1980 Other Makes Moto Morini 500 SPORT

W04505

Clear

This auction represents a rare opportunity to acquire a nearly new genuine Italian Classic motorcycle, manufactured by a venerable old company, with many racing successes to it's credit, during a time when it was being run by the founders daughter. Known for their light weight and superb handling along with that sturdy Herron headed push rod v-twin, these bikes developed a true cult following in this country in spite of the limited promotion provided by the factory. I was witness to the entire history of this particular machine from when it left Herm Baver's (Herdan Corp.) Dealer/Distributership to the present time. Sometime in the early eighties I bought my 1980 3 1/2 Sport Morini from my friend Jason who was a real Morini fancier and who had bought a number of machines from Herm. I was living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the time and my neighbor Ira, who was riding an old Triumph Bonnie then, liked my 350 Morini enough that he bought this 500 Sport from Jason soon after. Both these Moto Morinis, it should be noted, had only the mileage registered that's required to ride them from Port Clinton, Pa (the home to this day of Herdan Corp.) to Jason's house in Greenwood lake, N.Y. They were barely broken in. Anyway, the city's a tough place to have a really nice motorcycle and Ira was never comfortable leaving it anywhere so he sold it to an Englishman I'd sold some other bikes to and went back to his old Bonnie. Soon after, John, the Englishman, went back to Jolly Old leaving the bike with me and here it jolly well is(still in Ira's name) ready for a new "la Strega" transfer (included with the bike) on the saddle tailpiece and probably a set of tires, as the mint originals are getting a bit wooden after 34 years. Aside from that there's a hairline crack in one of the side covers and a scratch at the back of the tank near the saddle (see photos). Otherwise it's the thing of beauty "time capsule" you see here. Thanks for looking and best of luck. On Jul-24-14 at 18:47:54 PDT, seller added the following information: I have just added two photos; One of the OEM toolkit and another of the original 500 Morini Owners, Factory Workshop and Spare Parts Manuals which convey with this machine.