PX200E Tourer / Daily Commuter

I travel 100kms every day to work and back so I've been wanting to build a daily commuter with more power than the stock PX200E for a while now. The design I've put together is based upon the advice and ideas of many more experienced tuners than I am. Apologies from the outset to anyone for whom these scribblings are a bit basic. I categorically deny having any mechanical expertise whatsoever (!) and there is nothing amazingly new here, but I think the design may be of interest to others with similar requirements to mine and I can't imagine that such people would be few, for the desire to build a more robust tourer out of a PX200 has always been around. If the ideas recorded here are of any help to others or at the very least stimulate ideas in others, the effort spent on writing them down will not have been wasted. I've slowly (= lack of $$) been acquiring parts for this design and hope to start building next year... (sigh) .

Obviously there are different ways to go about building a tourer (worth looking at is this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/Vespisti...221MK1Touring#) depending on one's needs, and I hope to discuss different options to those that I chose for my design.

Comments are welcome!

I will describe each part of the design. Each part is numbered and keyed to a picture.

1. Malossi 210cc cylinder & piston

The basis of any touring upgrade is a larger cylinder and piston kit than the stock 198cc cylinder and piston. There are of course other options apart from the legendary Malossi 210cc (aluminium) cylinder and piston kit. I could have chosen the Pinasco 215 (also aluminium and a kit which which has a reputation for being a good choice for touring) or the Polini 208 (cast iron).

A good article comparing the three cylinder kits can be found here:

http://sites.google.com/site/drunkmu...210vspolini210

2. MMW Cylinder head for Malossi 210 standard, long thread, 69mm, long stroke 60mm usable without 1.5mm packing

I originally chose the cylinder head that Malossi recently brought out, engineered specifically for their 210 cylinder kit, but this head is apparently better suited for a racing style scooter with the shorter 57mm crank than for a tourer which ideally ought to have the longer 60mm crank. On the other hand, if you still want to use the Malossi head, you can get around the problem of the long 60mm crank shaft by lifting the bore with a 1.5mm cylinder gasket. Some tuners, however, regard this as an inferior solution to getting a head that is specifically engineered to accommodate the longer crank such as the MMW Cylinder head. The Malossi head, as you would expect, is beautifully made, all shiny with no imperfections. The MMW head is a rough piece of work; it's basically a Piaggio stock head that's been re-machined and consequently there are bits of aluminium crud all over the place and it may need to be cleaned up a bit before you endeavour to use it. As I understand it, if you choose to use the MMW Cylinder head, you STILL need to use the copper cylinder-head gasket AND the O-ring that comes with it -- but obviously you don't need the 1.5mm cylinder gasket that goes under the bore.

31.11.2010: No, this last statement is wrong. You don't use the copper cylinder head gasket; but you use the base gasket. The bore will leak if you don't use the base gasket. You need also to check that the spark plug is not protruding into the chamber inside the head. If it is, you need to a washer (or the ring from the temperature sensor of your CHT unit).

3. 60mm performance crankshaft

I think there are a couple of choices here (MecEur, BGM, SERIEPRO, and FALC), but the main player has always been Mazzuchelli, and that's what was what I'm going to choose. The long crank shaft (60mm) is going to give you more torque and more horsepower earlier in the lower rpm and that's why it is generally regarded as better for touring than the standard size 57mm crank which delivers its power in the high rpm. 

September 2010: I learnt of a new longstroke crankshaft that Pinasco was selling. This appears to be a newer design of a longstroke that Pinasco made up to 1999 before the Bettella takeover. In answer to questions about the quality of their crankshaft in comparison to Mazzuchelli, Pinasco replied that their longstroke was properly balanced, tested over long distances, and unlike MecEur and Mazzuchelli, was a true performance part, not merely a substitute, replacement part. I'm now inclining to the longstroke and have since ordered one from Motostore.com.

Here is a link to a primer of Vespa crank modifications:

http://www.scooterhelp.com/tuning/vespa.cranks.html

4. T5 4th Gear

This closes up the gap between the 3rd and the 4th gears. Means your engine revs faster in 4th, but good for overtaking trucks on the motorways. There are different T5 4th gears available -- I don't understand the difference between them, so I'm just going for a stock T5 4th gear.

5. 26mm Vortex Carburettor

This carburettor is always going to be a controversial choice and I'm sure many will criticise my choice. Most purists will opt for something like a 28 or 30mm Malossi reed valve carb or perhaps a Keihin or Mikuni carb with similar specs. Bascially the idea is to move towards a reed valve and to drop the stock carb. I may end up going for something like that if this Vortex carb doesn't work out for me. The reason I chose the Vortex was probably the worst reason -- laziness. I love the separate oil reservoir on the PX200E and I don't want to give up my oil pump. Mixing oil and fuel is a pain in the backside which I put up with for years. When I moved to a PX200E I never wanted to go back to mixing oil and fuel again. If you consider that I travel 100kms a day, and that you'd be lucky to get 170-180 "real" kms out of a PX200 tank, you will realise that I basically have to put fuel and oil into my bike every day. Mixing is just another chore to add to the stress of daily commuting. Anyway,  lots of people have told me this emotional attachment to the oil pump is sheer insanity -- running the oil pump 'wide' (so you always get the maximum amount of oil) as is done with Vortex ain't exactly scientific and the mixture can be lean or too rich. In any event, at this point, I'm putting my faith in the Vortex SI 26/26 carb; I know I may have to revise my choice at some point, but at this point, this is how things stand.

Click here to learn about the Vortex carb:

http://www.hotrodscooters.com/

6. Sito Plus Exhaust

A standard, but modest upgrade for lightly tuned Vespas. It's basically just a larger version of the stock standard exhaust found on P-series bikes.

A similar design but more aggressive and supposedly sturdier is the T5 Exhaust Pro available from SIP. A three times the price of the Sito Plus, you hesitate and wonder whether you'd really like to fork out $300 for a pretty unexciting bit of kit.

July 2010:I've now settled on this pipe, about which I've read nothing but rave reviews (and there are hundreds of these):

Hot Wing 226 Exhaust

Although this pipe was not designed specifically for touring, it is said to produce lots of torque in the lower revs, and heaps of performance in the higher revs -- in other words, just what we're looking for in a touring pipe.

7. Reinforced Cosa Clutch basket

With all the faster revving you're making your engine do, you need a reinforced clutch basket. A ring welded around the basket provides the necessary reinforcement for a clutch in a moderately tuned performance engine.

31.11.2010 Update: I just discovered and ordered this beautiful, handmade cosa clutch bell in Hamburg, Germany. It's CNC milled, massively thick (hence does not need the addition of a ring), 16x spring (although you can use any combination of even number of springs 8,10,12,14, or 16) and requires an enlarged clutch cover made by the same firm in Hamburg.

8. Shock Absorbers: Bitubo or Fournales?

A more powerful PX requires an upgrade in suspension -- do I go for the Bitubo (ugly things) or the beautiful but ridiculously expensive Fournales? The Fournales work with compressed air (you need a pump to get these shocks working). It sort of worries me that once the valve goes, there's no suspension.

Here are the Bitubos:

9. Windscreen (yuk!)    

I've always thought windscreens on Vespas look pretty camp, but such is my passion for horsepower that I am willing to bite the bullet and submit to the wise counsel of internetscooter (see his helpful comments below). I continue to amaze myself -- never could I have imagined that I would ever acquiesce to putting one of those pvc things on my headset. You may know the famous saying of the Roman poet Horace, brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio: I struggle to be brief -- instead I become obscure. That may be paraphrased: urbanus esse laboro, mollis fio: I stuggle to be hip -- instead I become camp.