Modern Vespa

Hi all. I have a Dragon Red LX50 4T that I use every day....in Wisconsin. I have some killer snow and ice tires that do surprisingly well in the snow. That said my I have noticed that the bike needs some work done and is going to go into the shop for some much needed tlc. While the bike is apart I wondered if anyone had any suggestions on performance upgrades I could do. I would love to do the 70cc kit but I keep getting told that it is a nightmare on the 4T. Anything else I should consider?

Thanks

The scooter phonomenon is relatively new, as are the 50cc 4T engines, in the US, and until recently, most of them were sold at big powersports stores, where the mechanics hate the things, so there wasn't much experience gained, or encouragement given. Sticking an 80 kit on a 50cc 4T scooter is no big deal. Scooter shops do it all the time now. The Piaggio bottom end is definitely overbuilt, and there are places in the world where Piaggio puts an 80cc top end on it. Aprilia puts a 100cc top end on basically the same bottom end. So it can definitely take the 80 kit without affecting longevity. Malossi makes a very solid kit that's about $230-250, and there is a very good cast iron kit out there for about $150 or so. A shop that does them all the time can do it in about 2.5 hours.
Adding a variator, or pretty much anything to the 4T engine will help it a little but there's no replacement for displacement. Adding an exhaust is good, but nothing will give you the same bang for the buck as a big bore kit. It's not just for top speed, because many places limit the speed of a 50 to 25 or 30 mph unless you want to get it registered, insured and get a motorcycle license, which really shouldn't be necessary for a small displacement scooter. If your state has laws like that, you don't want to blast past the local law enforcement at 50mph on your unplated scooter. What it gains you, if you stay within the operating parameters a 50cc scooter is allowed, is greater safety and driveability in traffic. You have a lot more punch when your roll the throttle on in traffic, changing lanes, taking off from a stop, and in general day to day riding, and if you put a passenger on the back, you don't feel like you have to flintstone the bike away from traffic stops, and you can keep up with city traffic from the light.

I've put a malossi 80 on a few lx50's.They all run like said above ^about 50 mph (gps)A malossi varo gives 2-3 mph extra.Heck just a bigger main jet livens an lx50 up!
Kit it and make it rideable.

Indeed .