Edgar Casenave is the Vespa technician specialist at Motoscoot.net. He is the one who has promoted and developed this project. He is also a mechanic and has been in charge of developing the Motoscoot Vespa SP1 for VTR24H endurance races.
Motoscoot’s Vespa SP1 preparation, step by step
Together with Edgar, in this post we introduce you to the changes and processes needed to bring this Motoscoot Vespa preparation to life:
Chassis:
We have worked on a very common chassis for these projects, Vespa PK XL. The modifications have been several; on the one hand, has been reinforced with a longitudinal bar as a central reinforcement, to give rigidity in the face of possible twists, and in this we have mounted two suspenders that anchor on the engine shaft. All made of aluminum to try to add as little weight as possible.
The front and rear parts of the bodywork have been suppressed; allowing to mount a sub chassis and a front made in fiber. These incorporate 3D printed crash protectors and two autonomous LED rear lights.
Due to the regulations, carbon sheets cut to size have been installed in the central part of the Vespa Motoscoot (under the reinforcement bar). They act as protection in case of an accident with another scooter.
Anti-crash stops have been added to the drive shaft to minimize damage and protect other more delicate parts.
Front axle:
We start from the base of a steering fork coming from a Piaggio Zip SP, we turn and machine the upper part to weld a Polini insert, we add a caliper support, caliper and disc from the hand of Stage6 with sintered Galfer pads and a Polini bushing. We complete the set with a shock absorber with several adjustment possibilities from the manufacturer F.G Gubellini.
Rear:
A Malossi RS24 shock from Zip SP is mounted with uniball or ball joint on top and special anchors.
The fuel tank comes from the world of karts, has a capacity of 8 l and to get the gasoline to the carburetor, it is done through a Mikuni depression pump.
Handlebars:
The handlebar of the Vespa Motoscoot comes from a Vespa 200 TX (metal main body) and clamp type anchorage, on which are mounted the solid aluminum shanks, which offer greater resistance in case of a fall. As for the instrument panel, a multifunction display with Polini EGT/RPM/Hour counter is added, which provides us with the combustion temperature, so important on the track, at all times. A Tomasselli gas control and a formula brake pump with Galfer brake hose are chosen to achieve a more than sufficient feel in the front end.
Engine:
In this section we start with a complete Quattrini C-1 crankcase, to which is mounted a 144c.c Pinasco Big Bore cylinder, a handcrafted Fabbri Racing counterbalanced Fabbri Racing crankshaft for the Ø60 piston and a Keihin PWK 28 carburetor.
Relying on the Italian manufacturer, we completed this engine with a CM4 clutch to obtain the reliability so necessary in endurance racing, a TOP crosshead essential to maintain a good feel and precision for much longer, a primary 3rd / 4th short 10 14 17 20 that engages with any original secondary.
Despite the great variety, we opted for a Vespatronic 1 kg variable ignition. Its simplicity, effectiveness and durability make it a safe bet, to which we mounted some blades made in CNC to obtain greater ventilation flow.
At the moment we are developing two exhausts with the manufacturer Voca, this allows us to disassemble the wheel without having to loosen a single nut.
In the mechanical parts, it is essential to control very well clearances, tightening torques and tolerances; to achieve a perfect finish, it is necessary to use specific tools such as extractor, pinion extractor, centering devices, special wrenches, etc.
Painting on the chassis:
During the welding and reinforcement process of the Vespa Motoscoot chassis, new joints are generated, which have been polished and sandblasted (also to be able to detect possible rust spots of the original bodywork, so common on these scooters). Once all the welds have been reworked, it is painted with powder paint and baked in oven to give it maximum hardness.
Tires:
A critical point in this type of testing is the choice of tires. It all depends on the circuit, the times between changes, the driver’s driving style, the weather, etc. In this case PMT tires have been mounted, choosing a hard Slick for the rear and a Slick Soft for the front.
Approximate hours:
- Engine assembly: 10h
- Cleaning, sanitizing, reinforcement and chassis assembly: 13h
- Painting: 4h
- Adaptation of suspensions: 9h
- Wiring, electricity, telemetry: 6 hours.
What is recommended to bring spare parts to a race?
It is a complex point, since there is a high component of luck. Of course we must not forget the consumables (brake pads, tires…), nor the elements most likely to break in case of a fall (brake/clutch levers, starter lever…). It is also important to consider electrical points that are easy to replace.
In this case, engine components will be added: a cylinder, an exhaust, a wheel kit and some parts of the bodywork.
It must be taken into account that all the pilots are a big family, and the most normal thing is to end up visiting different boxes asking if someone can leave you the only part that you have not remembered to add to the list.
EXPERIENCE OF THE 2019 RACE
The first thing is to say that we had a great time and we are already looking forward to repeat. Despite being the first year we managed to place 15th out of 60.
We started the race in the middle of the grid and gradually we climbed positions, until about the sixth hour approx, by bad luck we encountered an accident of another participant, which we could not dodge and made us fall to the ground losing positions.
The result of this incident was that we went into the pits because the pump had run out of pressure because the hose came loose, we straightened the handlebars, cleaned the dirt that was deposited on the carburetor grille, and back to the track!
We only went in to change tires twice, the PMT mediums melted in about 6 hours and we changed the rear tire 3 times.
Otherwise we did not touch a single screw of the preparation and the materials held up perfectly, the Vespa Motoscoot behaved like a champion!