1974-1976 Moto Morini 3½ Sport
Under the Radar
May/June 2007
By Richard Backus
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Definately a machine for the enthusiast, the Moto Morini 3 1/2 Sport lives on today as surprising performer.
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Claimed power: 39hp @ 8,500rpm (claimed)
Top speed: 100mph (claimed)
Engine type: 344cc, air-cooled 72-degree V-twin
Transmission: Six-speed
Weight (full): 145kg (320lb)
MPG: 60mpg (claimed)
Price then: $2,100
Price now: $3,000-$6,000
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Call it the little V-twin that could. Call it expensive for its day, and maybe even unusual. You’d be right on all accounts. The Moto Morini 3½ Sport may not be for everyone, but for those with an affection (or an affliction, as the case may be) for Italian motorcycles, the Sport is a bike we’ve all coveted at one time or another.
Every Italian bike has its quirks and the naysayers who notice them, labeling the bikes as unreliable, problematic, finicky and sometimes downright lousy. But Italian bikes have a sound and a feel all their own, and, as Italian bikes go, the Morini is both coveted and forgotten at the same time.
Beginnings of the 3½
By the end of the 1960s, Moto Morini had established itself as a quality motorcycle manufacturer, with good racing successes with their single-cylinder GP machines. Then in 1969, Alfonso Morini, the company’s founder, passed away. The company continued on under the lead of Gabriella Morini, Alfonso’s only daughter, and soon became known for their V-twins. Franco Lambertini, an engineer from Modena who came to Morini from Ferrari, was the designer of Moto Morini’s masterpiece V-twin. His first 350cc engine, a longitudinal 72-degree V-twin, featured a toothed belt driving the camshafts and a multi-disk dry clutch. The engine made its way into a new prototype motorcycle, which debuted at the Milan show in 1971. The 3½ was born.
The 3½’s V-twin engine was unique in its use of “Heron” combustion cylinder heads, a first in the motorcycle industry. The Heron design principle uses cylinder heads with a flat face and parallel (as opposed to inclined) valves, with the combustion recess formed in the piston crown. The overhead-valve 3½ used a toothed belt to the camshaft, a multi-plate dry clutch and electronic ignition.
The GT (or Strada) first went on sale in Italy in 1973, and received rave reviews for its performance, power output and low fuel consumption. In 1974, Morini launched the Sport version, which featured a shorter saddle, lower handlebars, an increase in maximum power from 36hp to 39hp @ 8,500rpm and a claimed maximum speed of 100mph. The Sport featured a 230mm (9in) single-leading-shoe front drum brake for 1974-1976, but from 1977 on the front wheel was slowed with a 260mm (10.2in) single Grimeca disc.
According to Cycle Guide’s August 1976 issue, the 3½ Strada/GT was just becoming available that summer in the U.S. No mention of the 3½ Sport was made until an August 1977 article in Cycle World, which said the Sport they tested was the only one on the West Coast at the time of writing. It was an early example of a 1977 3½ Sport, and for some reason it featured the Strada pegs, which the testers complained about, crying for replacement rearsets. Also, while a single disc brake was standard on the Sport by 1977, the bike Cycle World tested featured a dual-disc setup, which was optional.
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