226 Vintage Stands for Performance

News and Announcements

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- The Gospel on Stella/LML According to Bald John

Here are a few things you should know about your Stella to get the most out of your 226 Vintage exhaust according to us.

Below is the Project Stella feature article in Scoot Magazine. This article documents the development of the 226 Vintage exhaust pipes and provides very specific, useful information for all Stella and LML engines. The PDF files are large. They may take a few seconds to load:

The most important thing to do when you install a 226 Vintage exhaust on your Stella is to UPJET, UPJET, UPJET, and not just your Main Jet! The stock Stella rolls off the showroom floor with incredibly lean jets. There are four (4) individual pieces to the jetting puzzle and ALL of the stock jets need to be replaced to ensure your Stella motor receives the proper amount of air and fuel. Also VERY IMPORTANT: if any of this is over your head, take your scoot to the nearest authorized shop for help. We strongly encourage it and have a list of full-service shops we trust here. That said, here are the jets you need for sea level. Your jetting will likely vary based on altitude, season, etc but this is a fine starting point:

  • 55/160 idle jet
  • 160 air corrector
  • BE3 mixer
  • 125, 130 or 135 main jet

In addition to these jets, you should install a PX/P200 air filter. The stock Stella (blue) air filter is far too restrictive. Modifications to the stock filter can be done, but buying a new filter is best.

You do not need to wait until you install your 226 exhaust before upjetting your carb. This jetting configuration - known as Bald John Jetting - is the ideal jetting for your Stella regardless whether it is stock or kitted. The ONLY difference is going to be the main jet. A completely stock Stella motor with the stock exhaust requires a 100 main jet.

The unique difference between Stella and Vespa motors are their intakes. Vespa intakes are rotary valve and Stella intakes are reed valve. The Stella reeds are the most overlooked replacement part on the entire scooter.

The stock reeds are steel and wear very quickly in comparison to resin or carbon fiber reeds. Worn reeds directly affect engine compression. This is very, very, very important to realize when jetting a reed valve motor.

When steel reeds wear they bend to the point where they physically cannot seal the crankcase any longer creating very low compression. A low compression motor will give you the impression that your main jet is too rich. Do not be fooled by this!

I recently ran into an issue with a completely stock Stella scooter. After routinely installing a 226 Hot Wing exhaust, upjetting and preparing for a test ride, the scooter was bogging horribly. The starting point on the main jet for the Hot Wing pipe is a #125. If your motor does not like the #125 main jet, almost certainly this means your scooter is still running the stock steel reed.

Replacing your reed is not a difficult procedure. Information on replacing your reed can be found on the forum at www.StellaSpeed.com. Once again, if you are not comfortable with doing it yourself, seek professional advice!

For Stella reed replacement, we highly recommend upgrading your stock Stella reed to a GGR Hot Reed. GGR Hot Reeds were developed on the dyno during Project Stella and are the only reed designed and manufactured specifically for Stella/LML motors. Lucky for you, they were also designed using 226 exhausts. A GGR Hot Reed combined with a simple modification of the reed block will give you a dyno-proven 1 hp increase in power.

- High Rollers Weekend is Coming! Calling all scoots. 226 is a proud sponsor of the High Rollers Weekend in Vegas. To put our money where our mouth is, we will be offering a 10% discount on all 226 pipes and pullers at the Rally only. Come down and get yours. For more info on the High Rollers Weekend, go here: http://www.highrollersweekend.com. See you there!

- 226 Racing!

Patrick and the P-Town Scooter lads have it down!drop kneeWith a bunch of tracks in their immediate vicinity, these guys get to put on a show every week. This photo and the others were taken by Kurt Windisch. Awesome shots.

Details: Stock class 200 in open class w a 226 H-Bomb and new Heidenau track tires. first place. As piloted by local superbike class season winner, Matthew "Drat" Diestler of Portland, OR. He and the bike actually did exceptionally well (no real surprise there). He hadn’t ridden scooters competitively in 6+ years until that day...Here’s a link to our team page where you can see more pics.

- Paolo Run Down by Drunk Driver!

While on his way home from a friend's wedding on the award-winning 226 Series 1pre-accident, Paolo was struck by a drunk driver who, eyewitnesses report, ran a red light in her Cadillac. Paolo's back, neck, and knees suffered the most damage.

Needless to say, he will be feeling the effects of another motorist's poor decision for a while. Insult to injury, the front end of the Series 1 is totaled.

post-accidentWe're scouring the community for Series 1 parts to repair it while Paolo convalesces so if you have a lead on parts, give us a shout at info@226vintage.com.

Maybe just send along your best wishes to Paolo. He'd love to hear from you while he's laid up.

- The H-Bomb has arrived! AmeriVespa was a great day. Loads of cool bikes and an ever-growing number of 226 riders. Nice one! We took the opportunity to show off our newest offering, the H-Bomb. Compatible with all vintage 2-strokes, and a left-hander, this pipe is a touring and performance tour de force. Get yours at our online store soon!

- Word is out! Summer is here and it's time to order a 226 exhaust. We're into our fourth production run and have put pipes into over 60 riders hands. Both versions of the pipe went on sale to coincide with the High Rollers weekend in Las Vegas. We are currently gearing up for AmeriVespa in Saratoga, CA where we will share booth space with Hot Rod Al. We'll be introducing our Black BoltTM and our new H-Bomb. Stop by!

- Attention: Price Change! All Hotwing prices are going up as of June 1st, 2009. To offset this necessary price adjustment, we're taking the same amount the we're raising the Hotwing prices and giving you that discount on RaceReadyTM until further notice. We kept it low for as long as we could, but reality is what it is. The overall benefit will be more widespread availability of the pipes. If your shop doesn't carry the Hot Wing, tell them to get on it!

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