That gunky covered thing in the sprocket well appears to be fibreglass, probably put there as a bodge it fix when the chain snapped, quite what it was meant to achieve there I'm not sure, the only benefit would appear to be muck proofing the cam belt and generator..
I can either extend the metal separator on the crankcase to cover the gap or I can rebuild it with a chemical metal compound, neither will prevent damage if the chain were to break again but it may keep the grime out of the generator area a bit more effectively than loosely packed fibreglass matt held in with congealed chain lube.

Mundane tasks chip away at the whole thing in small chunks, the right crankcase cover was unbolted and the chain was split and removed. My first half hearted attempt to get the flywheel off didn't work, I'll need to wait until I have more time and room to move as the working area is quite cramped and awkward when the bike is fully back in the garage. This weekend I'll be able to get it out a few feet meaning I can get a decent purchase on the flywheel holder while undoing the central nut without trying to balance over a couple of kids bikes.

There was an odd piece of debris(or so I thought around the front sprocket, I pulled it out with pliers, it may be plastic or light alloy I haven't bothered to clean it to find out. but looking at where it came from around the sprocket Looked a bit odd to me, so after a cursory wipe with a paraffin coated rag I notice the castings were rough in a couple of places.

Definitely broken, I've seen this on Ducatis before and its a sure sign to me that the chain has snapped on this bike at some stage in the past, it will have bunched around the sprocket breaking the metal at the front and will have whipped up breaking it directly above the sprocket. On an air cooled Ducati like mine that would have burst the crankcase but fortunately it seems less terminal here. You can get strips of steel that bolt on as protection on the Ducatis but they have convenient bolt holes in that location to attach it to, I think I'll just have to live with this.
Interesting evidence of the bikes history.

The stubborn exhaust nut is finally off.
I tried, releasing fluid, a special spanner, a blowtorch, but finally it got down to brute force and ignorance.
A rummage in dad's old toolchest revealed a couple of old heavy caulking tools,similar to heavy blunt chisels and with a glove under it to protect the alloy in case I slipped I then battered the nut with the hammer and chisel combo until it was off.
The nut is now junk, I did try the other nut in the port working it back and forwards to try and clean up the threads in the alloy cylinder head and it has made a visible difference in the definition of the threads in the port, I revisit this sometime later when its all going back together .

Here are the old nuts the stiff one is the one on the right.

New castle nuts are now on the shopping list.
From here:-
http://www.morinispecial.it/joomla/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=168

I also tried a quick wipe over of the wiring with a paraffin soaked rag and it was like moving from B&W movies to technicolour is one wipe, gone is years of sticky grime. I'll do it more thoroughly in the next few days.

A week or so spent pulling bits off the bike has resulted in this.

The next stage would be to remove the engine from the frame but until I can remove that header pipe that'll have to wait.
There's a castellated nut made from relatively soft bronze holding the header pipe to the cylinder head and it wont move, even with a specialist spanner bought specifically for this job. I've just tried Plusgas penetrating fluid on it and will persevere for a bit but if it doesn't look like there's any progress there then it may have to be partly destroyed to get it off.
I've found a firm in Italy that sells new ones at about £40 for a pair.

I'm still trying to work out which version of the wiring I have, not helped by it all being so coated in grime that most of the wires are just shades of black. A bit of cleaning there may make it clearer.
At least some of the components like the coils and reg/rec box look new, so someone has rewired part of it in the near past.

I've decided that after I get the existing powdercoat removed from the frame I wont be redoing it, I think paint will give me a nicer finish,if not as durable. I may or may not do this myself. I think it ought to be black too.
The wheels will definitely need repainted, I'll probably get them done in a paint shop. 'Skoda Donington grey' is the paint colour that matches the original colour so I'm told.

The engine number appeared out of the muck on the back of the crankcase, apparently put there by the importer as the factory didn't bother to stamp them and it's a legal requirement in the UK.

The tape around the headlight was holding it together as I suspected, however it wasn't as bad as it could have been, the only things missing were two small nuts and bolts. I cobbled some together for the moment and will fix it properly in due course.

Moto Morini 350 Strada

A new project, tatty but it runs and stops.

I've recently acquired a 1980 350 Strada and am doing that chin stroking exercise that accompanies a 'new' bike where I'm trying to assess what I actually have in front of me.

Most of it is obvious cosmetic stuff, while tatty it seems mechanically sound and in due course I'll get round to all of it hopefully.
Registered in Feb 1980 I suspect its a bit earlier with its 'A' marked engine and wheels marked '1978' and while I can see where the frame numbers are the paint makes them illegible so I'm just going on the V5 for the moment, it also assigns an engine number but I cant see that so maybe am looking in the wrong place.

Paintwork, the frame is decidedly orange compared to the tank and side panels, it may well be the original colour as there's a grubby made in Italy sticker under the headstock. I'm debating whether or not to repaint the whole thing (tank and side panels need it really)or leave the frame as is, wheels will need recoated too

The headlight switch has gone, it still work if I push it with a screwdriver but I'll need to find another switch assembly.

I suspect the tape around the headlight bezel is for more than waterproofing, haven't had a look yet so don't know whats in there, if it's anything like my Ducatis light there may be a mess of springs in there(or not).

Indicators probably disappeared years ago, I'll consider them in due course.
I do have a replacement belt, marked 'MEGADYNE ISORAN 124L 811' ,I don't know if this is suitable, the previous owner seemed to think so but I may just get another on from a known supplier.
I suspect the front cylinder has been replaced at sometime as its black and the rest of the engine is silver(well under the muck it is), the engine has a charming film of oil across the bottom of the case, its source will be more obvious when its cleaned but if there's a 'usual suspect' I'd like to know.

I'll look around for tyre recommendations, the ones fitted seem fine but as far as I can tell from '1902' they were made in the nineteenth week of 2002 so may be past their best.

The lauded electric fuel tap seems to have been replaced by a standard fuel tap, I wonder if you still get the oe ones?
It has two fuel taps and two chokes???

While that braided brake line is OK it's too long, and I can tell from the inside of the disc that the inner pad isn't making much contact so those'll need cleaned properly.

Those completely legal exhausts are louder than the aftermarket exhausts on my Ducati.