Seen at Mallory Park today, at the first Classic Racing Motorcycle Club meeting of the season, Mike Bastable's very splendid race bike, now fitted with a 500 engine.
The question was.. could he beat his friend Stephen Jones on number 151, a 500 Ducati Pantah?.. The answer.. Yes!
Mike will be racing at Mallory again tomorrow. The weather should be dry. Feel free to pop along and say hello. He's parked up by the lake.
The drum brake is there simply because it came with the bike. Mike could use a disc brake, or two, if he wanted to for the class he races in. He bought the bike from our dear departed friend Pete Morgan who obtained the bike from the original builder who was a very talented gentleman in Italy. Mike told me his name but I've forgotten it.
The brake itself is a Laverda item. The forks are Marzocchi but have a shallower offset, if that is the word, i.e. the fork legs are closer to the steering stem (see attached photo).
It is a very interesting bike with lots of interesting details. There is a box section swing arm with eccentric adjusters and the exhaust is a copy of a set (Mike has the originals) made by Figaroli of Bergamo. As you can hopefully see, the exhaust from the front cylinder runs over to the left hand side and the rear cylinder exhaust goes underneath to the right hand side. I believe the lengths are equal, but either way, it sounded divine.
Well, Mike had a successful weekend at Mallory Park. Four starts and four finishes and second in class in each race. Best lap time an impressive 1:01.752
So, can a Morini 500 get around Mallory quicker than a Yamaha TZ350D, a Harris Suzuki XR69 and a Yamaha FZ600? The answer is - Yes, it's official..
Well, last weekend saw the sixth meeting of the CRMC season, at Darley Moor, and our own Mike Bastable made further progress towards securing the Post Classic Air-Cooled Championship on his 250 framed Morini 500.
Morini Riders Club member Phil Bootherstone was also entered on the ex-North Leicester Motorcycles 500 Morini and had an extra ride lined up on my old 250 Ducati.
We have to go back to July 2023 and Donington for the last time two Morinis were seen on the same grid. Something not lost on commentator Jono Yardley who was delighted to see the two bikes on track and said so over the Tannoy.
Saturday's racing went pretty well, considering. Mike and Phil were out with the 1300cc Production bikes, 1300cc Superbikes and Post Classic 350's, meaning Yamaha TZ350s, with predictable outcomes. Mike qualified a few places further up the grid than Phil and both races finished in that order with Mike ahead of Phil. We also enjoyed a visit from Galligaskins of this very Forum. Nice to get some support from a fellow enthusiast.
Phil's ride on the 250 Ducati found him in a field of blisteringly quick K4 350 Hondas and Post Classic GP125's so it was a bit of a lonely ride. On the bright side, as he was first in his class in the first race of the weekend, it led to the award of a first place trophy! Unfortunately, the sheen of that was removed when in the second race, delayed until Sunday morning, the Ducati mis-fired on the opening lap and then stopped completely. Our investigations point to the ignition system but that was the last of the weekend for the Ducati.
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Last edited by Morini Jen on 08 Sep 2025 18:57, edited 2 times in total.
The first 500 race on Sunday saw Mike finish ahead of Phil, although they were both bettered by Richard Llewellin on his very quick Louigi Moto Ducati Pantah. The second race, however, was a well and truly wet one as it began raining in the late morning and continued through lunchtime. By the time Mike and Phil went out the rain had eased off but the track was fully wet. Mike is not a fan of the rain, but Phil tends to view it as an opportunity to push the limits and get ahead of those being more cautious. Sure enough, on Lap 2 Phil nipped past Mike and began pulling away. Mike managed to slowly claw some ground back but the final outcome was decided on the final lap when a gaggle of six or seven TZs and Superbikes descended on them. In busy high speed traffic, somehow Mike got pulled along whilst Phil got boxed in. With not enough time for Phil to catch up, the result was the same as the previous three races. Still, that's how it goes in racing sometimes and Phil and Mike had a good laugh about it afterwards.
Mike is entered for the final meeting of the season at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 27th/28th September. If you are able to go along you will witness some great close racing. Brands Hatch costs the CRMC almost as much as Donington and so they would welcome your attendance. You will also get to meet Mike, who is a thoroughly nice bloke, and it is the only way to hear his bike on full chat. Now that's what I call music!
Cracking photos Jen.
It was good to see you all on the Saturday.
Did the back brake on Phil's 250 get resolved? Shame about the misfire spoiling the second race.
Gutted for Phil to have lost the advantage he'd built up in the wet in the 500 race.
I was poised to post some video footage to whet people's appetite but the file size is too large so it remains, as you say, that the only way to hear Mike's bike (or indeed anyone's) is to be there!
Great meeting you on Saturday. You picked the right day to come along. A new spring on the rear end of the brake cable fixed the issue. Phil had swapped a 110/90/18 rear tyre for a 90/90/18 rear tyre (same as the front, the combination works well on his Tiger Cub Racer) but as the Ducati conked out on the opening lap we didn't find out if it was an improvement.
Yes, it was unfortunate for Phil to get stuck in traffic in the 500 race when he'd tried so hard to get ahead. Still, he was philosophical about it.
Pleased to hear that you have some video footage of the Morinis on track. Next stop, Brands Hatch.
