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.