MOTO MORINI

500 Turbo -1981

Turbo to the max

The surprise of the 1981 Milan Salon was that the tiny Morini factory from Bologna was

next after the Japanese Big Four and BMW to launch a turbocharged motorcycle. Its styling was, like that of the Laverda RGS introduced at the same Salon, due to the Futura Design studio in Roma. For Morini, fitting a turbo was not a matter of following a fashion but was the only way that the marque could go upmarket while using an existing engine, in this case their own-make 500, launched as a 350 in 1973.

Full of Novelties ...

The major innovation lay in the turbocharger installation, which engineer Franco Lambertini had been working on for five years. The carburetor was mounted upstream of the turbo, and the air leaving the turbo was cooled before it entered the engine. While this was common practice on automobiles, it was unheard of on motorcycles. An air injector was also placed upstream of the compressor and an ingenious device minimized the notorious "turbo lag."

. . . But Out of Time

During deceleration, the turbo was shortcircuited by an electronically operated suction flap. Its speed of rotation was thus maintained by recycling the "downstream" gas under pressure to the "upstream" side of the turbo, avoiding choking the engine. This ingenious technique was unfortunately denied the time to prove itself.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 479cc (69x64rnm) air-cooled 72 degree V-twin

Power Rating: 70 hp@ 8600 rpm

Valves: overhead

Fuel System: carburetor and turbo with intercooler and recirculation of gas on the deceleration

Transmission: 6-speed; chain final drive

Suspension: telescopic fork (front); swinging fork (rear)

Brakes: twin disk (from); disk (rear)

Wheels: 100/90 (front); 120/90-18 inch (rear)

Weight: 403 Jb

Maximum Speed: 130 mph

Among the technical refinements oftbe 500 Turbo was a carefully rmgineered system of air-cooling: the air stream flowed through tbe.fairing, cooling the cylinders and exhaust pipes, before exiting through lhe grill behind tbe saddle .