Fancy a 2+bhp increase for nothing ?

[Adam_Winstone]

[drunkmunkey6969]

Hi johnny XS, thanks for your feedback, always good to hear what people think and to get their responses to what we are doing in the magazine. Hopefully i can answer some of your questions and comments below.

Is this to be an article about Bang for buck Tuning ....or an expensive scooter upgrade article ?

It is about bang for buck tuning, the clue is in the title. However in order to achieve bang for buck results, readers must gain some sort of knowledge, an overview if you will. Therefore, if Darrell runs a series of tests using lots of different components then he can deduce what is in fact 'bang for buck' and what is not. That gives the reader a better knowledge base for the reason to do A instead of B, and doesn't leave them wondering 'why didn't they try this?'.

Anyone vaguely interested in this tuning series will either already have last months magazine or will make it their business to obtain a copy of the article.

No, not at all. The interesting thing about magazine buying trends is that you will have a hardcore (usually subscribers) who get every edition, and then a large 'glut' of readers who will buy say 6-8 editions per year, and a small number who will buy less than 6 editions per year. The idea is to give an overview for those who buy sporadically, its far more helpful that way, and doesn't compromise any information or facts for the regular reader.

This is followed by a 3x page perfunctory breeze through a complete scooter upgrade ?

No, that's not an accurate assessment. It was a layman's guide to basic upgrades on the engine only, which is absolutely necessary if you want to take the engine to the next stage. To guide a reader through potential tuning techniques and not address basic upgrades would be ridiculous.

‘In my garage we had a basic rule of thumb ‘ .....Just who is writing this article anyway?

I wrote it. Everything depends on available time for the magazine and the contributor. If Darrell is short of time i can visit, glean the info and report. If Darrell has time, he can write the report. The important thing for me is to get the info and the facts/results out to the reader.

If it is a collaborative effort then it should say so .

It did, at the end of the article.

At this early stage of the series it would appear to me that we are investing well over £1500 already in upgrades and I am left wondering just where our ‘Bang for Buck’ has gone ...

The engine upgrades to handle extra power are: Chain, sprocket, clutch plates, clutch springs, chain slipper, main bearings, oil seals, seal plate, con-rod/bearing. Circa £170 total. Darrell also fitted a better piston, not because it was needed at this stage, but for what is to come. I believe a nice piston starts around £90+
If you wish to fit a an expansion, which Darrell does in coming editions, you can buy something decent for as little as £160
At this stage all tests were run with a small/standard carb which was up-jetted, but Dellorto cabs start from as little as £89.

So everything is about choice, stages: If you want to simply 'adjust' your engine and fit no components then Part 1 of the series is for you, if you want to test a few bolt-on/bolt-off components, then Parts 2 & 3 might suit you, and if you want to start porting cylinders.....then keep reading!

As for bang for buck, its all relative, especially compared to some of the current kits and hi-spec engines out there.....the tuning carried out is about as frugal as you can get per bhp gained, so i hope we are not doing too badly with the feature. Darrell will run a lot of tests, they need not all be considered 'instructions' in the sense of a step 1, 2, 3...but as a series of research articles to show what works, and what does not. The choice is then left with the reader, and they should have sufficient info to help shape their choices.

I hope you enjoy the coming editions

[Knowledge]

A good reply Dan, and welcome to the forum.

I have already been guilty of being impatient for these articles to progress, but I accept that you have a job to do with preparing these articles and distributing them across future editions. It's what an editor is employed to do.

Personally, I am not too concerned if there is any drift away from the original title of the article, as long as there is something new for me to learn, or something to confirm whether I have been doing it right or wrong all these years. If it is about tuning, I'll read it.

Martin

[Eden]

I haven't seen a copy of scootering for about a year so don't know if what I'm about to say is a fact or not but it woukd be much better imo if the articles about tuning had input from as many different "tuners" as possible rather than from one or two.
From what I have heard and read around the Internet it seems Darrel's opinion is seen by scootering magazine as being the only one that counts, when infact there are many different trains of thought on the subject.

Apologies if there is input from other "tuners" in these articles.

[johnnyXS]

Hi johnny XS, thanks for your feedback, always good to hear what people think and to get their responses to what we are doing in the magazine. Hopefully i can answer some of your questions and comments below.

Is this to be an article about Bang for buck Tuning ....or an expensive scooter upgrade article ?

It is about bang for buck tuning, the clue is in the title. However in order to achieve bang for buck results, readers must gain some sort of knowledge, an overview if you will. Therefore, if Darrell runs a series of tests using lots of different components then he can deduce what is in fact 'bang for buck' and what is not. That gives the reader a better knowledge base for the reason to do A instead of B, and doesn't leave them wondering 'why didn't they try this?'.

Anyone vaguely interested in this tuning series will either already have last months magazine or will make it their business to obtain a copy of the article.

No, not at all. The interesting thing about magazine buying trends is that you will have a hardcore (usually subscribers) who get every edition, and then a large 'glut' of readers who will buy say 6-8 editions per year, and a small number who will buy less than 6 editions per year. The idea is to give an overview for those who buy sporadically, its far more helpful that way, and doesn't compromise any information or facts for the regular reader.

This is followed by a 3x page perfunctory breeze through a complete scooter upgrade ?

No, that's not an accurate assessment. It was a layman's guide to basic upgrades on the engine only, which is absolutely necessary if you want to take the engine to the next stage. To guide a reader through potential tuning techniques and not address basic upgrades would be ridiculous.

‘In my garage we had a basic rule of thumb ‘ .....Just who is writing this article anyway?

I wrote it. Everything depends on available time for the magazine and the contributor. If Darrell is short of time i can visit, glean the info and report. If Darrell has time, he can write the report. The important thing for me is to get the info and the facts/results out to the reader.

If it is a collaborative effort then it should say so .

It did, at the end of the article.

At this early stage of the series it would appear to me that we are investing well over £1500 already in upgrades and I am left wondering just where our ‘Bang for Buck’ has gone ...

The engine upgrades to handle extra power are: Chain, sprocket, clutch plates, clutch springs, chain slipper, main bearings, oil seals, seal plate, con-rod/bearing. Circa £170 total. Darrell also fitted a better piston, not because it was needed at this stage, but for what is to come. I believe a nice piston starts around £90+
If you wish to fit a an expansion, which Darrell does in coming editions, you can buy something decent for as little as £160
At this stage all tests were run with a small/standard carb which was up-jetted, but Dellorto cabs start from as little as £89.

So everything is about choice, stages: If you want to simply 'adjust' your engine and fit no components then Part 1 of the series is for you, if you want to test a few bolt-on/bolt-off components, then Parts 2 & 3 might suit you, and if you want to start porting cylinders.....then keep reading!

As for bang for buck, its all relative, especially compared to some of the current kits and hi-spec engines out there.....the tuning carried out is about as frugal as you can get per bhp gained, so i hope we are not doing too badly with the feature. Darrell will run a lot of tests, they need not all be considered 'instructions' in the sense of a step 1, 2, 3...but as a series of research articles to show what works, and what does not. The choice is then left with the reader, and they should have sufficient info to help shape their choices.

I hope you enjoy the coming editions

sorry but this just isn't true !

The very first upgrade you mention in the second article is an Expansion Exhaust. I cannot find any to be had in the UK below £250 which makes your statement of the total upgrade costs being less than £170 nonsense.
exhaust c £250.00+
The two Koyo crank bearings c £60.00
Wossner piston and ring kit c £110.00
Yamaha rod and bearing kit c £120.00
caburettor upgrade ?? c £100+ ??
Boxenstop brake kit c £55.00

We already have £700.00 of upgrades without all the other incidental stuff .

I think the issue I have with this article is the lack of clarity from the outset about the direction intention and goals.

The title is in my view completely misleading and therein lies my major contention.
There was nothing in the May issue about this article being about expensive upgrading and the pursuit of outright power.
quote 'Cheap power using old school tuning techniques' its turned out to be nothing of the sort.

You appear to be contradicting what you have said in the article about the intention of the series.
One minute it is an ongoing series about old school tuning the next minute it is a bunch of seperate self contained articles complete in themselves.?

You claim that the article is ' everything is about choice, stages: If you want to simply 'adjust' your engine and fit no components then Part 1 of the series is for you, '
Yet the first article has completely skipped over,.. fuel and air delivery ..... porting...... electrics..... ignition and timing. Not really a complete tuning article.

I found the first installment fascinating, informative and full of promise. What I feel I got in the second installment was an article about Dan's opinion and experience of tuning and upgrading a Sil200 engine for peak power. I am sure these are going to be an interesting and informative set of articles but I think you need to be perfectly clear about the subject matter and the goal of this feature. A contents list wouldn't go amiss.

At the end of the day the last thing I want to do is get into an argument about this.
I am merely voicing my opinion as a scootering magazine reader about the article . My critique is about my personal perception and assessment of the article and I was and am dissapointed about where this article seems to be headed.

[Knowledge]

I haven't seen a copy of scootering for about a year so don't know if what I'm about to say is a fact or not but it would be much better imo if the articles about tuning had input from as many different "tuners" as possible rather than from one or two.

I hear what you are saying Eden, and I agree, but there is a risk that too many opinions will muddy the waters. There was an article in Scootering a couple of years ago where they canvassed the opinions of several tuners about the best sealants to use of base gaskets and head gaskets, and got completely contradictory responses. This was not as helpful as it should have been.

Darrell is an interesting tuner for the scooter world, as he has not come to tuning through scooters, but through other lines of two-stroke tuning, so his approach is quite fresh.

I think it would be wise to continue this thread of articles based on Darrell's work, then start a new line of articles with another tuner, and so on. It would have more legs that way.....

[drunkmunkey6969]

sorry but this is utter rubbish !
if you are going to criticise another members opinion then at least have the courtesy to get your facts right .

Sorry johnnyXS, it wasn't meant as a criticism. I was merely addressing some of your criticisms with a few answers, apologies if you feel unjustly criticised in any way.

First of all the very first upgrade you mention in the second article is an expansion exhaust. I cannot find any to be had in the UK below £250 which makes your statement of the total upgrade costs being less than £170 nonsense.

My figure of £170 was for: Chain, sprocket, clutch plates, clutch springs, chain slipper, main bearings, oil seals, seal plate, con-rod/bearing...which is easily achievable. NOT including exhaust/carb etc, I listed the other items separately as they are not essential upgrades, but optional.

exhaust c £250.00+
The two Koyo crank bearings c £60.00
Wossner piston and ring kit c £110.00
Yamaha rod and bearing kit c £120.00
caburettor upgrade ?? c £100+ ??
Boxenstop brake kit c £55.00

Expansions can be bought for as little as £150: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAMBRETTA-SER ... SwxcRW8pBn

However the one Darrell used in his test is the TSR Evo exhaust and the retail price is indeed £169.99 https://www.thescooterrepublic.co.uk/la ... hausts-c58

Koyo crank bearing kit is £33 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KOYO-Japanese ... SweW5VUj1S

I'm sure you're right about the cost of a Wossner, although other pistons are available for £90+

Conrod kits are generally £30-£40 http://yambits.co.uk/rd350-ypvs-conrod-kit-p-12057.html

I sold Dellorto 25, 26 & 30mm carbs for the past 6 years, i always sold them for £89.95

Boxenstop is indeed circa £55, but that is optional...a decent set of rear shoes from Beedspeed, MB, Chisel (or other ) will be less than £15...and as long as they replace the standard SIL item, that is all that matter.


So the base upgrade items are indeed circa £170 ....but we digress!

Its unfortunate if you didn't enjoy Part 2 as much as you did Part 1, they often say the squeal is never as good as the original...lol....

Hopefully your faith will be restored in Parts 3 & 4

[drunkmunkey6969]

I haven't seen a copy of scootering for about a year so don't know if what I'm about to say is a fact or not but it woukd be much better imo if the articles about tuning had input from as many different "tuners" as possible rather than from one or two.
From what I have heard and read around the Internet it seems Darrel's opinion is seen by scootering magazine as being the only one that counts, when infact there are many different trains of thought on the subject.

Apologies if there is input from other "tuners" in these articles.

Interesting point, and all i'll say is....we can only fit so much in each edition at a time, so people may indeed find contributions from a variety of people, on a variety of topics...but spread over a period of time rather than all in one article.

I also tend to find that people are very willing to judge the entire reputation of the magazine on just one edition, rather than waiting to see what comes next. Its interesting to observe.

However, none of this will matter to you as you don't read the magazine

[drunkmunkey6969]

A good reply Dan

I'm glad you think so

I thought i was being helpful

[johnnyXS]

Expansions can be bought for as little as £150: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAMBRETTA-SER ... SwxcRW8pBn

However the one Darrell used in his test is the TSR Evo exhaust and the retail price is indeed £169.99 https://www.thescooterrepublic.co.uk/la ... hausts-c58

Koyo crank bearing kit is £33 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KOYO-Japanese ... SweW5VUj1S

I'm sure you're right about the cost of a Wossner, although other pistons are available for £90+

Conrod kits are generally £30-£40 http://yambits.co.uk/rd350-ypvs-conrod-kit-p-12057.html

I sold Dellorto 25, 26 & 30mm carbs for the past 6 years, i always sold them for £89.95

Boxenstop is indeed circa £55, but that is optional...a decent set of rear shoes from Beedspeed, MB, Chisel (or other ) will be less than £15...and as long as they replace the standard SIL item, that is all that matter.


So the base upgrade items are indeed circa £170 ....but we digress!

Its unfortunate if you didn't enjoy Part 2 as much as you did Part 1, they often say the squeal is never as good as the original...lol....

Hopefully your faith will be restored in Parts 3 & 4

Well I make that little lot add up to £478.00 without the clutch upgrade and other components but lets not split hairs.
Scootering magazine has certainly improved leaps and bounds this year and these series of articles promise to maintain that .
I just wish that the article had stuck to the initial brief which was old school tuning techniques.

I think there was a lot of stuff which should have been covered before upgrading, such as Ignition ,timing, fuel/oil mix, inlet and exhaust porting, gearing, etc .....which would have made the the Old school tuning techniques feature complete.

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

For what it’s worth, I have read the articles in Scootering Magazine. I doubt I would feel qualified to comment without doing so.

Before I state my view, I think it reasonable to give an insight into my pedigree regardless of whether my own opinions carry any weight……

I have constantly owned Lambrettas of the Series III type for 43 years & have been a road-going scooter builder/rider &/or a road racing scooter builder/rider in most, if not all of that time. I’ve yet to graduate to becoming a Mod, unfortunately….Ha!

I have learnt a lot over the years through experience, but principally by being prepared to listen to what others say.

Possibly because of his challenging personality that many mistook for his ego, Dave Webster (RIP) was intrinsic to the learning of my generation of sporting scooterists because he was prepared to write down his recommendations for all to see. Such was his technical knowledge allied to his superb riding ability, he was confident enough to be transparent in sharing this information. I only ever knew of one ‘secret’ that he didn’t reveal & that concerned gearing on the first version of Three Sisters.

The crafty b*gger was using something many of us hadn’t even dreamt of. A 14 tooth sprocket with GP 125 gearing.

However, it is my sincere belief that he would build a race engine to the same specification as his own, which made him fairly unique, unless anybody knows otherwise.


So here comes the opinion:

I won't/can’t state my thoughts on what has been said by other Forum users thus far as, unfortunately, or not, I ‘get’ what I think the aim of the exercise is.

I’m not the type to discredit others that I may not be well acquainted with, but so far, the articles within Scootering Magazine are well written & informative. Neither of the two contributors are currently scooter builder/racers as far as I am aware, but none the worse for that.

I know neither Dan or Darrel personally, but to my mind, their only agenda would be to show how it may be best to optimise what power & torque is available by making a series of changes to an ‘off the shelf’ item.

Again, to my mind, it’s fairly logical to see through that process with the one ‘team’ being responsible, so I’m not one to advocate other tuning shops get involved @ this stage. Just as I wouldn’t opt to have a three piece suit made by three sets of tailors. So I may yet have potential to become a Mod. Hooray!

In all seriousness, who is to say that this initiative by Scootering might not spawn a series of articles by other tuning houses that have a different take on evolving a Lambretta Series III engine in their own particular way?

Do I hear the sound of a heavy leather gauntlet being thrown down? I do hope so!





PS Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Dan! Is that alright? Can I have that job now?

[Eden]

his approach is quite fresh.

is it?
I and many other threw much of the old "scooter tuning" theories out the window long ago, the bike world has always been the best place for learning how to get the best out of a two stroke, and there are many different trains of thought there also even among manufacturers. There are also many controversial ideas banded around in the bike world as well as the scooter world.

Somender SINGH springs to mind, how many of you have heard of him or heard of his groove theory? its quite old now but still argued about

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

Eden:

Somender SINGH springs to mind, how many of you have heard of him or heard of his groove theory? its quite old now but still argued about

I haven’t heard of him but I hope you might acknowledge that whoever we may consider to be a pioneer, it takes that kind of person, with proof of their credibility within their results, prepared to be ‘transparent’ in sharing that knowledge, for any of us to benefit. How many Forum users on here would believe the proven experimentation that I have posted on here that concluded that ring gap is not the massive loss of efficiancy it is held to be? It is the effectiveness of the ring to seal that matters most, the radial properties!

Personally, I can’t make any such bold, ground-breaking claims & I would champion those that do.

Dave Webster & Darrel Taylor prepared machines have faultless, incredible reputations of their time, & I believe, possibly naively, that transparency is evident. (If that’s not a misnomer, I don’t know what is!)

Unquestionably, Charly Edmonds was/is the best Lambretta tuner ever IMHO, even taking the likes of Ralph Saxelby, Guy Topper & others that I have not named, into account, but, with great respect to any of them, their complete knowledge is something we don’t have access to, as far as I know. That’s not in any way a criticism of them, but they don’t currently subscribe to be involved in an analytical series of articles, or simply haven’t been asked, in evolving a Lambretta engine to a higher state of tune for anybody to emulate.

I may be wrong, but I believe the honest, simple remit of some part of the Magazine is to currently write a guide of how any of us can find out how a successful tuner would use their methodical approach to optimise an ancient, flawed design & reap some improvement. I'd sooner read that & applaud that than read about rallies, for instance, but that is my choice, just as it is yours to not do so. For all that, you & I do have some common ground even if we are both outspoken in differing ways

[drunkmunkey6969]

PS Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Dan! Is that alright? Can I have that job now?

Almost perfect Mark, you just forgot to tell everyone to subscribe to the mag and provide a link to a subs offer......

[CHRIS in MARGATE]

Personally I think having the editor posting on this forum and sometimes having to defend his publication of a magazine that some regard as "marmite" to be a very brave and honest approach.
It was after reading about the changes at "Scootering" over on Scooterotica that I decided to buy it for the first time in many years. This was almost certainly down to your enthusiasm and honesty. I enjoyed it that much that I will be ordering a back copy to catch up with previous articles.
Tuning ? Well in my little world I consider that I am the best but that's only best for what I want, nobody else. I have been experimenting for over 45 years with a good level of success and a good number of disasters.
I think Mark's quote relating to a 3 piece suite supplied from different sources sums it up for me. I personally dont think that there is one tuning supremo who stands head and shoulders above all for all states of tune but there are certainly a high number of genuinely acclaimed and proven tuning gurus that will deliver a tune to your requirements. There are basic rules that all tuners have to follow and for the road there has to be built in longevity and reliability so as per the latest issue changing the weaker components has to be the starting point.
I will now continue to buy and read the magazine and if it enters a period when I believe that it is of no further value to me, then I shall withdraw my support but in the meantime keep up the excellent work Dan, if I may call you Dan and keep delivering an improved magazine that "nobody" reads but still know the entire contents of. Yeah right !

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

by drunkmunkey6969 » Wed Jun 15, 2016 3:53 am

Warkton Tornado No.1 wrote:

PS Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Dan! Is that alright? Can I have that job now?



Almost perfect Mark, you just forgot to tell everyone to subscribe to the mag and provide a link to a subs offer......

by CHRIS in MARGATE » Wed Jun 15, 2016 8:47 am
Personally I think having the editor posting on this forum and sometimes having to defend his publication of a magazine that some regard as "marmite" to be a very brave and honest approach.
It was after reading about the changes at "Scootering" over on Scooterotica that I decided to buy it for the first time in many years. This was almost certainly down to your enthusiasm and honesty. I enjoyed it that much that I will be ordering a back copy to catch up with previous articles.
Tuning ? Well in my little world I consider that I am the best but that's only best for what I want, nobody else. I have been experimenting for over 45 years with a good level of success and a good number of disasters.
I think Mark's quote relating to a 3 piece suite supplied from different sources sums it up for me. I personally dont think that there is one tuning supremo who stands head and shoulders above all for all states of tune but there are certainly a high number of genuinely acclaimed and proven tuning gurus that will deliver a tune to your requirements. There are basic rules that all tuners have to follow and for the road there has to be built in longevity and reliability so as per the latest issue changing the weaker components has to be the starting point.
I will now continue to buy and read the magazine and if it enters a period when I believe that it is of no further value to me, then I shall withdraw my support but in the meantime keep up the excellent work Dan, if I may call you Dan and keep delivering an improved magazine that "nobody" reads but still know the entire contents of. Yeah right !

Wow! That’s two ‘positives’….!

Wait a minute. Does two positives make a negative?

[Eden]

Interesting points of view.

I reserve my judgment of who's tunes are good by how many of their motors put in successful miles year in year out doing "fast" long distance miles rather than who's tunes put out the most BHP.

Imo and it's only my opinion, there are many more people who have fast tunes who never ride more than 50 miles in a day. These tuned motors are often tuned for these people knowing the motor will never be expected to sit on a motorway at 70 mph for 500 miles in one day so the tune can be much closer to the edge than a motor tuned for killing miles rather than MPH.

Horses for courses and all that, my initial point about the scootering article was that other people's opinions would bring some ballance. Obviously from the two or three replies to that in this topic it seems I'm alone in that opinion which is good news for the magazine as it's obviously appealing to the masses which to survive it has to do.

One day I might buy a copy, who knows.

[johnnyXS]

, my initial point about the scootering article was that other people's opinions would bring some ballance. Obviously from the two or three replies to that in this topic it seems I'm alone in that opinion .

I think your suggestion is an excellent one, although i'm not sure how a magazine article featuring the experience and advice of numerous 'experts' could actually be put together. it would be a nightmare I think it might be more practical to run a series of seperate tuning articles from say the top 6x builders/tuners

You are of course quite right when you say that the majority of scooterists with high power engines have an entirely inappropriate type and state of tune for the use they put their scooters to. I suspect that very few owners ordering a new built engine would opt for the sensible power choice that was suitable for their proposed riding, despite the advice of the engine builder. Then they wonder why the engine seizes or blows up a few months later because they do not have the basic knowledge and experience to check and maintain their high performance engines properly.!

Its the same with cars....We nearly all buy cars with considerably more top speed, acceleration and handling that we could ever use on our daily 10 mile commute to work .Where in the UK could you drive your RS Ford Focus at 165+ MPH.....????? its crazy but we still buy these cars . I have one myself ( not an RS Focus I hasten to add )

Hey Eden how about writing an engine build / tune article yourself !? Not necessarily for the magazine but on the forum for other LCGB members

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

Post by Eden » Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:20 am
Interesting points of view.

I reserve my judgment of who's tunes are good by how many of their motors put in successful miles year in year out doing "fast" long distance miles rather than who's tunes put out the most BHP.

Imo and it's only my opinion, there are many more people who have fast tunes who never ride more than 50 miles in a day. These tuned motors are often tuned for these people knowing the motor will never be expected to sit on a motorway at 70 mph for 500 miles in one day so the tune can be much closer to the edge than a motor tuned for killing miles rather than MPH.

Horses for courses and all that, my initial point about the scootering article was that other people's opinions would bring some ballance. Obviously from the two or three replies to that in this topic it seems I'm alone in that opinion which is good news for the magazine as it's obviously appealing to the masses which to survive it has to do.

One day I might buy a copy, who knows.

Despite my age, I think it’s important to try & keep an open mind about many other subjects besides Lambretta tuning.

I feel almost apologetic in that, as I’ve already stated, I just happen to ‘get it’ as far as what I perceive the Scootering articles are trying to achieve.

Credit where it’s due, Eden, I also ‘get’ what you do, & enjoy the contributions that you make to Lambretta engine advancement, whichever medium you choose to communicate them.

We’re really all ‘on side’ if we feel any passion toward Lambretta engines & their advancement, but I suspect that encompasses a love of two strokes in many of us!

Tangential to Lambretta Love, for instance I was thrilled to read about the success of the team some time ago in campaigning an old, flawed two stroke engine by way of a Saab 96 in the classic racing. The team had opposition from ‘proper’ sports cars of the period, but, by applying the principles that have been learnt about two strokes since the original car was conceived, they were able to blitz the competition.

There must be much of a similar spirit within the likes of the regular, sporting, road going Lambretta rider in trying to achieve similar goals, rather than opt for, say, a modern auto-engined look-a-like, or even a V*spa.

Having just said that, although we’re sponges, soaking up knowledge that we might be able to apply, I think we are also so conservative, in some ways. You may have noticed I like to challenge some of the ‘standards’ that seem to be rigidly adhered to.

I well remember having the p#ss ripped out of me, & it still occurs now, for buying a carburettor that was so different to the prevailing Amals that dominated the paddock in Group Four in the Eighties. I realise now that although the rest of the engine package was probably not up to muster because I only ever got as high as second places, but with that also comes the realisation only now the fact that I failed to ever set up the carburettor properly. That is only possible through the gain of knowledge.

Simply put, I had no idea back then that certain E.I. carburettors used Mikuni slow running jets. Although Lectrons are even today held in high revere, Bill Edmonston went on to design an even better flat slide carburettor, but this time, with an ‘H’ section slide in the Magnum range.

The likes of Mikuni & Keihin were forced to adopt flat slides as a consequence; such is the importance of the slide function & effect.

Yet, how many Forum users are prepared to stray from the Dell’Orto round slide range when fitting a larger carb than standard?

That’s why we all need to keep being ‘sponges’ but also challenging convention & sharing information.

For instance, I might not use one (yet!) but I’m keen to read how very few Forum users are trying PWK carburettors & getting extremely positive results. I don’t doubt their value (for the genuine OKO/Koso items) & their ability to punch above their weight, with a Ø30 mm choke possibly being the ‘equivalent’ of a Ø36 mm Dell’Orto without any, or very few vices of a larger choke.

So, despite there being choice about how to enhance the engines of our shopping machines other than Scootering magazine, I applaud their initiative in sharing information that many two stroke tuners would never reveal.

[Eden]

Hey Eden how about writing an engine build / tune article yourself !? Not necessarily for the magazine but on the forum for other LCGB members

Ive wrote many things over the years and quite often given all the info needed to replicate the motor, My cast 240's progress over the years was catalogued on one of my sites with all the info laid bare, that hasn't had any updates for a few years due to it not being used due to the GT big block prototype testing which was also catalogued,
On my facebook page I have albums for nearly every build ive done for people as well as my own builds, the latest being the build I did last Thursday around the first GT intercontinental 200 engine case which ive linked to right here on this forum, I have also offered to do a piece for Dan for scootering but received very little interest, probably due to our shaky past tbh lol.

Lots of other people also put info out there, you just have to know where to look.

how many Forum users are prepared to stray from the Dell’Orto round slide range when fitting a larger carb than standard?

That’s why we all need to keep being ‘sponges’ but also challenging convention & sharing information.

For instance, I might not use one (yet!) but I’m keen to read how very few Forum users are trying PWK carburettors & getting extremely positive results. I don’t doubt their value (for the genuine OKO/Koso items) & their ability to punch above their weight, with a Ø30 mm choke possibly being the ‘equivalent’ of a Ø36 mm Dell’Orto without any, or very few vices of a larger choke.

I'm pretty sure I was the first person in the UK to use the keihin air striker on a lambretta back in 2010, http://www.fastscooter.co.uk/forum/view ... airstriker
I tried it because I was sick of wearing out TMX35's and decided on using it because I had seen that many of the blaster riders had changed over to them from the TMX 35, I used it from then till I took my cast 240 off the road to start the GT testing in 2013 which I used and still use phbh carbs on at the request of Richard Taylor (the bloke behind the GT products) because as you say, most people are familiar with them and they are easy to get hold of and jet in.