Morini Kanguro Rebuild

This morning I took a van to Bradford and collected a rolling Kanguro chassis. I have to admit it was a little rougher than expected (the problem of buying unseen) but in fairness, the key parts I wanted, rear wheel, forks, exhaust and seat base are all good.

Pile of bits

I can't decide whether to keep the thing intact or dismantle it to take up less space. Well in reality it will take up more space but can be boxed away.

At last spring arrived and a new MOT was obtained without difficulty. After a little fettling I took the Kanguro to Bedfordshire for the MRC AGM weekend. Now whilst last weekend was sunny and summery, this one was cold, wet and even sleet fell.


The campsite at Henlow was excellent; we chose the 'Roundel' for our meeting and the site provided some small marquees for the formalities and to allow a club meal to be prepared. I was very grateful that AM was able to adapted the preparations to be vegan-friendly at short notice. A custom-made Italian feast; what a treat!


A few eager members managed to light a fire in the central pit (using firewood supplied by the site) which provided a much needed warmth.

The Kanguro even managed to win an award for "Best Off-Road', not too hard as it was really the only candidate. I suppose that does make it the best, as none of the others had made the journey!



The journey to and from Sheffield wasn't too bad on the M1, 220km in just under 3 hours. There didn't look to be a viable scenic, but not excessively time-consuming, alternative route. In the past I have ridden the A5 to Milton Keynes but it isn't very attractive and progress is hampered by the towns along the road. At these motorway speeds I estimate fuel consumption to be around 62mpg.

I did a quick trip to Allen Jefferies BMW to buy a waterproof today. That's not so interesting but it is worth reporting that the Kanguro averaged 75mpg over the journey - I topped the tank at the petrol station near home on my way out and on return. The trip included town and motorway at speeds from 50mph to just under 70mph. That should give 210km before reserve and maybe 50km on the last 2 litres. The sidestand was a great help.

The idle was consistent and the pickup good. I think I've got the carbs as near 'right' as they are going to be.

I didn't come away with a new, or used, BMW. Nothing really caught my eye. Please will someone make a 400cc V-twin, with soft tuning and long service intervals, a rally-style fairing in pliable plastic, some off-road ability, 400km range and standard 18" and 21" spoked rims, all at a weight of maybe 160kg wet?

Early in the rebuild I decided that the swingarm-mounted sidestand had to go as it was disfigured beyond repair. However, as mentioned almost 18months ago, if trials pattern MT43 tyres aren't fitted, the centrestand is hard work to deploy as the machine has to be lifted best part of 50mm. That's hard after a long day and with luggage on board.

I've previously contemplated a bolt-on solution but couldn't summon up the energy, no the idea for a good design. Anyway, last week I managed to strain my abdominal muscles (I suspect running down a steep grassy hill) and so the need for a prop stand became acute.

I'd two stands in the cupboard, bought off eBay, as 'universal' fitment, which of course means 'some fabrication may be required'. The Kanguro round tube frame is lacking in clear straight areas that could take a clamp so I looked towards the pillion peg support.
It is welded all around, even on the hidden surface, so should be adequate. This location avoids interference with the gearchange transfer system and will store the stand at the level of the sump guard.

I made a back plate out of 6mm steel flat and welded on 2 strips of 2mm flat to locate it on the support. I'm out of practice with my MIG welder so it's not pretty!




The aluminium stand was then bolted on:



The assembly was then attached to the support by a quadrilateral 'washer':
I appreciate that this design puts a bending force on the 6mm flat and the support. I don't mind too much if the bracket deforms after a few dozen refuelling stops; that's an excuse to make version 2.0. Hopefully the support piece won't be damaged.
 In action it's pretty good, perhaps a few more degrees of  lean would be better so that the machine is not too vertical if the back is lowered by luggage. But it's a tough call as a steeper angle puts more load on the brackets.

I've been struggling with the carb balance. Not in the usual way of it being a bit fiddly but that the mixture screw for the rear cylinder didn't have an optimum point. The more it was screwed out, the faster the engine went, until the screw fell out! This is just wrong, as opening the screw should gradually make the mixture too rich for a warm engine and the revs should fall and maybe even cease.

I'd checked this and that and enquired on a morini email list and the general consensus was that something was probably blocked. This evening I replaced the cold-start enricher plunger on the front (good) carb and having removed the jet gave the channels there a good blast of cleaner. The lever had broken off the old one and it didn't work well anyway. On the rear, I squirted through the idle circuit from various points and saw jets of cleaner emerging beneath the slide. The inlet manifold didn't look perished so it was cleaned, replaced and the clips replaced firmly.  Finally, I also fitted the washer and O-ring on the idle mixture screws and set them to 1½ turns out.

The engine started fine and after a quick run I have done a preliminary rebalance. Hooray, the rear mixture screw does now have a maximum open position; it's further out than the front, but such is variation. I need to let it cool and check cold starting and general idle again. 

As a little job, that turned tedious, I lengthened the gear change linkage adjustable part to see if that would reduce the number and frequency of false neutrals. Now I've  reasons to go out for a quick spin tomorrow.

Today might be a little less wet than yesterday, if so I'll take another test run. A quick search online revealed:

http://www.dellorto.com/images/parts/VHBdiag.pdf

and the distributor can supply most parts. If the problem persists I think my money is on the atomiser (part #3) as I gave the main jet a good squirt and it 'looked' OK.