Stock vs. Kitted

Oct 02 at 5:38 pm
Category: Project, Rally     Posted by Erin Seale    

I took a chance in San Francisco because my Motron wasn’t ready to ride… I used the 50cc Concord Shadow, with a top speed of around 37mph, stock pipe and everything.  I swapped the 14/12 carb for the drilled out 14.27 from my Baretta and crossed my fingers that I wasn’t going to get stranded - California rallies are usually crazy fast, almost everyone has a kitted bike.

After that went reasonably well, I decided to do more to build up my stock bikes.  They really aren’t so slow as to be left behind or even be embarrassing.  Sometimes I would catch myself passing up a bike I knew to be kitted, and I passed people in corners all over the place, usually only to have them pertly cruise by again as soon as they got their comfortable straight stretch back.

I love going fast, but there’s something about driving a stock slower bike that brings out the crazy competitive road-rage filled cursing-like-a-sailor moped racer in me that is fun as hell.  I hardly remembered what it was like to round a corner up a hill as fast as possible, trying to keep up speed.

I think this winter will probably be seeing me in the garage with a dremel and a variety of Minarelli cylinders.  So get ready…. Next spring : 50cchallenge!  Stock (vintage) bottom end, stock cylinder (no 50cc kits) and you can do what you want with your carb and pipe.

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