DADDY MODS - the serious tuning work often involves the engineering expertise of a professional tuning company. As outlined in our Popular Mods section, stages 1, 2 and 3 are about as far as you can go without additional porting/machining work to get more power. Once past stage 3 the motor can become expensive to revert back to standard in the event of re-sale or warranty work, a major consideration for most.

Stage 4: Gear-up Kit (final drive ratio) - have this fitted if you are to use your Dragster for prolonged high speed use e.g. if you were to drive on a motorway for 70% of the scooter's use.

Stage 5: Cylinder Kit - fitting of a Malossi Cylinder Kit complete with a Malossi cylinder head. Dragster 125 owners can upgrade to 172cc, Dragster 50 owners can upgrade to 70cc. Other options: MB Developments (01709 869 756) have also developed a 200cc kit for the D125/180 which requires a crank swap / modification. Taffspeed have also developed a 190cc kit.

Billet Head - PM Tuning's billet cylinder head for the Dragster has proved quite popular amongst go-faster freaks. It was originally based on the PM Tuning 'Equinox' tuned 180cc Gilera Runner but with further major developments made to it. If you're looking for an added performance boost over and above the standard Malossi kit, then go for a PM billet cylinder head and skull cap (water jacket cap) combo.

Carburettor Bore Re-profiling - some tuners e.g. PM Tuning are able to offer the latest tapered bore carb reprofiling service, the result of many years of research and development. Carb bore re-profiling gives increases of around 2HP on a 17HP output engine without any loss of power at low speed running. The principles are based on a small bore carb for low speed tractability/economy, large bore for increased peak HP and over rev. The carb is flow bench tested for increased flow rates at higher engine speeds, dyno tested and corrected for exact fuel delivery slope. This service is available for most carb applications and will usually require a change in needle taper, and main jet. PM Tuning can advise on the correct selection for most carbs.

Billet Water Jacket Cap - for standard, billet and central spark plug billet heads. This water jacket cap don't half look the biz. Intended for the billet head developed by PM Tuning with central spark plug location.

Stage 6: Variator - for a wider range of power and speed transfer to the rear wheel, a variator will slightly increase the range of transmission, and the stability of engine revs while accelerating.

Stage 7: Re-mapped Digital Ignition - this will alter the iginition advance/retard operation specifically for engines running within the original RPM range. A Malossi CDI unit, for example, will advance the spark earlier for more power at lower RPM, but also retard the timing more quickly beyond 8,000 RPM, this will give even more power even on standard engines.

Nitrous Oxide - SCCC Scooter Zone in Chichester (01243 641242) were one of the first companies in the UK to develop a nitrous kit for automatic scoots. After some successful testing on a Peugeot Speedfight 100, they now supply off-the-shelf NOS kits.

Dyno Testing - after all the time and money spent on performance kits and tuning parts, you will more than likely wonder if your machine is set up correctly, e.g. is your carb optimised to the correct setting, are you getting optimum performance? Incorrect settings can cause a strain your engine, so why risk it going bang? The best thing to do is to contact your nearest tuner who, in some cases, may have the computerised dyno testing equipment to test your bike in order to apply the correct settings. You'll have peace of mind knowing your bike will deliver peak performance according to its spec.
 
Can't get your bike dyno tested? If you're getting your new parts fitted by a respectable dealer or tuning company usually your bike will be road tested in order to make sure everything is as it should be, like peak performance is being delivered within the correct RPM range. Obviously new parts such as cylinder heads and the like have to be run-in before going full throttle so the increase in performance may not always be instantaneous.

For the power hungry Dragster owners wishing to go orbital, PM Tuning (01524) 850800 in Lancaster offer their PRO-STREET tuning package. This basically utilises stages 1-5 with an over size reed block, race crankshaft, tapered bore carburettor, plus cylinder and crankcase porting and transmission tweaks. PRO-STREET is only available as a PM Tuning in-house set-up deal, as this level of tuning requires careful setting up on computer controlled dyno equipment to obtain maximum performance and reliability.
 
PSN Scooters in Batley, West Yorkshire also offer a similar tuning deal to PM with their 'Delirium' tuning deals. PSN Scooters can be contacted on (01924) 445449 or visit their website for further details.