Modern Vespa

I cannot seem to locate the correct answer and many posts have conflicting information or the poster does not specify whether he has a 250 or 300cc

I have a 2011 GTS Super ie with an Akro exhaust and Malossi filter. I am looking for a little increase in performance without breaking the bank. I am torn between just purchasing doc pulley sliders and need to know what size weights would be best. I mostly drive in the city and take short highway trips which usually don't exceed 75mph. Please let me know what size and weight sliders to order and whether or not I need to order spacers as well. (I am not doing the work myself so it will be expensive for me to have to bring the bike back to try a different weight so I would really like to get it right the first time.

Option 2: Purchasing the Polini variator kit
This option would me more expensive but would I see a substantial difference over just changing the to doc pulley sliders? Also does the kit come with the recommended weights since it is made for both the 250 and 300? Or do I need to purchase additional weights as well?

I really value your input and would sincerely appreciate your feedback. I want to order the correct parts and have it done right the first time. Thanks in advance for your help.

The best value, i.e. performance improvement per dollar, would undoubtedly be the DR. Pulley weights. They also have the advantage of being well tested by hundreds or maybe thousands of riders. The Dr. Ps should be a minimum of 1 gm lighter than standard weights. Lighter weights mean higher rpm during acceleration. If you are not worried about fuel consumption or top speed the lightest end of the range will give you best acceleration but for specific advice why not ask the experts at Scooterwest. As you don't want to do the mechanical work yourself I would steer clear of tuning parts which tend to need more frequent servicing. The Dr Ps last longer than standard rollers in my experience.

Thank you very much this was exactly the advice I was looking for. I'm going to go with the 12.5 sliders I will update post. Have a great weekend.

The recommendation from Dr. Pulley is 10-15% lighter than standard.This seems to be the same for any weights.

At 12.5 you are going with the conservative end of that recommendation.

I believe the stock rollers are 13.9g so I would guess the 12.5g are on par with Dr Pulley recommendation. If you have a successful experience with a different weight I would love to hear about it. Thanks

Exactly what weights are used depends on the riders requirements and the specific scooter. Some don't like lighter weights because the scooter revs higher during acceleration. But these people are happy to cruise along at 70-75+ mph where the revs are just as high!

It is not an exact science. I had 9g in my LXV as I could not find any 8.5g locally. It was OK. But I didn't do many kms as my project was cancelled. I only commuted to work at between 40-55 kph on narrow bumpy roads. Passed most under braking.

I've done the sliders. Basically put in the same weight. stock exhaust, malossi red air filter and full wind shield. 2010 Gts 300 gained a couple mph on top. could maintain 73mph without being at full throttle. No real change at stop start speeds.

If you used the same weight you could not expect better acceleration. Lower rpm at top speed is often a Dr. Pulley effect due to the geometry pushing the pulley halves slightly closer together. This does depend on model because not all variators will allow further travel of the sliding half pulley. Ultimate top speed under favourable conditions is sometimes higher in circumstances where the standard setup hits the rev limiter.

When I put them in it was 2010 2011. Most info was based on gts 250. Since the 300 was supposed to be quicker off the line than the 250 I just went with 2117 13.9 sliders. I had no complaints of the low speed performance and wanted to be able to maintain 73 -75 mph better when I used the freeways. Going downhill drafting a car I've seen 92 ish mph on speedometer. So maybe low 80s actual

Can DP sliders be installed into any Variator?

I installed a set of Dr. Pulley sliders on my 2009 GTV250 about 5K miles ago (I have about 19K miles on the GTV). They are still running strong. They provide noticeable low end acceleration and maybe a bit of loss at top speed but I can still hit 80 mph. I purchased them from Scooterwest and Max suggested the 21x17 10g so that's what I installed.

Previously, I had installed a JCosta variator before the sliders. I had troubles with it after about 3000 miles. I replaced it with a new OEM variator and Dr. Pulley sliders and have been quite happy with the setup. In fact, I had to place a new Scooterwest order today for some maintenance supplies. I ordered another set of slider that I'll install in about 3000 miles when I replace the belt. Scooterwest also suggested I replace the three variator guides at the same time ($6 for three) so I got them too. I already have an OEM belt in my Vespa supplies box.

Hope that helps.

Best
Miguel