Tony O'Brien Vespa 90 SS : Vespa Tuning: Vespa Racing

Most of my time racing I have tuned or built my own race motors. My group 3 championship was won on one of my motors pictures as seen in the Specs and builds section. With the arrival of one Charlie Edmonds onto the race scene it quickly became apparent that his knowledge far , far outstripped mine. I approached him to see if he would help with the tune/build of the Falc 153 reed motor I had bought.

I went to see him at Performance Tuning and after just one day my brain was frazzled and so I asked Charlie to tune it all, including the pipe and carburation mods. I built the motor and fitted it up to the bike. After extensive testing Charlie announced it was ready and Anglesey 2008 was to be the first outing.

The day came.. the heavens opened! Great , just what you need not having ridden a bike in a year and riding a bike that has 32hp on tap.The weather was so bad no racing was to take place. I couldnt wait to get on with it… by the afternoon the winds had dropped but the rain still fell.. Sava wet tyres were fitted and I fire the bike up.What amazed me is that it could start within 2metres. With a rotary engine with high inlet timing you often have to get the motor pumping to fire…not this one.. I was shocked how easy it was.. selecting first I gingerley headed for the circuit. Onto the track and I take it easy for a lap to get some heat into the tyres and pipe. Second lap and ok, its time.. I twist the throttle…. the thing starts to growl and launches me upwards..oh hell…I roll off and select 3rd.. its does it again…’this can’t be right’ I thought..’this is madness’. Finally the front wheel touches the tarmac and I hit fourth..it tries to climb again..I’m powering past all sorts of machines. I’ve never ridden anything like this. Slowly my confidence grows with it. The ‘drive’ is incredible..I can short shift if need be as it has so much torque. I take the bike back in and park it. Adrenaline pumping hard.. a grinning Charlie comes over..”well?”  “Amazing” I say.. I was lost for words.

The next day its dry. And its time to try to ride the thing at race pace. I’m starting from the back of the grid. With my rising confidence and rusty riding I finish 6th but with 3rd fastest lap of the day behind Charlie and Stuart. It was clear the suspension would need some addressing but the thing is a missile. I have to ride it different too. Gone is my usual hang off as far as I can. I simply can’t do that anymore as the power will lift the front end in an nano second. So I realised a hunched over the front style would be needed. I’m still working on that. Slowly I’m getting there.

Well its race two. After second in race one (read older post) so I want to at least equal this if I can. The lights go green and off we go again. Slightly better start and upon the exit to Gerards somehow i’m in second. Thanks to Charlie for this much power 🙂 . Edwinas and already that Mr Edmonds has a good lead..that Lambretta flies. I can hear Stuart very close and I’m looking forward to the battle ahead. He will pass me I’m sure throught the hairpin/bus stop complex because I’m rubbish through there compared to him.. So I allow for it..I’m happier on the high speed corners where I can use the natural gyro forces to help the bike grip. Stuart flies by and I tuck in to overtake him on the straight. I do so and Gerards approaches flat out in top..the quick confidence ‘lift’ just before you tug the left bar and the little Vespa says “here we go” and flops down low into the corner. Now I don’t know what happened here.. maybe I was off line, maybe the tyres simply werent hot enough but here I am two wheel drifting on the exit towards the grass. “Oh it will be ok ” I figure and I keep the throttle pinned..its not.. the bike just carries on sliding..any second I’m coming off here unless I stand it up. I hang on to the last second and as the grass hits the tyres I strighten it up and keep the throttle open. No way am I coming off at this speed and somehow after a few swerves I re-enter the track just before the Edwinas braking point.

 Also I’m still ahead of Stu.. how did that happen? I think he was scared for me to be honest 🙂 .. anyway Edwinas is here and I know I’m coming off. The tyres must have mud on them. I scrub off more speed to try and save it. The spectators will be watching, knowing what I do and thinking the same..I can still hear them cheer after my track re-entry from the grass..”thats nice..they will be laughing as I bin it now though” …But NO.. it grips. I can’t believe it. I’m taking the corner extra slow to make sure.. And so back to business. Charlie is ahead and flying and I’m trying to maintain the gap. The laps go by.I’ve no idea how close Stu is.. he must be close for sure and he’ll be planning to attack my weak spot at the bus stop. So my defence is a tight line..too close and oh dear..I’ve hit the ‘mushrooms’! The scoot launches into the air and hits the ground hard. The motor cuts and I’m looking to see why. I try a quick re start but nothing..looking down I see the carb is hanging off. The impact was so hard the carb actually hit the inside of the panel. Ooops… its freewheel time down the straight and I’ve gone from second to eighth in one mistake.

Thanks to Scotty for the pictures and Lee from Fab Sc for the video above and Tony Cassidy for the one below..