SR 50 R Factory convert to SR 180

Now.. on to where I am headed with the SR R Factory. I have that stupid Morini engine in mine. This mean's I can't do shit to it except a 70cc BBK and a couple bolt ons that will push me up to 65MPH.

My only real option is to swap the engine for an LC Piaggio PureJet and wait for High Gain Tuning in Colorado to release his engine management system that he has been working on for the past year or two now that will allow one to run a port fuel injection setup along with an 86cc BBK.. like the 2 fast kit.

Honestly, I'm not so sure I feel like shelling over $4k-$5k for a PureJet swap, HGT EMS system, crank case boring work, full circle crank, 86cc BBK (costs over $1700 USD alone), matching exhaust, etc, etc, etc. I don't want to think about all of the little parts needed.

There's no point in me selling my SR Factory with its Morini so that I can go back at it and buy a '09+ with a PureJet engine in it either. I like my scoot; not about to go and pay another $400+ USD for tax, tags, title transfer, etc. just so I can go this route and replace it with an '09 SR 50 either.

I've seen an estonian kid that had an SR 180.. I believe he stuck a 125 on his 2005 SR 50 and threw a 172 kit on there. I wish I could find his build thread.. but honestly, how hard could it be if I were to just convert to a carb?

He was on this forum at one point.. his name is Brain. I found a thread of his on here earlier. Here is a thread of his scooter on another forum: http://forum.scooterforum.net/forum/f88/brain-aprilia-sr-180-r-167229/

Anyways.. what's my best bet to pull the 125 engine/cvt from?

 

I should probably mention that the reason I have to ask is because we don't have any 125cc 2T scooters here in the US (other than old imported stuff from back in the day) that I know of.

 

nah mate this is definately a 50/70cc engine that this estonian kid has. Check out gallery pictures on google to confirm this one is a piaggio 50cc engine. You say your model has a morini engine, do you mean a minerelli??

 

They've had all three brett, Morini, Mina and Piaggio. And like you said, that's certainly a 50/70cc engine.

Have you considered swapping a carbed piaggio 50 engine in element?

 

the engine mounts are goibng to be in the wrong place on yours so its going to be harder to do. but best bet is to import a carbed 50 lump or a 125/180 engine and the trimmings. proberbly would be better to get the cases ignition and loom etc the buy the rest new from scootercentre or something simaler.

 

the 1 in the pic is definitely a piaggio 50cc engine my 3 past nrgs will testify to that. Is there no way you can get a runner, dragster, typhoon or sr125 as standard. Not for the UK but there was an aprilia SR150 released in europe. Last ditch attempt could be to get a Hexagon if you can get away with wearing a dark visor so noone can see you!
As ishigham says run with an ac or lc version of the piaggio 50cc engine if there are no 125s.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. Yes, I definitely have a Morini engine, the US got strictly Morinis for model years 2006-2008. 2009 and up US model SR 50's have the piaggio 50cc engine in them.

I'm sure I could find other US scoots that might have the 49cc piaggio purejet but honestly, it would be extremely slim pickings. People don't buy 2 stroke scooters here.. they were never really popular in the US because.. well.. because it's the US and many of our wonderful, patriotic citizens drive 10 MPG pickup trucks and SUVs for irrelevant purposes.

Anyways, going the route of swapping in a Piaggio would be quite the expense, as I stated in the beginning. I'm well aware of the cost to performance ratio in toys.. I have a few 2 stroke toys that are all bored out, tuned up, ported, stroked, etc, etc. It get's very expensive very quickly; and the Purejet LC would require me investing over $4,000 USD in order to get the performance I am looking for out of it.

The 86cc BBK from 2 fast racing is over $1700.00 alone from a Canadian supplier. That kit does include a full circle crank and nearly everything I would need, but then I would have to get the 2 stroke engine management system from High Gain Tuning (pending release) so that I could take full advantage of the BBK by using a port fuel injection setup. I'd also need to purchase a performance pipe intended for an 86cc, air filter setup, change primary gears, install a multi-var or similar, bore out my casings, and much more. I've looked through all of the parts in many many catalogs on many occurrences for the Piaggio engine route.. but it is very costly any way you look at it.

My idea for the SR125 swap was simply because I was under the impression that there was no major difference in the SR 50 and SR 125 frames for the years during which the SR125 was offered.

We never got an SR125 imported here, but I have seen them online in videos and on forums being discussed and show off in pictures.

Are we all in agreement that fabricating a rear mount adapter kit for the SR125 would be not worth the effort or is there something related to the dimensions between the SR50 and SR125 that I am missing?

Thank you!

 

Thanks to one of the forum members on here sending me a link in a PM, I now know what is required as far as engine mounts and stuff goes. Looks like I now have a reference model!

Thank you so much, zipst!

Here's a build thread from a Croat forum outlining an '07 SR 50 -> 150cc swap: http://www.mojskuter.com/forum/index.php/topic,26940.0.html

Beautiful..

 

Brettfield; None of those scooters were ever sold here.. we don't get anything interesting when it comes to scoots normally.

We didn't get much in the line of scooters that I can name off the top of my head before about 2005 or so when Piaggios, Vespas, Aprilias, and some others were suddenly marketed to the US public because scooters were suddenly "cool" or something of that sort.. meaning everyone should go buy one.

This website does a really good job of showing the minimal selection we had up to the current day. We now also have a lot more than what is listed there because people are also importing strange things here and there. Throughout the 80s, 90s, and early '00s I believe most of the scooters went to Canada anyways. They actually used them up there whereas very few people were willing to jump on a scooter here during that time.

http://www.motorscooterguide.net/index.html

Click on one of the manufacturers and it will list what we had access to.

It's always been slim pickings mixed in with loads and loads of Chinese garbage up until recent years..

 

apart from the typhoon 50 and the aprilia SR theyre all horrible. Will PM u some other ideas

 

tErr0, the problem is the price. I know that nobody wants to acknowledge the availability and cost of the performance parts being shipped here, but it's very expensive.

Show me an 86cc BBK, full circle crank, and a decent Piaggio engine that I could import from Europe and I will show you why it's not practical in USD.

There are no scooter engines for sale here. I have to stress to everyone how unpopular scooters are here again.. parts do not exist.. nor do partouts. Just to give you an example, here is the ONLY compatible 50cc 2T engine that shows listed on eBay Motors today. And yes, everyone in the US uses ebay, so it would show up there first. Craigslist is second in popularity to eBay for a listing place for car/motorcycle parts.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-A...87?pt=Other_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item45f98e349b

$330.00 for what looks like an Aprilia/Morini engine, disassembled in pieces. People are retarded here. When a Piaggio or Morini or Minarelli engine DOES go for sale.. they set the asking price up to $500 or $600 USD. Not because they have no idea what its worth, but because they think it's worth it's weight in gold when the only other option for someone with a bad motor is to import one from Europe or go to their dealership and have the dealership do the same!

Here is the forum I usually hang out on to discuss SR 50 stuff: http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37&order=desc&page=1

If you notice, it's a fairly active community of a very small population of US and Canada based SR 50 owners.. with the majority of them riding on Morini engined scooters. The only real asset to the forum is High Gain Tuning, a Colorado based tuning shop who specializes in tuning the SR 50 and owns the self titled "fastest PFI Minarelli based SR 50". It is a one man shop and he is currently working on the piggyback ECM for Piaggio engines.

Here is his ECM thread: http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223554

Here is one of his Piaggio builds he did for an owner of a dealership in Oregon: http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226222

The guy does impressive work, but as I have said many times before, I am not interested in going to Piaggio route unless it costs under $3,000.00 USD. I'd much rather invest that into half of my upcoming Ducati purchase. You can't go anywhere with a scooter here because the last thing you want to do is go jumping on interstate 95 with one.. that and the Florida turnpike is going to be the only way you actually make it anywhere around here. Fortunately, and unlike most other parts of the US, since I am in one of the few urban areas, we have many local roads that allow me to ride my scooter around town without needing to get on the highway to get everywhere. But as soon as I grab my car or motorcycle, it's because I need to actually get something done and go somewhere. You just can't use scooters here for most things, and that is why they haven't caught on.

Now, as far as swapping an SR125 or Typhoon 125 motor into my SR 50 frame goes; I am aware that I will need the electronics. But I am not sure why you are saying the electronics are rare. I have already hunted for the availability of everything I would need before I started this thread. There are currently 16 Aprilia SR 125 wiring looms for sale on ebay.co.uk, there are also 16 CDI boxes, and 22 Regulators/rectifiers on there for sale. That is quite a bit less rare than me not having a single Piaggio 50cc engine available for sale here in the US and only having access to a single dismantled, overpriced Morini block. Doing a quick search for even spare parts for an SR 50 or other Italian scooter that was imported in the last 10 years to the US will give you empty hands every time.

I guess I will just go dive into exploded views and parts manuals again. I was just hoping that someone here would be able to tell me which scoot I should pull a 125 from for the most economic minded tuning and power.. I guess I am just asking which block is the cheapest and easiest to stick a BBK on to and responds best to it? I want to know which engine is the most popularly found and used 125 with good results.

Thank you.

 

Also, the mounts are nearly the same for the Minarelli, Morini, and Piaggio engine choices on the SR50. However, swapping the engine also means swapping some of the electronics and the wiring along with the proper mounting hardware.

I would have no problem fabricating the engine mounts for a 125/172 swap as they look fairly simple when comparing the Croats project.. doing the same for a 49cc Piaggio engine that came on all '09 and newer SR50s doesn't make much sense to me though.

Just to clear things up though, I could care less about fuel injected setups. The only up side to sticking with a piaggio 49cc engine would be the benefit of retaining my digital cluster and keeping my scooter fairly stock looking. My plan of going with a 172 setup involves me ripping the upper fairing off along with the handlebars and OEM cluster so that I can stick some Renthals on and go bare.

 

I would also like to post a conversation I had with brettfield999.. hopefully he doesn't take offense to me posting this here, I just want to keep everything in one thread for reference. It makes it easier when someone asks the same questions again because they can't find the answer. Brettfield999, if you don't want this here just let me know and I will edit my post.

Sent: Sun May 01, 2011 5:24 am
by brettfield999

Wow i didnt realise u guys had such little choice. Scooter became a craze in about 2000 or so. It has died down in the last 3-4 years but there are still some enthusiasts. Do you guys get anything like a classic Vespa or Lambretta or to go on a different tangent an Aprilia RS125 or Cagiva Mito. There's got to be something that is good and 2 stroke in the states?!

Re: US scooters etc
Sent: Sun May 01, 2011 12:59 pm
by element6

Hi Brett,

Yeah, our scooter craze kind of hit in 2006 and really caught on in 2008. Most people go crazy with modding Honda Ruckus' here but the most common thing to do is to swap a chinese GY6 engine into them.. pretty lame as far as I am concerned. It's not that I don't like the Ruckus; I almost bought one for the girl.. but they just aren't anything special.

Now a ruckus with a big bored Grand Axis engine in it is something special.. I've only seen two grand axis swaps in the whole US. One was a ruckus and it would get into the 70-80MPH range with ease. The problem is importing a grand axis engine. In both occurances, the swaps were done by someone with ties to family/friends in Japan.. people who could get the engine shipped here without much trouble. But that doesn't mean it would be cheap.. buying an engine like that in Japan still amounts to about $1500+ USD.. then add in the shipping costs and duties and all the fun stuff and you are still looking at a $4000 engine swap after everything is fabricated to mount it in the frame and some bolt on performance parts are added.

I'm going for the best of both worlds in this project. I know the 2T 125cc piaggio engine and CVT that I want isn't a difficult thing to find for sale in the UK and europe. I also know that a nice used block isn't a huge expense. At the same time, a 172 kit and a new exhaust, along with the right carb and a multivar and several other things for the transmission wouldn't set me back nearly as far as an 86cc kitted piaggio 50.. and honestly, how much more power can you ask for with a 172 mounted in a SR50 frame and tuned correctly?

Back to our situation here in the US.. we did have some RS50s and RS125s imported by enthusiasts back in the beginning of the '00s.. but everytime I see one go for sale (which is very rarely) the owner is always looking for $3k-$5k.. not exactly a good price.. and the worst part is that the RS50s we got also have that Aprilia/Morini engine! Some have the Minarella if they are a year 2000 model but they are so few and far between. It's just not worth looking for one to pull the engine.

We also have a pretty decent amount of old Vespas from the 2 stroke days but the only ones you will find with a 2T engine in them larger than 80cc is going to be the model years before 1980 or so. I believe the big reason we never got anything larger than 50cc for the most part is because of federal emissions regulations and the poor network of scooter dealers here which never really was established until the mid '00s.

it's all very sad. It looks like my best option is probably to import a engine/transmission unit from a runner, sr125, or something similar that also uses the 125 engine I need.

Luckily, many people on ebay in the UK aren't afraid to ship to the US for the right price. We'll see what happens.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to look through some engines tomorrow when I get the chance. Ideally, I'm looking for an LC engine unit with the rear disc brake. I'll let you all know what I come up with when it's on the way.

Between the previous owners of these bikes, the conditions they are driven through, and the fact that they have been parted out and pulled from the bike for whatever reason, I have been expecting a steaming pile of dog shit.. but nothing that a good media blasting and cleaning can't help.

The candidate is going to receive case work regardless, so a full teardown is inevitable.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to where I should purchase my performance parts? I'm sorry, because I know that this has probably been discussed several times; but who has the best selection of 125cc performance parts and some 50cc parts at good prices? I'm also looking to buy several STR8 products and some other little styling pieces for the SR 50, such as a replacement LED tail lamp, lenses, floor boards, etc..

I usually look at;
Scootercenter
eBay.co.uk
SIP Scooter Shop
scooter-attack
SPmotostore - (Canadian based with REALLY BAD prices)

So far, SIP has the best prices for the 172 kit and other performance parts.. however, they don't have the tail lamp or styling items I am looking for. That's why I was asking if there were any other shop suggestions. I was hoping to make one large purchase and pay for shipping once. It may not be realistic but I can hope for the best

Judging by my looks through the models that have the 125 engine assembly I want, I only really have 3 choices.

Gilera Runner 125 FX DD
Gilera Runner 125 FXR DD
Italjet Dragster 125

Anything but those have either an AC engine or drum brakes.. or both.

Anyways, thank you all for your help so far.. I really appreciate it.

 

Sup element...terro is rite as it is a bitch to get everything from uk bein in the us because of availability n exchange rate Especially paying shipping from multiple different places in gbp lol.... However Im from Cali n it is doable....I was on the same task last year except for a ruckus... Started off w a morini ditech too n I'm also on apriliaforum..... U definately gotta weld new brackets if u do go this route...to be safe buy 2 of everything electrical or down time can be weeks.... I've went through stators, 3 cdis n just blew my rectifier last week :banghead: j

 

Oh.... I may kno sum1 who mite have a spare 180 with all electricals here in Cali.... Shoot me a pm if interested

 

pm'd