Shift Question???

toot · Post by **toot** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:42 pm

Where I live there are a lot of hills.. Traffic must go 40 mph up them.. I can not keep in 4th for hills are too steep. Is it okay to run in 3rd 40 mph up hill, or should I baby it and let everyone tailgate me and go 35???

Eric, any advice. Terri

Rippinyarn · Post by **Rippinyarn** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:02 am

Downshift as needed to maintain a decent speed. As long as the scoot is fully broken in, you should be able to rev the snot out of it.

Be careful when you get to the top of the hill, you may just enter a low Earth orbit!

Willie B · Post by **Willie B** » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:44 pm

FYI, I just replaced the wheels and tires on my '09 Stella for a set of FA Italia rims and Michelin S1s. The stock rims and tires weighed a bit over 13 pounds each and the new rims and tires weigh 7 pounds each on the money. I was able to discard over twelve pounds of rotational mass with the upgrade. The first thing I noticed after making the switch is how much quicker my scoot is off the line and secondly, how it will pull grades without downshifting. This without a doubt is the best $$ for the buck I've spent on this bike. I highly recommend anyone with a Stella to do this. My original reasoning was to replace the tube tire setup for tubeless in the event of a blowout or flat. The added oomph was an added bonus.

fisher1 · Post by **fisher1** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:58 am

Willie B wrote:FYI, I just replaced the wheels and tires on my '09 Stella for a set of FA Italia rims and Michelin S1s. The stock rims and tires weighed a bit over 13 pounds each and the new rims and tires weigh 7 pounds each on the money. I was able to discard over twelve pounds of rotational mass with the upgrade. The first thing I noticed after making the switch is how much quicker my scoot is off the line and secondly, how it will pull grades without downshifting. This without a doubt is the best $$ for the buck I've spent on this bike. I highly recommend anyone with a Stella to do this. My original reasoning was to replace the tube tire setup for tubeless in the event of a blowout or flat. The added oomph was an added bonus.

Interesting - How many miles did you have on the 09 Stella when you made this change?

Willie B · Post by **Willie B** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 2:17 am

It had about 250 miles on it before I made the change. I swapped scooters with a buddy who has a '09 Stella and we both marveled at the difference in the performance between the 2.

jimmbomb · Post by **jimmbomb** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:14 pm

How about a link to these wheels and tires that you speak of? ALSO... did you mount the tires yourself? If so, was it a bitch?
Thanks alot

ankdworak · Post by **ankdworak** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 3:14 pm

And how about pictures. They are always welcomed.

Willie B · Post by **Willie B** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:35 pm

I researched tubeless rims available for the Stella/PX and dug through the forums and found that some were flimsy with poor quality, finishes and some were offset differently than the stock rims but wouldn't cause issues unless you were to run mismatched rims. I found the FA Italia rims didn't have these issues, so I had Mark@Scoopterspeed order 3 wheels and Michelin S1s. I have a friend who allowed me the use of his tire mounting machine. The Michelins were stiff, but by the 2nd tire, they were going on really easy with no damage to the rim. I was amazed at the difference in weight between the stock rims and the FA Italia, but considering there's no inner tube plus the 5 bolts, washers and nuts that secure the rim halves and the FA Italia rims are aluminum, this adds up to a huge difference. Replacing heavier wheels on a car or motorcycle has long been a tuner's trick which relinquishes un harnessed power. It's similar to a lightened clutch assembly or flywheel without the ride-ability issues that sometimes arise and your brakes also work more efficiently because you have less rotational mass to slow and stop. There looks to be various other offerings as well, but some get a bit pricier. I'm looking into ordering a set of Pinasco rims to see how they stack up, but they're two pieced and billet which makes their cost a bit more.

http://www.scooter-speed.com/products.php?967

Willie B · Post by **Willie B** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:38 pm

I've attempted to post several photos of my scoot with these wheels but have been unable to do so for some reason. I've notified the Admin and am awaiting a response.

toot · Post by **toot** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:49 pm

I use TinyPic it is really easy

http://tinypic.com/?t=postupload

Willie B · Post by **Willie B** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:44 pm

Here's a few photos that I posted on another forum

http://modernvespa.com/forum/topic126235

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:45 am

Willie B wrote:I've attempted to post several photos of my scoot with these wheels but have been unable to do so for some reason.

I suspect it is because the photo files are too large. I downsize mine with image resizer for Windows.

Modern Buddy

Shift Question???

Shift Question???

How about a link to these wheels and tires that you speak of

Posting Pictures