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MZ Silver star
Posted by Andy C on September 2, 2024, 6:50 am
Just looked it went for £2610.Who needs a signature anyway......
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by geoff the bonnie on September 2, 2024, 7:13 am, in reply to "MZ Silver star"
Lucky escape Andy, saved some cash there.
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Andy C on September 2, 2024, 7:32 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Yes, the more digging I did about the Silver Star the worse it got, in particular issues with the Rotax engine. Comments made here also helped me to swerve it.
I was reckoning on about 1500 - 1700.
Really interested in a Morini 3 1/2 most reviews seem to be pretty good.
To be continued......Who needs a signature anyway......
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by geoff the bonnie on September 2, 2024, 7:39 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Morinis were popular when new then suffered from no one wanting them and came back in fashion. Most people i know that did have one liked it.
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Brickboy on September 2, 2024, 9:20 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Morinis are truly brilliant - as long as you aren't 6'4". Much like the Guzzi le Mans that I'd also love I just can't fit on them. Here are the two I've had, first one a bit 'special' and such fun...
Second one a bog standard Strada
Belts are easy and cheap to replace (somewhere on the club forum I found an equivalent to the Morini belt for a few quid). They are a laugh a minute: buy one!
Morini pricing
Posted by laverdabru on September 2, 2024, 9:34 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Early ones with wire wheels & drum brakes are pricey, couple round here North of £5k.
Re: Morini pricing
Posted by Brickboy on September 2, 2024, 9:43 am, in reply to "Morini pricing"
Posted by JERRY on September 2, 2024, 9:52 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Is it just me or are they ugly?The oldest rocker in town!
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by geoff the bonnie on September 2, 2024, 10:13 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Money saved from buying the MZ will get you 2 Oasis tickets
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Tonupdave on September 2, 2024, 10:21 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
When I first saw the Morini I thought it was a reasonable bike I liked the lines and the price was right I posted that on IKBA and everyone slagged it off funny how times changed I wanted something looking classic and reliable after selling my Thruxton and Bonnie Tonupdave..T.U.D.
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Andy C on September 2, 2024, 3:50 pm, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Just you Jerry Who needs a signature anyway......
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Stuart on September 2, 2024, 11:11 am, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Hi Simon,
>Here are the two [Morinis] I've had, first one a bit 'special' and such fun...
... but you sold it?
Regards,
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Nigel B on September 2, 2024, 11:47 am, in reply to "MZ Silver star"
Way more than I would have wanted to go for a bike with such compromised cosmetics.
There were a couple of Rotax 500 engined MZs at the MZRC AGM / 50th Anniversary Rally, both the Country off-road styled versions & one had a chair attached.
Didn't get to talk to the owners of those, but did have a chat with another Country owner (who had come on an ETZ250). He said that the Rotax was an easy engine to work on, only requiring a special flywheel puller. All engine bearings were standard sizes. Parts could be pricy, but there was a place in Leicester that sold ex-WD parts and if the parts required were used on the military Rotax engined bikes then they could be had for reasonable prices. He had been told before he bought his bike that the starter sprag clutch issues were caused by the engine kicking back when stopped using the ignition switch - the engine has light flywheels & when running down it could kick back kwhen coming up to compression. He stopped his using the decompressor, which allowed the engine to coast completely to a stop with no kick back & had had no sprag issues. Kickstarting could be problematic - a combination of low geared kickstart & those light flywheels again. Sometimes it would start on the kick first kick, other times it just would not start at all. He must have confidence in his bike, as he was starting a two-up trip to Romania this coming weekend.
Another (fairly catastrophic) issue was due to installation - the Rotax engine used thin wall magnesium alloy crankases, which could split through the main bearings if the engine was mounted without support at the front of the cases i.e. suspended from the cylinder head & rear of the cases only. Apparently this affected some race bikes that used such an arrangement. The MZ installation in the Country used an additional front downtube to support a cradle running under the engine & attached to the pillion footrest mounts on the ETZ251 derived frame to provide the required support.
As the engines of the two bikes on site had similarly scabby painted engine parts to the Silver Star, I wonder if a high magnesium content in the Rotax castings might be responsible - magnesium being far more corrosion prone that more basic aluminium alloys. That would be another reason for me to shy away from bikes using this engine.
Light flywheels seems to be Rotax trait - the Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 I made the mistake of buying was similarly afflicted. Doesn't make for a pleasant riding experience IMO, so I am now even less inclinde to look out for a Rotax 500 engined bike.
Nigel B.
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Will on September 2, 2024, 12:30 pm, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Those air cooled Rotax engines are easy to work on. Most bearings, seals etc are run of the mill standard off the shelf metric sizes & specs. The quality of the castings is, ahem, "variable" as can be seen if you ever see an unpainted engine. Some owners have made the mistake of stripping the finish off in the hope they can polish them - you can't, te casting are an inconsistent mottled finish that only looks good painted. Kickstarting with the light flywheel is more like a recalcitrant 2 stroke, and can be very awkward. Carburation is another issue. Several bike makers used the Rotax with all sorts of carbs = Amal, Dellorto, Mikuni etc and I don't think any of them got it right from stock! Every owner seems to have their preferred carb but I've heard Nikuni can be set up to work better than most.
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Andy C on September 2, 2024, 7:15 pm, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
According to the Vendor the flywheel had been fitted with a weight.
Think if that was done it would probably need some re balancing.Who needs a signature anyway......
Re: MZ Silver star
Posted by Nigel B on September 2, 2024, 7:50 pm, in reply to "Re: MZ Silver star"
Think if that was done it would probably need some re balancing.
If it were a symetrical weight (say machined from steel or bronze bar stock i.e. homogenous material), the overall balance would remain much the same ? Just the overall mass of the rotating parts would change ?
Many moons ago I made a balancing shaft to have the flywheel of Mrs B's R65LS balanced to see if that would cut down on annoying vibes at UK motorway speeds. Before balancing the flywheel, the balancer operator chacked the balance of my shaft, which was made of 2 parts machined from steel barstock shrunk fit together - the shaft checked out fine & didn't require balancing itself before starting on the flywheel. Sadly, in this case, while the flywheel & pressure plate assembly balance was improved over factory stock (which wasn't actually that bad - it ended up the same class as an electric motor rated to over 10,000 rpm) the annoying vibes persisted.
Thinking along the lines of a disc-shaped additional flywheel mounted to, say, the outside of the generator rotor (or a ring shrunk onto the OD of the rotor) or attached outboard of the primary drive gear. IIRC Rotax themselves did the extra "lump" outboard of the primary drive on the trials versions of the disc valve two stroke engines, where "plonkability" and controlled pick-up were desirable features. Again IIRC Rotax offered various different rotor weights to provide the optimum characteristics for the intended usage - motorcrossers want different response & power output to trials riders, but the Rotax disc valve 250 was fitted to both.
on September 2, 2024, 6:50 am
