Tasso RIP Race Exhaust V3

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phunksoulbrotha
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Tasso RIP Race Exhaust V3

Post by phunksoulbrotha »

I just finished installing the Tasso RIP Race Exhaust while at the same time installing the Polini 22mm Carb Kit as well as doing an airbox chop and adding a K&N Pod filter to my 4T 150. I wanted to give a bit of a reveiw on the exhaust since I believe I am one of the first in the US to install one.

For those that don't know, Tasso is a UK company that specializes in products for the LML line and has quite a few neat products for your Vespas, Lambrettas and Stellas/Stars. I ordered the exhaust based off the previous reviews I had seen. Although it was only 2 reviews, the pipe had the aesthetics I wanted over some of the others out there as well as sounding nice to boot. The exhaust itself is rather reasonably priced but the shipping puts it up there with the GPR, Polini and others.

In actuality, I ordered the V2 as I wanted the silver end and it was stated to be a little louder than the V3. The V3 also wasn't available in a left side version when I placed the order. Because of the timing of my order and the release of the new exhaust, there was a bit of a wait before it shipped, as well as some confusion on both sides as to what I had ordered and what I was being shipped. In the end I was pleasantly surprised with the slight mix-up.

The pipe is built solidly and blows the stock exhaust out of the water in terms of quality. In addition to painting the ends red, there are some very noticeable differences to the V3 from the V2. From what I understand you could tune the V2 pipe by enlarging some of the ports in the pipe with a drill or chopping the end to make it a straight through. The V3 is chopped to start with so there is to tuning, just a straight through pipe. Another difference from the V2 to the V3 is the baffle has been spot welded in place so you can't pull it free to remove any of the packing should you want to make it louder. I'm not certain if this was also the case with the V2 and you just had to drill it free, but I'm fairly certain I have seen the V2 baffle removed in a tuning video somewhere. I wouldn't want the V3 to be any louder.

Installation was pretty straight forward but it was a very snug fit and took some swearing and couple busted knuckles to get it on. I'm not really looking forward to changing the rear tire or the oil filter from here on but, oh well. I did have to slightly bend the bracket holding the Throttle cable and rear brake cable as the down pipe was making contact with them. Easy enough to bend and then wrapped the cables with some heat shield for protection. The pipe was also making contact with the spare just barely so I slid 2-3 washer behind the bottom bolt holding the spare on and that pushed the tire far enough away that it has clearance.

Performance with the combo of all 3 mods (carb, pod filter, exhaust) has definitely increased. I'm using the stock jet that comes with the Polini kit which I believe is a 100. Air mixture screw is at 2.5 turns out. She has just a hair of pop/backfire on deceleration so I realize it's running a hair rich but it isn't too bad and I prefer that for the kind of riding I have locally.

I took it out for one of my favorite rides today that has an elevation gain of about 3000ft with a myriad of twists, turns, hills, valleys; to really put her through her paces. She preformed amazingly. The bike pulls harder through every gear but most noticeably in 3rd and 4th. Hills that usually had me shifting down to 2nd (occasionally 1st) or uncomfortably hovering between 2nd and 3rd saw me sitting perfectly in either 2nd or 3rd. I don't have any GPS numbers but going off the speedo, max speed has increased by almost 10mph as well. I was getting about 65mph before; today I hit 70 and had a bit of throttle left to use but didn't feel the need to push it. I also had a large instrument on my back and a bit of a headwind so I'm pretty sure I could get a hair more out of her.

The sound is so pleasing I can't get over it. It's relatively normal at idle but you shift into gear and hit the throttle and she growls like a jungle cat. Just amazing really. Between the noise she makes and the way she pulls, she definitely catches people off guard when I take off.

I know this isn't the most technical of posts but this is the first time I've torn into an engine at all. If I missed any details or anyone has questions, fire away.
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Drum Pro
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Post by Drum Pro »

Did you up jet any of the other jets in the carb?
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phunksoulbrotha
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Post by phunksoulbrotha »

Drum Pro wrote:Did you up jet any of the other jets in the carb?
No. I switched the air mixture screw out for one that has a flanged head and can be reached a bit easier than the stock one but aside from that, the carb went in the way I received it.
Tipper
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Post by Tipper »

I had the v3 on mine for a week,but the right hand version. I didnt know they made a left hand exit version.

I sold it after a week as it was too loud for me. I felt like a bit of an idiot riding a scooter that sounded like a dirt bike. I am assuming the left hand version is quieter though,I know the v2 version was.

I worked with them developing the first exhaust for the LML 200 4t now that was loud !
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phunksoulbrotha
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Post by phunksoulbrotha »

Hahaha it does sound like a dirt bike. Fine by me as louder is what I was going for. Tired of cagers trying to run me over because they don't know I'm there.

According to their website, they still don't make a left hand exit V3. I had been looking at the V2 LH for a while before finally deciding to order it. Literally the day before I ordered the V2, the V3 RH showed up on their website. I placed an order for the V2 LH but after not hearing anything back for a week or so I contacted them about it. I was told there would be a little longer wait since it was just being put in to production. I realized there must have been a mistake and they thought I was ordering the V3 (even though there is no V3 LH on the site) when in actuality I wanted the V2. I called back later and asked if they could check the actual box to make sure it was the V2 with the silver end and not the V3 with the red end. I was told all was good and it was the V2 in the box, even though they had discontinued that model of exhaust. A couple weeks later I opened the box to find the V3 LH.

I'm still not sure exactly what happened. At first I was extremely upset that it had taken more than 2 months to get the product in my hands, only to be the wrong product. Especially after having called to confirm. I thought about returning it but figured that would just prolong things even more. I ended up just biting the bullet and installing it. After all was said and done, I can say that I am very pleased with the exhaust even if it isn't what I ordered.

In the end I just wish the guys at Tasso had been more on point with customer service. None of my emails were returned, the couple of Facebook responses I received were rather short, and when I took the time and money to call them internationally, I was lied to. Their website claims that if a product is going to be delayed for any reason, they will contact you. They never did and it took me 2 months of going crazy trying to get any sort of response before I finally got someone on the phone. They sell quality products, but they definitely need to work on their communication with their customers.
Tipper
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Post by Tipper »

Its an ongoing issue with Tasso but they are a one man operation so I think he gets a little over run at times. He builds each exhaust himself too which can slow things up.

Its a well made exhaust though,much better than the v1 and 2.
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phunksoulbrotha
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Post by phunksoulbrotha »

I was not aware that Adam is the sole person running the entire operation over there. That changes my perspective a bit as I know the UK owners keep him quite busy and I probably wouldn't have been as frustrated as I was, had I known that.

Regardless of what happened, as I stated in the first post I am pleasantly surprised with the mix-up. I would still order parts from them in the future as previous orders have shipped without hesitation or issue.

This pipe is loud, and they do state that it's quieter than the V2 was (at least for the published RH versions). I will try to get a video posted if I can figure out the file conversion. I feel it is perfect at idle as you can still talk over it but should you want to be noticed, that option is available upon twisting the throttle.

I agree, a well made product all around.
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