IS IT WORTH TUNING A SCOOTER

[Mel K]

You would think after all these years of tuning, altering and general tinkering, someone would have the perfect solution ? Alas the answer is no.
I think a scooter capable of reaching the speed limits with the odd overtake of a slower vehicle then sitting at the speed limit again is not too much to ask and is possibly all we should hope and aim for. 100mph etc will just blow up your £3000+ engine. To sit at "80 all day" you need at least 500cc for it to be easy and comfortable. Most mortorbikes only sit at 80 on the motorway, they might fly past us when we're on scooters but watch them when your in your car and their testosterone levels are much lower along with their speed. So, I'd aim for genuine top speed of 75ish and a useable cruising speed of 65mph, that should be more than enough on any scooter. IMHO.......Mel.

[cezeta]

mel i have to agree that aiming too high is pointless. any alloy kitted scooter should be able to sit at 65-70. my muggy does it with 12bhp but im getting every last ounce out of it. a mild tune big bore 250 should do it easily. there is a report of a rt240 pushing 20bhp and 17lb of torque so the 250/260 is going to be a joy.

[mickdale]

hello cezeta
long stroke ts1 or rapido 250?
what big cc set up would you recommend?

cheers
mick

[cezeta]

well i have a 240 ts1 which going from a 225 is brilliant. but im no expert im just hunting for the right set up myself.

when funds allow im hoping for a rt250 using a 64 stroke crank and 71mm piston for a high power tourer with a clubman but you could do the same with a rapido 250 but have it ceramic lined so it does not wear or a mugello for that matter.

if you speak to anyone with a maicoletta 250 or 275 then they will confirm that a low tune big engine is a healthy set up. 1950s tune that can hit 80mph and cruise at 70mph at low rpm...provided they are in good condition which most are not

the tuning really just adds acceleration, any 200cc + lambretta running gp200 gearing should do 70mph its just that the bigger it is the better it will hold it there and more comfortably.

[tony]

Nick... I do by now know what you are after with torque , low revs etc. In fact the whole forum knows .
Tuning isnt just about revs etc. Tuning can be in many forms- sarah's for instance was tuned to tour, very flat torque curve at low rpm.. it actually has as much torque as the race quattrini M1r rev monster ,but makes low down across the range. This is real tuning. Tuning to what the customer wants. I personally like a revvier motor but I dont do rallies any more.
Right.. now this big cc idea of yours. Yes big cubes give you what you want if you have the port area. But in a lambretta you have say 'x' amount of port area possible for 200cc. Now as it is the port area is too small for 200cc so people raise the height of the port increase duration. The effect of this is a motor that is revvier, has less torque as we are opening ports earlier-not what we want in this situation. And now you yourself are saying lets go even bigger on the cc.. well in effect this is reducing port area even more in relation.
So what I was saying is a re think is required to give us the port area which can supply enough charge to get the motor to pull without the need to spin it up high. We need an exhaust correctly designed to pull that charge up at low rpm and carry on working over the rev range.

[sean brady scooters]

what ever the CC,torquey tunes still require massive port/time areas.........usually derived from widths formost .
area of ports rather than the duration of opening is the rule ...

[tony]

someone getting my point..
Sean ... what was the number of the House of Bamboo?

[sean brady scooters]

As you know full well number 54 matey...........

[tony]

The House of Bamboo.. da da da da....

[sean brady scooters]

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A9Ks ... ke&f=false