A fairly common Vespa

Here we have a classic example of something loads of Vespa P200 owner do… bolt on a pipe! That’s it, nothing more. This is a bog-standard P200, with 24/24 carb and it’s just had a Scorpion pipe fitted. This particular scooter had just been ridden back from the Scooterist Meltdown in Germany, and as all P2s do, it plodded on admirably. As mentioned in previous articles a standard P200 runs around 9.0-9.5hp on my dyno.

With a pipe like this bolted on, I’d expect to see only 1-2hp more, but at higher revs than a standard factory pipe. And that’s exactly what we have here. The standard engine, with Scorpion pipe, was putting out 10.7hp on the dyno… a common result (see graph 1). So our intention is to bolt-off, bolt-on and re-dyno. Anyone who has ever fitted one of these kits, or read the little booklet Malossi provide with their kits, will know they actually give basic measurements you can use to modify your crank inlet timing, casing inlet timing, and crankcase transfers (see Fig 2-3). In order to get full power, this is recommended… but not everyone has the ability to do this, or can afford to pay to have it done. So for now, let’s see what the average Joe will get.