Can the starter be made to work?
It certainly can. I bought a late 500 Sei that had been standing for 10 years and as part of the recomissioning, I cleaned up the starter motor, removed the 'pop' marks from the starter drum (they don't make the shoes grip, they just chew them up) oiled and adjusted the chain and put it back together.
The kickstarter lever was worn and floppy and with a 13Ah Odyssey (Morini were fitting a 26Ah battery by this stage) the elctric starter was so good that I left the kickstarter on the shelf.
Many starter motors have been damaged over the years, partly by oil contamination, but also from trying to crank with a poor battery. Given the way the ignition works, the bike simply won't start if it isn't turning over fast enough. The electric starter needs to spin fast, first to get the shoes to bite and then to generate the ignition voltage. Sometimes, no matter how good the starter, it won't get the engine (particularly a 500) over compression if the engine is already need TDC. Just rock the bike back a bit in gear so the starter can take a run-up.
Starter woes.
Re: Starter woes.
Paul Compton
http://www.morini-mania.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/user/EVguru
http://www.morini-mania.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/user/EVguru
Re: Starter woes.
Well, I contacted NLM and there are no new starter clutches available. Guess the supplier did not make any this year. Anyone have a set they would part with that they never installed? Just thought it was worth a shot to ask. 
Re: Starter woes.
There are plenty of companies who reline shoes.
Paul Compton
http://www.morini-mania.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/user/EVguru
http://www.morini-mania.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/user/EVguru
Re: Starter woes.
Update:
Since I share my woes here, I thought I would also share my minor victory. I had my shoes re-lined locally for about $75. They did nice work, but I need to do some grinding to get them to fit the bell housing. My shoes are apparently the earlier type (one solid piece and fairly light). Although this did help a bit, my bike was still more "starter assisted" than electric start. As it so happens, the good chaps at NLM had got some later shoes re-lined and sent me a set after my first query. I installed these much heavier shoes and EUREKA! The bike will start using one choke on even on a cold morning like today. I'm not going to say it is perfect, but the later shoes are MUCH better and the noise coming from the right side cover while starting is a lot less like "a blender full of crankpins" which is how it has been described in "Moto Morini 3 1/2 & 500 Performance Portfolio 1974-1984."
Thanks for the encouragement. I may even say with a straight face that the electric starter on my Morini works.
LTR
Since I share my woes here, I thought I would also share my minor victory. I had my shoes re-lined locally for about $75. They did nice work, but I need to do some grinding to get them to fit the bell housing. My shoes are apparently the earlier type (one solid piece and fairly light). Although this did help a bit, my bike was still more "starter assisted" than electric start. As it so happens, the good chaps at NLM had got some later shoes re-lined and sent me a set after my first query. I installed these much heavier shoes and EUREKA! The bike will start using one choke on even on a cold morning like today. I'm not going to say it is perfect, but the later shoes are MUCH better and the noise coming from the right side cover while starting is a lot less like "a blender full of crankpins" which is how it has been described in "Moto Morini 3 1/2 & 500 Performance Portfolio 1974-1984."
Thanks for the encouragement. I may even say with a straight face that the electric starter on my Morini works.
LTR