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More Filthy Lies by Mike Emery ~ Dodgy Photo's By Dave Weaver |
Aprilia SR Vs Italjet Dragster |
There seems to be a new mode of two-wheel fun that's sneaking up on the motorcycling community. It's always been around, but just recently has been a little more prevalent. I'm talking about scooters. Not your average shopping kind either. Sports style, a style that hangs out at the AMA and WSB pit's and the kind you don't mind being seen (and heard) on, and the certainly kind you lust after when you see your favorite factory rider whiz by, usually on one wheel.
We turned in our spare tea, coffee and playboy cash and bought a couple to see what the deal was and to establish if: A) Are they practical? B) Are they tunable? And C) Are they cool enough?
Worst-case scenario is they would be the ultimate race day runabouts or camera vehicles. |
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Chick Magnets
I do hope you're not shy. This two-wheeled wonder turns you into Tom Cruise. All missions are possible, you can even do your own stunts (if you want). The attention you'll get is pretty incredible. I don't know if it's the cute factor of the bike or whether I'm getting more shaggable with age, but I enjoyed more Q and A's about this bike far more than any other exotica I've owned or ridden. I had a tremendous amount of boyfriends pull their girlfriends away from me (and my new ride.) We got lots of positive attention too. Even old grannies love our new scoots. Maybe it's a shopping basket short of their dream bike, who knows? |
Practicality?
No, err yes; actually I'm not sure. The main problem seems to be speed. Yes, I know most motorcycles are never fast enough, but in most instances you must at least be able to keep up with traffic. Sadly, on a modern day 50cc scooter, you can't. With our current moped laws most scooters are restricted to about 30 mph, and that, ladies and germs is the first problem. Whilst riding these vehicles it becomes immediately apparent that with the decent suspension and braking that they enjoy, they could handle two or four times its stock output. Instead you're reduced to a rolling road block that just frustrates you and more importantly the large Buick or three stuck behind you.
For shits and giggles we strapped the Aprilia to Full Spectrum Racings dyno. Stock was 4.1 BHP.
This brings us quite nicely to tuneability. |
More Power! Please.
Most of the modern day scooter's come with the same style Minarelli motor that is either air cooled like the Yamaha Zuma's or Vino or water-cooled like the Italian jobbies. Restriction for the US market is usually in the form of a simple exhaust plug and a little something something within the variator that inhibits top speed. Remove one or both of these and you can achieve an extra 10 to 20% more power, for free. Imagine that sort of increase on your current sportbike. That would certainly put a smile on your face wouldn't it? Well this is scooter world buster, and speed is relative and that smile still comes with that increase, even when we are only talking around 10 mph.
Is it enough? Nope. 'Fraid not. It's still a tad dangerous in traffic, acceleration is better and on par with your average SUV, however, you're potential road kill if you can't top at least 50mph. More speed?
We only want another 10mph...
OK, go get your credit card now. We'll still be here when you get back.
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Aprilia SR50 Tetsuya Harada Replica. |
Now this is the pit transportation of the gods. Massimiliano Biaggi and Valentino Rossi have both been seen aboard this little scooter from the factory in Noele, Italy. The same company that took on the world of two smoke racing and ruled the roost for many World Championships. The build quality of this bike rivals the Mille for attention to detail. It's solidly built, doesn't rattle and is probably one of the fastest stock scooters available in this country. Right out of the box. Top speed was around 40 - 45 mph but acceleration could have been described as brisk, as in brisk walking pace. Styling cues seemed to have been pulled from the Mille, or was it the other way round? This particular bike came with an optional set of passenger pegs and a styling side and center stand. Handling is pretty stable and the whole bike is very roomy. Instrumentation is pretty good too with a reliable fuel level indicator, speedometer and the usual idiot lights.
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However...
We did have an "incident" with this bike. The centerstand ground out during some knee down showing off and we levered the rear wheel off the road with some spectacular results. We don't condone this sort of riding, totally unnecessary, but top laughs. The bike crashed well too.
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Italjet Dragster
I know the word "dragster" conjures up 0-60 times at you local drag meet, but put away all thoughts of going fast, especially whilst in stock form. This became immediately evident in my first "restricted" ride. I was cruising at 50 mile an hour and congratulating myself on having a faster "scoot" than my fellow editor. Unbeknownst to my good self, it was actually 50 KPH (30 mph) and I had a traffic jam behind me that had to be seen, to be believed. Now, I can exaggerate with the best of them, but I probably had 15 cars racked up behind me. As soon as the two-lane road appeared, it wasn't friendly waves, it was at least 15 middle fingers to confirm my progress. The major point about the Dragster, is its unique look. Styling is from the same pen as Miguel Galluzzi… yes, the same Argentinean who designed the Ducati Monster, ciao baby! The trellis frame is oh so similar to a Ducati counterpart and was a major draw to Ducatisti. |
The Italjet looked the part, but unfortunately didn't go the part, having smaller tires than the Aprilia meant it struggled, gearing-wise to hang with the SR. It might get the slight jump on acceleration from standstill, but the SR always pulled it with at least a 5 mph difference. Handling was better than the Aprilia though, right down to knee drag angles, although, like the Aprilia, judicious hanging off was necessary to avoid dragging hardware. Instrumentation was similar to the Aprilia, but with a fuel light instead of level indicator.
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Never mind stock, what about the go fast bits?
Obviously these scoot's are big in Italy, so who to turn to for tuning bits was immediately obvious. Malossi is a big name in hop-up parts for these psuedo racers. The local importer for Malossi was NY based, but we managed to track down a fruit loop in California, who goes by the name of Kregg Williams. Now Kregg runs Californian Speedsports, he's been there, seen it, and done it, as far as hopping up minerelli engined scooters are concerned. Kregg kindly sent us some "stuff" to feed our speed habit.
Yeah, but what did you get?
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Well, we received two of everything. 65cc big bore kits, 22mm carburetors (up from 12mm), straight cut final drive gears, adjustable variators, Arrow performance exhaust systems and beefy drive belts to manage the explosive power delivery we were hoping for. In order to address the speed differential (due to the aforementioned tire circumference) we also got an overdrive kit for the Dragster.
Installation of the Malossi parts was pretty much straight forward. Take a stock part off. Replace it with the appropriate hop-up part. Trial and error is called for, with reference to the variator, a system of weighted pulleys to achieve a low enough gear to pull away and maintain drive at the optimum RPM. We had to adjust ours several times, well worth the extra effort to set up right though.
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Conclusion?
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So now they're perfect, right?
You betcha. Kinda sorta. Power is addictive, and the Malossi kit offered the ultimate fix. The bikes are more pipey now and have lost that soft and cuddly edge. Acceleration is pretty quick and will see off any traffic from a standstill. The scoot's pull fairly hard up to about 40, tail off a tad, and then pull again up to about 65 - 70mph. They are a little noisier, but not too much. They have sort of lost their fluffy exhaust note and are now leaning towards that purposeful, but angry, bee sound. They require a little more attention and a fresh spark plug every then and now. Power jumped to around 9BHP. |
This is the handy bike to have in your garage, that'll stop you racking up miles on your favorite steed. There is a definite danger of it becoming your favorite steed though. As far as performance mods and your bank balance are concerned, buyer beware. Bride on a budget? Exhaust and variator. Donald Trump style taste? Buy everything.
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So, which one is the better scoot?
The Aprilia is easiest to find and buy. The Italjet takes effort. (Aprilia 1 - Italjet 0).
The Italjet is easy to work on, due to the open trellis frame. The Aprilia takes time and the patience of a saint. (Aprilia 1 - Italjet 1).
The Aprilia is fast. The Italjet isn't. (Aprilia 2 - Italjet 1).
The Aprilia looks good. The Italjet tops it on style and handling. (Aprilia 2 - Italjet 2).
The Aprilia has absolutely superb build quality. The Italjet is a little bit "iffy" in places . (Aprilia 3 - Italjet 2).
The Aprilia can be had for less than three grand. The Italjet three and a half.
The Aprilia gets it by 4 to 2.
But if you're a fruit loop, you'll buy the Dragster.
Hey, I did.
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Article Courtesy Of
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