Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) My first 500 miles

Well, here are my views on Morgan ownership since collecting my 1986 4/4 last Monday :-
- Steering direct and taut - no play, and reasonable feel
- brakes are great (servo fitted)
- ride very bouncy - have to avoid certain roads bear home for fear of bouncing out of car ! Would describe as a cross between a pram and a water-bed !
- handling positive and confidence-inspiring
- faster than I expected and happy to cruise at 80mph on the motorway
- very noisy exhaust - will probably have to change as the booming when cruising along is very wearing, even with ear-plugs
- gearbox very knuckly, particularly hard to get into 1st, and stick shakes so much it bangs my knee hard sometimes
- seats are comfortable, driving position good except for lack of room for left foot. Not too much of an issue.
- lights are great ! Even on dip, and main beam is super.
- My 9 year old and 12 year old love riding in it ! Even at night in the cold
- heater seems to do not very much - fan simply increases the volume of noise !
- instrument lights are very dim, even when I found the brightness switch and turned it up to max
- it's so much like riding my Ducati's I can't believe it
- choke seems to increase the richness but not the fast idle - will have to investigate
- clutch bites about a millimetre from the bulkhead, will see if I can adjust it so the pedal comes out a bit more before clutch engages - may help the gear change too
- overall Grin factor 10 !

I love it ! A perfect replacement for the bikes.

Matthew

Matthew, nice to hear, I have been going down a similiar road....I have had Ducatis as well, 999,996, ST2 ST4 and Monster. sold all went from long distance road traveling,to just track days to 0.
so then bought a 911 C4 Cabrolet which is great, but in Toronto the roads are quite uninteresting, as in traffic and straight.
and soooo now bought a 2007 Mog Roadster, which drove for 20 minutes and is now waiting for me in Paris for sometime when I go back in Feb, which I will then keep and use in the south of France where the roads are truly great, and I expect this will provide what you seem to have also discovered, . a bike replacement tonic!!
Peter

Great to hear Matthew that your 'Mog' has lived upto your expectations. Enjoy.

I cann't remember if your 'suspension' was modified? Maybe the 4 Seater is/was set - up differently to the 2 Str. Certainly, mine ('82 4/4) could never be described as 'Bouncy': water bed never - Bath Tub on wheels would be nearer the mark. The 'bounce' was like that induced by taking a 'Hump Back' Bridge to fast and arriving back on Terra Firma!

Matthew,

Good to read the your Moggie meets your expectations.

Roderich

PS What I liked best was, 'fan simply increases volume of noise'.

Here I must come clean and admit that I haven't found the rheostat / ‘twiddle knob, lights they go dim’ switch (well, it’s not in the manual!) Any pointers to where it is please?

Mine is underneath the dash just to the left of the steering wheel. Changes the instrument lighting from very dim to completely blacked out !
Anybody replaced their rheostat?

Thanks - I'll have a grope when car is back from being straightened out post-Mercedes.

You mean it's been smashed already ?? Oh NO !

Yes, as per earlier post

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8962&fpart=17

I think he was late for his scoff at a local pub/restaurant, so decided not to bother with the formality of using wing mirrors before reversing...

Not to worry Paul. These things happen. I had a fellow back into my parked beauty 30 miles after its full restoration. At least it's easy to find the color codes!

Lorne