1990 MORINI 501 COGUARO

In the earlier eighties, Morini and Valentini (a famous Morini dealer) worked together to prepare bikes for some desert rides after Valentini’s son Massimiliano won the six days of Elba.. Specifically, in 1980, during the TransAfrica adventure where 3 stock Morinis raced; 2 among the 6 bikes which completed the race were Camels. Morini also participated at the early Dakar races and Massimiliano ended 4^th after few Yamaha xt 500 and a Montesa. Lack of money and serious interest by Morini in the Dakar  made the end of the Morini attempt to conquer the podium. There were also some privateers that participated in other races during the 80s but only with discrete success. In the mid eighties, Morini  was sold to the Castiglioni Bros who owned Cagiva and wanted to diversify their brand portfolio. Under Cagiva the Morini received a lift with a new engine, a 507 cc with a hotter camshaft and nikasil cylinders like the beemers. The last of these series of bikes, is the rare Coguaro which is reminiscent of the 90s transalp trend with its fairing and headlights. The Coguaro engine is the only dual sport morini set up with a geared starter incorporated in the engine casing. Other 501s had the additional starter operated with a clutch on the alternator that gave a lot of headaches if not maintained properly  

MORINI 501 COGUARO
Picture 1,2 The bike was bought as it is from a dishonest bike dealer in Cuneo. He promised me that the bike was missing some parts but it was strong and in good shape. Well thanks God that I paid very little for it considering the rarity of the model. At first glance, a side panel was missing, the clutch lever was bent and the plastic stone guard missing.
Picture 4      The forks gaiters and some of the blinkers were damaged beyond repair
Picture 6         See the starter housed on the right of the alternator cover. I thought this will work extremely well......wrong
Picture 8,9:     The first surprise after I couldn't get the bike to start. The alternator housing was demolished and the coils destroyed. Probably an unglued magnet could have caused this mess.
Picture 10,11: I had a feeling that this was not all, and In fact I discovered the starter gear missing a piece of a tooth as well as another gear which houses the starter cushion completely demolished
Picture 11,12:       I would have expected to find the missing parts in Italy instead I found them in Germany and were delivered to me promptly...soon the bike was completed and put together. I decided not to do a complete overhaul of the bike and therefore didn't touch the frame. The bike was decent and i left this job to completed in another time
Picture 13,14: The set has been upholstered, a new leather tool bag in the back and voila.....done

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