Bigger, better, faster…
Whether it be the kudos of winning best custom, owning the most authentic factory original, or riding the most miles to a rally…scooters tend to bring out the competitive nature in all of us.
Watching a recent online ‘debate’ unravel, which went on for many pages, the age old question arose… who has the fastest scooter? Given the answers, it doesn’t look like an issue that will be settled any time soon. The question specifically asked in this instance was: ‘Who has the fastest road going scooter?’ It is a simple enough question but one that’s virtually impossible to truly answer, as far as I’m concerned, but let me explain why…
First off, there is no universally accepted definition of a ‘road going scooter’. Does it mean it is just (technically) a road legal scooter, or is it one that goes to the pub ride, or perhaps one which goes further afield? Does it have to cover a minimum amount of yearly mileage to be accepted as ‘road going’… or is a race scooter with a ‘daytime MOT’ certificate enough to make it ‘road going’? I doubt it.
Does it have to be full bodied? Assuming it does, how much, if anything, of the bodywork can be lightweight carbon fibre or fibreglass? Does it have to have standard fan cooling, or can it be water cooled? What engine kits can be used? Standard manufacturer only, or exotic aftermarket also? Is there a maximum engine cc allowed? The list of considerations is pretty much endless, and entirely debatable on every count!
A further complication is the fact that there has been no consistent governing body that has a set of regulations which have been in place for any length of time to define such things. There are still people who believe that introducing alloy kit barrels into BSSO racing should never have happened, so can the fastest road going scooter title go to a scooter using a kit barrel with non-standard studs? What about the new breed of engine casings, or those old-school types who grafted a motorcycle barrel on? It’s a discussion that will undoubtedly run and run, and never come to a true conclusion... how can it? There are so many variables.
Of course there are some people who will build an engine that can produce big horsepower on a dyno but does it actually mean it is faster? A complicated answer but not necessarily. Guy Topper was talking a few years ago about his Group 6 race engine power, compared against some new engines that were allegedly way more powerful but didn’t beat his. His simple deadpan answer was ‘maybe my horses are bigger’. Maybe they were!
If a set of regulations was created tomorrow, would there actually be any meaningful consensus on what constituted the fastest road going scooter? I doubt it very much! I guess a definite class with some form of continuity would be a starting point but the world of scooter tuning is moving as fast as ever and there is a whole new breed of engine cases and kits so each year any previous comparisons become redundant.
Eric Cope is a name known to many and his scooter can be described as road going, and is certainly full bodied – so to many it would be one of the closest we
Eric Cope is a name known to many and his scooter can be described as road going, and is certainly full bodied so to many would be one of the closest we have to deserving the title of Fastest Road Scooter.
have to deserving the title of Fastest Road Scooter. However, Jon Gilbert also had a road going scooter that was very close to Eric’s in terms of speed, it achieved 102mph in 500m at Elvington. But there’s a problem: it had cutdown legshields, side panels and rear frame. But it was definitely road going with working lights and was ridden regularly. So therein lies the problem. You could relatively easily come up with a definition of ‘road going’ but actual machine specification would be just about impossible to get a consensus on.
Still, the debate and the online chatter is very entertaining. The suggestions are endless on how it can be proven. Is it based on dyno power and speed? That’s not real life on the road. Is it measured by a run on a race track or drag race? If so, over what distance?
Jon Gilbert’s scooter would be very fast over a longer distance as it could pull some huge gearing. Although it could be beaten over a quarter mile, over say one or two miles it could reach a very high speed. But then again, if a water-cooled engine was raced for two to three miles it might be even quicker and may even hold together as temperatures could be controlled. The discussion goes on and, entertaining as it is to speculate, I can’t see it being resolved to the satisfaction of many anytime soon!