Super reliable long distance euro tourer

[dave wheeler]

did Davos on a standard TV175, apart from a cyclone box, which really opened the possibility of adding daily mileage without going down the horsepower route or significantly changing the characteristics of the scooter, mechanically, or visually. So my set up for Italy is going to be a series 1, mildly ported iron or al-fin barrel (rapido or SR), reed valve, porcupine head with a temp gauge, 24-26mm carb, 116mm crank, casa series 2 clubman pipe and of course the cyclone box. Haven`t decided whether to use a large block with a DT175 piston or small block which a TS185 piston but either route will hopefully lead to a nice relaxed, economical ride, that crucially for me looks pretty time specific to the late 50`s

[gerryjunior]

ill hopefully be building an engine/scoot for italy,im currently running a casa ss225 ,which is far too revvy and your up down through the box to too much for that kind of mileage in my opinion, and i have a rapido 225 with an avanti piston and avanti head , 30 mil dellorto and bgm clubman , i brought it from southern Ireland to scotland for the 4 nations lately and it was a joy to drive , stayed in top gear up hills and tops out around 72 mph , ill build another like this but hopefully reed valve this time..

[ArmandTanzarian]

I think fuel economy is a big deal for a tourer. On the journey to Venlo this year I was on my mildly tuned, long stroke Rally 200 and my mate was on his 5-speed Lambretta with a Rimini "Lydden Hill" SS225. Same roads, same speed, same amount of luggage but for every five litres of fuel I put in, he was getting through nine. Plus, I was using 2% oil and he was on 3 or 4%. Over a couple of thousand miles that's a lot of extra expense and a lot more oil to carry.

[Train Driver]

I think fuel economy is a big deal for a tourer. On the journey to Venlo this year I was on my mildly tuned, long stroke Rally 200 and my mate was on his 5-speed Lambretta with a Rimini "Lydden Hill" SS225. Same roads, same speed, same amount of luggage but for every five litres of fuel I put in, he was getting through nine. Plus, I was using 2% oil and he was on 3 or 4%. Over a couple of thousand miles that's a lot of extra expense and a lot more oil to carry.

So Vespa is the future

[Soulpunk]

touring the med for years with:
indian 200 stage 4 barrel,mazzu race crank, ancillotti clubman, jetex 22, ORIGINAL sil ignition.
other touring setup identical but with 20mil dellorto (prefered)
changing indian mahle piston every 10.000 kms.
reliable, motorway compatible, very cheap, easy to fix roadsided.

[ArmandTanzarian]

I think fuel economy is a big deal for a tourer. On the journey to Venlo this year I was on my mildly tuned, long stroke Rally 200 and my mate was on his 5-speed Lambretta with a Rimini "Lydden Hill" SS225. Same roads, same speed, same amount of luggage but for every five litres of fuel I put in, he was getting through nine. Plus, I was using 2% oil and he was on 3 or 4%. Over a couple of thousand miles that's a lot of extra expense and a lot more oil to carry.

So Vespa is the future

To be honest, yes.

It wouldn't occur to me to go around Europe by Lambretta if it weren't for the fact that its a Lambretta event.

[ArmandTanzarian]

touring the med for years with:
indian 200 stage 4 barrel,mazzu race crank, ancillotti clubman, jetex 22, ORIGINAL sil ignition.
other touring setup identical but with 20mil dellorto (prefered)
changing indian mahle piston every 10.000 kms.
reliable, motorway compatible, very cheap, easy to fix roadsided.

That all makes sense and is along the lines I was thinking. Not sure about the Ancilloti clubman though. Brilliant pipe but mine was made of such poor quality steel that it fell to bits. After the third time of welding it back together I chucked it out.

[ducksta]

An engine that has never been opened and tampered with.

Probably the worse advice you have given

[Soulpunk]

ps: never had any issues on my 2 touring bikes with ancillottis, but know the issue.
alternatively try a 40 / 42 mm gori /scootopia/kba/etc..
nice effect on that mild standart setup is the engine needs less service and good surflex standart parts (clutch etc..) can be used.
with a 20mil carb the fuel is also on the save side. the 20mil dellorto is much underrated i think,
its something i also never touched except on restos.
in the barrel should be an original mahle india piston with 3 rings (2 of them chromed), cheap, very good quality/ reliable and top for original porting.

[Adam_Winstone]

^... I totally agree with this sort of tune but opt for the 225 70mm piston option as it means you can run 4.8 in all conditions and you have that little bit extra for fast touring use. People often object on the grounds of bore walls being thin at 70mm but I've NEVER found that to be the case. Indeed, I've known many tuned iron motors run perfectly happily at 71mm on Suzuki TS250 oversize pistons. Indeed, correctly jetted the 225 is little thirstier than the 200cc standard motor.

The one thing that I do 100% agree with is that the best touring motors are built out of commonly available components. Too often I have witnessed people walking around Euro Lambretta sites asking if anyone has a special Jap rod crank, less common clutch part, stator for a rare ignition or other part that none of the trade stalls have. If you need a standard stroke/rod crank, 175/200/225 piston, set of 4 standard clutch corks or a SIL stator then you're likely to be in luck.

Adam