Perhaps eventually I'll make an exhaustive diagram of the things I've done (or am going to do) to customize or upgrade my scooter, like Crystal Waters
has done for her scooter blog. But for now, I just want to mention the latest performance upgrades.
My scooter is currently at about 3100 miles in three months (that's mileage equivalent to your average car - remember that the scooter is my soul method of transportation). At the end of September, my scooter was around 2000 miles and my rear tire, a stock Pirelli, was showing its tread bars, meaning it was getting to be about time to replace it.
If the stock tire can only last about 2000 miles (2 months at my rate), and they cost around $70 plus labor to replace, I would be in a bad situation financially as that would definitely be killing any savings I was making with gas mileage. So for a replacement, I followed a number of recommendations and opted for the extra-wide Continental Zippy 1 tire, which can be found online at
Motorsport Scooters. They supposedly provide better handling, brake performance, and are longer lasting. After a thousand miles, I can certainly vouch for the first two. We'll see how much longer it holds up than the Pirellis.
I haven't switched out the front tire yet, as it wears slower than the rear one and hasn't needed replacing. However, the LX's 11" tires are unusual amongst scooters and I have yet to find a tire other than the Pirelli that wil fit. I'm hoping Continental gets on the ball soon.
Switching out the rear tire on modern Vespas involves removing the exhaust, a little more technically complicated than classic Vespas. 4 stroke modern Vespas also have a suggested maintenance at 2000 miles. So I decided to get all this, taken care of at one time at my dealer, Vespa Sherman Oaks, before the Night of the Vespastics so my bike would be ready for the rally weekend.
Additionally, while the exhaust was off, I thought it'd be a good time to switch it out with an upgraded pipe. Since I wanted a simple upgrade that wouldn't look too unwieldly or sound too loud and annoying, I opted for the
Sito Plus pipe and picked one up at
NoHo Scooters for $130. It was originally made for the ET4, but the ET4 and the LX150 have the same engine so the part works for both. The exhaust has been great thus far. I've noticed a definite improvement in acceleration after about 20mph. I suspect, though I can't confirm if it's true since I'm only going by my observations from riding, that I lost a bit of acceleration off the line up until 20mph. However, I've also found that my top speed on flat ground, tucked, has gone from 64mph to 68mph. I've also found that my top speed while riding two-up with my girlfriend has gone from 55mph to 60+mph. Once again, though, I have to make a disclaimer that these are all mere observations and not proper tests under controlled conditions so actual improvements in performance may vary.
Now I have to rant a bit. My last experience with the mechanic at Vespa Sherman Oaks has left a sour taste in my mouth. I don't doubt the mechanic's abilities, but I don't appreciate his business practices. In addition to paying for the 2000 mile service (roughly $150 for 1.8 hours of labor at $80 an hour plus $30 for parts), the mechanic charged me for changing the rear tire (1 hour of labor). I can understand charging for labor for the tire since there's actual work involved with that with removing the exhaust. But THEN the mechanic wanted to charge me an additional $40 (half an hour of work) to install the Sito Plus exhuast. I immediately objected since there would be no additional work involved. The pipe was already off and he had to replace it anyways. The Sito Plus pipe bolts on the same way the stock does. All he had to do was pick up Sito Plus instead of the stock.
To this, he replied, "Well I still have to charge you."
I repeated that he didn't have to do any extra work. He just needed to put on a different pipe.
So he said, "Okay, I'll cut you a deal..." and removed the $40 installation charge from the service quote.
That's not "cutting me a deal." Cutting me a deal would be discounting the combined labor cost for the 2000 mile service and the rear tire change, since he wasn't working on my scooter for 2.8 hours anyways. What he was doing was simply "not ripping me off."
I was a bit put-off at the cost of my 600 mile service at Vespa Sherman Oaks ($150), but I had thought that to keep it under warranty I needed to have it regularly serviced by a Vespa dealer. I've found that that isn't the case. Under law, regular maintenance (as in oil change, air filter cleaning, etc) can be done by any qualified mechanic or even by myself. Mike at
NoHo Scooters told me they charge around $80 for regular service. Also, luckily, one of my fellow Vespastics is the mechanic at Vespa Santa Monica, and perhaps I could get him to charge me a slightly fairer price than the mechanic at Sherman Oaks. Unfortunately for me this time around, they're backed up with appointments and couldn't see my bike until
after the rally. But either way, for the future at least I know I have options.
