^... be interesting to see/know what people are doing to the standard kit. Considering that 20+ years of TS1 development is still in full progress, I've no doubt that there will be lots of potential for further working of the Avanti too. IMO the Avanti is a really good road use kit in 'off the shelf' format but there will be lots of scope for further advancing the exhaust port timing to increase BHP (at the expense of some low rev torque). Indeed, I think that the conservative (by many kit standards) port timings are a really good thing as they work well in standard trim BUT still leave potential for further work (NOTE: further work is the last thing that many people actually need if they are intending to use the bike for touring!). Most people know that the 'off the shelf' TS1 is a powerful and reliable kit but that doesn't stop people from doing more... and I'm sure that it will be the same with the Avanti.
Actually, I'm looking to see what people start to get out of this kit when tuning for sprint or race use. The standard exhaust port timing is low when compared to single port kits but the port time area allows the kit to rev well + make good torque, however, advancing exhaust port timing, with the benefit of the substantial bridge (don't narrow it!!!), should start to return very impressive dyno and real-world results (IMO).
These are early days for the Avanti and whilst I love the performance of the standard kit, I also love to see how creative many people are with tuning other kits and look forward to seeing 30+ BHP Avanti sprinters and race bikes in the future
We have many examples of people welding in bridges (nothing like as efficient or stable as the cast in Avanti exhaust bridge) to allow for monster Lambretta motors, and there are numerous bike cylinders and aftermarket bike/auto kits that use the same exhaust configuration that make BIG power
Another thing that Ron did was to build up the area around the transfers so that there is lots of potential to increase transfer feed areas if tuners feel that this is the way to go. What better than to start with a cylinder that fits a standard casing but already has the metal cast in so that you can rework it without having to have the additional welding and replating that other castings require. It is easy to remove metal from a cylinder but it is difficult to add it, whether because it isn't there to start with or whether a cylinder is over ported as standard. Indeed, I've really struggled to find kits to 'play with' as many of them are already on the limit (or too far) of port timings for touring or road use.
Ah, the fun of fettling
Adam
