The chassis is fine...the brakes are fine...suspension is fine...10" skinny-ass tires...not so fine. It's stable at speed, but you have to REALLY tone down your steering inputs. The other night I decided to try a high-speed swerve and w/o thinking shoved the bar one direction (classic swerve/recovery type maneuver) and I damn near tucked the front end under the floorboard. Next performance upgrade will be fat sticky tires. (tyres) PS - I started a new "cool scoot pics" thread in Old School Rides.
This one is a 4-speed. The clutch is on the left (as on a motorcycle) and shifting is done by twisting the left grip assembly--the clutch lever and grip all turn simultaneously. Pattern is 1-N-2-3-4. Just pull in the clutch, twist the grip, ease out the clutch.
Always wondered how that worked. I like the manual transmission idea, as belt/shiv auto's are simple but rob power.
It's a bit slower off the line than some of the CVT scoots I've been on, but it's easier to keep "on the pipe" with the manual transmission. But the newest automatic scoots really have the CVT thing nailed, and you can do a lot to dial in the variators to your liking. Combined with the really nice exhaust system I have on it, the bike has a nice mean sound to it. Nice pop-pp-poppp-pop uneven idle to it, then a gorgeous raspy growl as you go through the gears. Totally different feel than an automatic 4-stroke scoot. I'm gonna have to be careful--I've noticed I'm a lot more squidly on it. I'm beginning to understand the fuss over the classic metal geared scoots now. They are small-scale badasses. I'm in love.
Just in case someone is pondering a Stella purchase and wants to mod it, I think I've finally got mine dialed in. Stats: 2003 Stella Pinasco 177 kit 24G Dellorto (not to be confused with the 24E...different animal) 120 air corrector, BE4 mixer, 110 main, and a 50/100 idle. SIP/JL pipe about 500ASL elevation around here 800 miles total on bike, about 675 on the kit, moderate break-in (some WFO) Amsoil Dominator - autolube NGK B8ES I've been running a 110 main and the bike apparently soft-seized a few weeks ago during a long ride on a hot day at 50-55mph or so. Also had a slight oil lead at the head. Tonight I removed the head and took a look--piston looked like it had a bit of carbon, but nothing white and burnt. Cleaned the head up a bit, cleaned up the piston a bit, retorqued to 12 ftlbs. Tried a 118 main and B8HS plug (I know, don't change two things at once). Fouled immediately. Might've been able to nurse it along but - feh - I have a short attention span. Dropped to a 112 main and the B8ES that had always worked. Stumbled a bit but once warmed up, the bike pulled like a freight train from 20mph in 4th gear, and from 50mph on up in 4th it was wicked-fast. Not scooter-fast, but motorcycle-fast. :eek1 I backed off since it was nighttime and I was beginning to override the headlight and I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans (helmet & gloves only). Banshee-fast. Goosebump wheelie hooligan fast. :eek1 Verdict: a bit early to tell since I haven't done a plug chop, but the bike SOUNDS marvellous at this jetting and is EXTREMELY quick. Throttle response is right-now quick. If the plug chop works, I'll stick with this or maybe up to a 115 for the hell of it for safety. So here's what I've got and I seem to be close to nirvana: Pinasco 177 kit, shaved fins for elestart 24/24G: 120 air corrector, BE4 mixer, 112 main, 50/100 idle SIP/JL pipe 500ASL Amsoil Dominator - autolube - will be switching to Castrol TTS NGK B8ES The rest of the bike is great--smooth shifting (still a bit clunky downshifting to 1st) and clutch is wonderful. Will do halogen and LED conversions. Also purchased a GS-style sprung seat frame and cover--will document the build-up on that later.
I don't pick up the new Zuma til Friday and I am already thinking about a Stage II kit. should make the commute to work more fun. I see a winter project in the making.
Good info Photog. I'm happy to say my Stella has been back on the road since last Tuesday, but I haven't ridden it much because I had some autolube leakage. That's what I get for re-using gaskets. I tried 3 times to get the correct gaskets from my local shop, but they kept sending me the wrong ones. Finally this morning I bought a roll of gasket paper and a razor knife, and made the new gaskets myself. I have just about 200 miles on it since I ported and installed Pinasco kit & carb #2. It seems to run great. So, my stats are as follows: 2005 Stella 24/24E carb Using the mixer and air corrector that came in the carb 118 main Idle mix screw 1.75 turns out from lightly seated Pinasco 177 kit ported & matched transfer ports, polished combustion chamber Sito exhaust Stock plug Timing verified at 19 degrees with a degree wheel & timing light 2% premix in addition to autolube (will go down to 1% after break-in) I'm exposing it to some WFO during break-in, but only for short bursts. It saw 69 mph today briefly. Most of the time I cruise it at about 55, which requires almost no throttle. When it was stock 55 took almost all of the throttle. I'm really hoping this one stays together, but since the last one got melted due to being sold the wrong carburetor I don't see why this one would blow up. So far so good.
Just thinking out loud.... Aren't these engines air cooled? If so, and you've mod-ed them to significantly increase horsepower, aren't you worried about all that increased engine heat damaging the engine? I mean, how close to the edge of heat removal do you think you're running? Of course, if the engine is water cooled, then I'm stoopit.
No, good questions, actually. The jug on mine (the scooter, that is) is aluminum. It sits underneath a cowl, but is forced-air cooled (plastic ductng runs over the fan and cylinder). That's the black thing in the pic below: Or the grey thing on mine: It's not unusual to see performance scoots running w/o the engine cowl in place, though there are differences of opinion on whether that's good. Speaking of air, that little itty bitty hole up there on the seat, just forward of those two levers, is the air intake. We're talking waaaaaay detuned. Not a lot of air in for combustion or out via the stock exhaust, and tightly cowled. Air cooled engines are pretty good at keeping cool, to a point (think of the air-cooled tanks and other air cooled vehicles that were used in the desert) when run within design parameters--and can take a surprising amount of abuse. But there are some issues--being carbed instead of injected presents even more challenges. And the whole shebang is up under a cowl. Here's a shot of the whole drivetrain (stock) from the left side--cylinder, transmission, swingarm, brake: from below, you see the tranny and shock: Pretty compact drivetrain. The whole thing is pretty durable--the stock Vespa or Vespa/LML drivetrain is designed to run on really crappy gas and oil with no maintenance for years and years, just putting along under that cowl which is lined with a bit of sound-deadening--the cooling is coming from that fan that's part of the flywheel. They make a child seat that folds up from the front of the seat so that you can get 3-4 people on these things. It's always been a workhorse bike/powerplant...though you have to factor in what was considered reliable in 1946 and through the 80's...different definitions of "reliable". What tends to be the engine-killer is when you kit them, and then set them up to run too lean--holing a piston and seizing--so the problem isn't so much engine cooling (ambient temps) as tending to the mixture (and timing), though the cooling is important. In a 2T engine, your mixture is your lube and cooling so jetting is waaaaay more important. Jetting a 2T bike is a bit of a lost art (that's partly why we're begging for a scooter forum--smallbore 2T tuning is its own art/science). Part of the allure of the classic Vespa/Lamby bikes is kitting them and getting them dialed in, because the combination of chassis/wheels and a pipey 2T motor makes for a hellion. Stock, they're pretty bulletproof. A "modern" 150cc reed valve motor in these bikes will do about 8-10 hp depending on if it's the Vespa rotary valve or Vespa/LML reed valve. Kitted (bigger carb, bigger cylinder, and more efficient exhaust), a reliable 12hp is pretty easy out of the LML reed valve 150 kitted to 177. Overseas, they're adding watercooled jugs and getting 35 hp out of the 200 cc motors and they're not terribly unreliable (though I wouldn't call them touring kits). So...what I've got going is what's considered a "touring kit", with an emphasis on good heat exchange, along with good midrange power along with a nice little kick in the arse when you twist the throttle. The Pinasco is well made and reliable--after looking at the piston tonight, even with the soft seize a few weeks ago due to my lean jetting there's no appreciable damage. If I were to change out the crank (a bit more flow, a bit more strength), I could probably show a bit over 13hp at the wheel on a dyno. While that doesn't sound like much, on a short-wheelbase small-wheeled bike that weighs 235 lbs, it makes for some real excitement, since the power delivery comes in a rush right in the middle of traffic speeds, put to the ground on 10" tires. Feels like a GP racer, but you get all the power between 45 and 65. Perfect. The next bump would be to buy a 200cc motor and kit that, and look for 25 hp on the same chassis.
I assume you didn't take all those pics just to respond to me, huh? Super response, by the way. We needs us a scooter forum. My wife is bugging me like you wouldn't believe. "Why don't you go look at them by yourself?" I ask her. "Nah. I want YOU to do the research for me. I'll just select it on looks and ride."
I'm pretty new to this, so take it all with a BIG grain of salt. Pretty steep learning curve--I bought a kitted bike that the owner couldn't get to run. I guess you know how that goes when you borrow the money from the spouse and then feel REALLY obligated to get it running asap. So I had to learn pretty fast. Stellaspeed was a great forum--they gave me the jetting basics (theory) as did some folks here. But that's the thing about the classic scooters (metal bodied, transmissions)--they are meant to be tinkered with. You can pull the head and do quite a bit of work with the little 4-piece crappy toolkit they give you. Simple little powerplant...elegant, durable. Something I admire. And a 2T motor will run despite anything you do to it as long as it has fuel, oil, air, and spark...as long as you don't lean it out too much. It's nice to have a bike that you can work on...and hotrod...cheaply. But these aren't as easy to live with as the new ones. Sorta like buying a Ural or Royal Enfield--they are great bikes, you just have to put a bit more sweat equity in them to get the most out of them, but if that's your cup of tea, it's a great way to ride. Makes me feel good to know that the little extra bit of speed i'm getting is due to some elbow grease and a bit of brain power.
Excellent report! I need to get a timing light on mine--I'm trusting the PO when he said he had the timing set slightly retarded from stock. Glad you got yours on the road again. That carb issue was way weird. I'm about 3 1/4 turns out...I'll need to amend my post to include that. Might revisit that again tomorrow. I tend to start projects late in the afternoon when it's cool and end up with a headlamp in the dark. I looked at the combustion chamber today--sorta rough looking. Do you have any pics of what you did to yours? How's the seat treating you? I've given up on my stocker and gonna built one myself with a GS seatframe I got from SCOMO.
Photog, what kind of oil are you using for the oil injection? Do you think I would have a problem using Yammy oil in my PX150?
When I got my Stella, the previous owner threw in a LOT of oil he had. I've been working my way through Motul and Amsoil Dominator but only because it was thrown in the deal. I'll switch to Castrol TTS synthetic and stick with that once I've finished off that stash--the Castrol is available locally, worked great in my little 50cc bike, didn't smoke much, and the bottle was well-designed (built-in spout). And it was a pretty shade of blue. Just look for a statement on the label that says whether it's for premix or autolube. Just like with 4T engines, it's a good idea to go with dino oil for break-in then switch to synthetic...though some tuners are using synthetic on some kits from the get-go. Shouldn't be any problem with the yammy oil if it's for autolube (injection). Also, as Bueller noted, it's good to throw a bit of premix into the fuel in addition to the auto lube. It might change the jetting somewhat depending on the setup but it's good insurance. Keep an eye on your reservoir to make sure it's sucking down the oil.
A timing light won't do you any good unless you first use a degree wheel to find TDC on the flywheel. Then you can remove the flywheel and use the same degree wheel to mark off timing increments on the flywheel. I can provide more details if you'd like. There are timing marks on the stator plate, but they are not numbered. You will not be able to see them unless you remove the flywheel. Pics as requested: Be careful about removing material from the cylinder head. Keep in mind that every bit of material you remove is actually increasing combustion chamber volume but is also lowering compression. The trick is to remove just enough material to make it mirror-like. I used a medium grit cylindrical sanding disc on a die grinder to smooth out the aggregate-like surface, then used a dremel with polishing bits & compound to get the final results. Did the previous owner of your scoot match the ports or polish the exhaust port? Yes, the stock seat sucks. Not quite sure what I'm going to do about that yet, but the sprung Piaggio seat looks promising.
You guys are SO funny. oser PS: If you buy the red oil, your oil injection sight glass looks like a dog's crank. PPS: Buy the strawberry flavored oil. I hear that's the shit.
