500 camel airbox

Camel, Sahara, Kanguro, Coguaro
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tried-them-all
Posts: 33
Joined: 23 Oct 2021 04:43
Location: australia

500 camel airbox

Post by tried-them-all »

All,
my 500 camel (2nd type) is missing the air filter assembly. Is it the same as the 500 road bike? Any photos anyone? I have the plastic assembly with the 2 filters which is from a ??? Morini but it doesn't seem like it will mount in the space under the tank unless some brackets (I don't have) are used? I suspect the rubber bellows I have with the assembly have been shortened just to make it more difficult...

thanks
Phil
3potjohn
Posts: 1243
Joined: 02 Jun 2007 13:58
Location: Devon

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by 3potjohn »

Morini changed to a cylindrical housing ( and in my opinion a rather grim design) for a range of bikes so it maybe that type should be on your bike, in which case the frame mounting points wont have the lugs for the flatter type filter housing. There should be a mount at the rear above the back cylinder and another towards the front .Someone else on here will know.Plenty of info about using e.g Polini filters on this forum.
John
'It must be a .....'
Posts: 365
Joined: 12 Sep 2010 12:25

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by 'It must be a .....' »

Hi, yes it is the same as all the 500 road bikes/Camels and bolts directly to the frame yet there is one bracket that mounts the ignition switch to the frame/airbox (rear left)
The 500 airbox is longer than the 350 and round at the front, extending beyond the circular filter area
Also the top circular areas of the airbox have craters in the centre where the 350's are flat

A quick search on the forum found these 350 airbox images
shttp://www.morini-riders-club.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4332
tried-them-all
Posts: 33
Joined: 23 Oct 2021 04:43
Location: australia

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by tried-them-all »

thanks, that sorts out the problem of why it doesn't fit... I have a couple of early 350 air boxes...pity, one is NOS and I can't use it.

Now I better look thru all the Morini parts to find an air box for the 350 kanguro - are pods an acceptable alternative if that is what I have to do?
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Ming
Posts: 798
Joined: 01 Aug 2014 16:32
Location: France
Location: Central France

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by Ming »

I have a spare Kanguru airbox but dread what postage would be. I also have a K2 with cone filters which runs well.
tried-them-all
Posts: 33
Joined: 23 Oct 2021 04:43
Location: australia

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by tried-them-all »

yes, postage, a down-side to living over here...

i see there are plenty of 350 air filters on ebay, but no 500... are they harder to find?

I lean toward the OEM setup as the bike is fully restored and otherwise correct, and the dust over here makes me wary of even those nice polini air filters with the covers.
'It must be a .....'
Posts: 365
Joined: 12 Sep 2010 12:25

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by 'It must be a .....' »

Hi again,
The Kanguro airbox is similar to the 501 but has right angle rubber elbows to connect to the carbs instead of solid elbows which are part of the 501 airbox
The Kanguro/501 type airbox will not fit in the 500 frame

Yes the 500 airbox has always been difficult to find and are often expensive if not damaged/cracked

If you are considering pod filters have a look at this thread
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5242&hilit=polini

Good luck and enjoy the quest, Ian
Steve Brown
Posts: 1390
Joined: 12 Nov 2007 23:44
Location: Leicestershire

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by Steve Brown »

I'm a bit confused here as to which model you have? 2nd type could mean a Mk2 which had the same type airbox as the 500 roadsters or could it mean a monoshock type? They had as Ian said, a cylindrical airbox similar in style to the Kanguro but different enough to be pretty rare now. Kanguro air box will NOT fit your bike.
So is yours a twin shock or a monoshock?
All donations to the rest home for old Camels, Leicestershire.
Kamel
Posts: 175
Joined: 10 Feb 2020 22:31
Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by Kamel »

Steve, tried-them-all has a twin shock like mine. You can see it here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6785

My airbox was in about 10 pieces when I unbolted it. I found that Marley gutter adhesive worked really well at "welding" it back together. It's a terrible design really as you need to remove the whole box to check or replace the filters, so I cut out the filter chamber lids and glued them to some aluminium disks which are then held on with rubber bands ( the old airbox seal) next I glued both halves together and filled the gap around it. Now I can just pop off the tank, and easily check or replace them.
Air filter box.JPG
Air filter box.JPG (65.4 KiB) Viewed 4717 times
'It must be a .....'
Posts: 365
Joined: 12 Sep 2010 12:25

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by 'It must be a .....' »

That's a great solution to make the filters easier to change and the air box more waterproof for off road etc
Steve Brown
Posts: 1390
Joined: 12 Nov 2007 23:44
Location: Leicestershire

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by Steve Brown »

Kamel wrote: 03 Nov 2021 17:55 Steve, tried-them-all has a twin shock like mine. You can see it here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6785

My airbox was in about 10 pieces when I unbolted it. I found that Marley gutter adhesive worked really well at "welding" it back together. It's a terrible design really as you need to remove the whole box to check or replace the filters, so I cut out the filter chamber lids and glued them to some aluminium disks which are then held on with rubber bands ( the old airbox seal) next I glued both halves together and filled the gap around it. Now I can just pop off the tank, and easily check or replace them.

Air filter box.JPG
Thanks Cliff! Good design that too. I have gone back to a standard airbox recently, mainly because I was finding too many fords where I was worried about the water level being too high to risk with pod filters. Now it's back at the standard inlet height I'm more confident going through deep water. If it gets high enough to trouble that airbox I'll probably be in more trouble already. :wink:
All donations to the rest home for old Camels, Leicestershire.
tried-them-all
Posts: 33
Joined: 23 Oct 2021 04:43
Location: australia

Re: 500 camel airbox

Post by tried-them-all »

thanks guys for the pics, this airbox looks like it will fit the brackets, but i probably won't find one soon, so it may be pods as an interim. Is the same airbox fitted to all the 500s up to a certain year?

my posts may be confusing - i am getting a 1985 501 camel, a 1983 500 camel and a 1983 kanguro back on the road after 20 yrs of sitting in boxes, partly stripped and forgotten.
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