Modern Vespa

Hi all,
My 2005 Piaggio Typhoon seems to be guzzling gas. It's got a technigas RS pipe and the carb has been upjetted (done by shop). It seems to run fine - although it's not crazy about cold morning starts (5-9C). Recently I've noticed the fuel consumption is higher. I may get in about 3-4 trips to work - a total of 100-110km per tank. Is this about right? I believe the the tank holds 7.5L including the reserve. If fuel consumption is up, could it just be the addition of the Technigas Pipe and upjetting of the carb? Maybe the cold weather? I haven't looked at the air filter recently but it was fine about 2 months ago.

I am getting 40-45mpg with my Polini Corsa kit/Laser Pro-X exhaust...It's a little piggie! but top speed recorded is 66mph....but will do 55-60 on the flat.....stock, I was doing around 70mpg, topping off at 41mph....that extra 15-20 mph top end is worth the gas.. I have the derestricted 17.5 Deloroto Carb(Took the brass restrictor out between the Carb and airbox, 72 jet, 4.5 rollers, Malossi Red Sponge air filter, going to try 4.25's...It's cold here in Michigan, I let it warm up a minute or two only, and it seems ok after a couple of blocks...I used four brands of oil, like belray Si-7 best....

That all sounds about right. I get about 40 mpg on my et2 with malossi cast iron kit, SP3, and a 19mm Dellorto with a 74 main.

The other thing that has me puzzled is gas tank and the rfuel light. Yesterday the gas gauge was at empty - the light just came on. I went to the gas station and put in 3.4L of 91 octane and the tank was full, less about an 1-2inches. The manual states that the tank is 6L with a 1.5L reserve. Does it have a total capacity of 6L including the 1.5L reserve, or a total capacity of 7.5L? If it's 6L maybe it's not unreasonable that I only had to put in 3.4L to top the tank off, (6L-3.4L= 2.6L, well a bit off).

Oh, and if anyone can tell me, how do I tell what the engine oil level is. The oil tank doesn't have a dip-stick!

Oh, and by the way, my top speed on a flat is 38mph (61km/hr) using my GPS. The speedo shows 71km/hr but that's not right

Don't rely on your gauges to be as accurate as ones you'd find on a car. the speedometer is generally 4-8 percent off (optimistic). Legitimate GPS speeds of 38 to 42 mph is fine for the expected speed of an unmodified, fully derestriced 50cc air-cooled two stroke scooter. The fuel gauge is not as far off but can probably only show a range of a little more than 1 gallon (5 liters?). I fill it up to the top and it doesn't start to register any decrease for a while. Then I can drive it until it's really low and it doesn't seem to change much for about the last 10 miles of a 1.5 gallon fill that usually takes me around 60 miles. I ride wide open throttle most of the time. So I'd estimate that it read the middle 1.1-1.2 gallons of the used volume.

As for the two stroke oil reservoir: There should be a light that comes on to warn you when it's low. When it starts to get near the low level it will flicker on and off under braking because the meter relies on a floating object in the oil that will shift with large movements of the scooter. If you don't want to rely on that you can carefully top it off (be careful to not overfill. You will, just be prepared with a rag) around every 800 to 1000 miles and you should be very safe.

Thanks! That helps a lot. The owners manual is a bit weak; I think Piaggio should hire some better translators!

Just wait until you take it apart... Hope you speak Italian...

What was your mileage before mods?

I think the manual said 1.2 gallons, the reserve is the little light in the dash, no actual gas like a motorcycle....The most I ever put in was around 1 gallon....the first year, my gas gauge didn't even work, ran out of gas one time, on my way to the gas station.....Found the problem, it was a bad contection on top of the tanks sending unit......
My gauge drops like a rock from 1/2 to empty....so, I fill it up with 3/4 of a gallon, mostly.....
I am hoping my new tires (Pirelli SL26's) with higher PSI will help with the mpg...I am going to check it next fillup....those knobbies that came with the scoot are junk for turning....