 64mm the most likely configuration, but the engine will also be built in 350/400cc versions and possibly also as a 500. The 720cc prototype currently produces 84 horsepower at the gearbox. at 9200 rpm. with full silencing and emssion equipment fitted.
Each cylinder head on the new engine has a single overhead camshaft, driven currently by belt drive—though chain drive is being considered as an option to make the engine more compact and stiffer. The four valves in each head have an amazingly flat included valve angle of 23 degrees—more like a FI car engine than most current motorcycle designs. The inlet ports face each other, permitting use of a twin-choke carb located between the cylinders.
“I designed this engine more than three years ago,” says Fambertini, “but we would never have had the capital needed to put it in production if it were not for the Cagiva takeover. Now I have full support from the Castiglionis not only to proceed with development but to hurry it along, so that we will have the prototype 8-valve Morini motorcycle completed for testing by 1990, with a view to going on sale for 1992. We won’t be competing with Ducati, but instead we shall create a sport-touring machine which is the unique trademark of Moto Morini—a comfortable bike with good performance at a reasonable cost, offering the practicality of a BMW Twin and the sporting allure of a Ducati. Cagiva has assured the future of this project.”
Alan Cathcart
