Derestriction
and tuning
of 50cc scooters
Most world markets require that 50cc scooters are
supplied in restricted form to comply with local
licence requirements for young riders. Of course
once a rider is of an age and has the right type of
licence, there's nothing to stop them derestricting
their scooter to enjoy a little more performance.

That's one way of extending The 'snelf-life' of your
scooter investment. Most mooerr scooters have
the looks to outpace most sports cars in the car
park grand prix, but the reaiity out on the road is a
little different. They might hang tough on the street
Dut simply don't nave me power to pack up their
aggressive looks, Acceleration s not a problem for
most small capacity scooters out tneir lowly top
speeds are reached all too guickly It can get
frustrating riding everywhere at SOmph flat out
especially wnen your scooter has oeen designed
with handling and brakes that can easily cope with
much higher top speeds,
But all is not lost. Basic oerestnction is a
relatively straightforward procedure on most
models and it's ppssible to unleash a top speed of
between 45 and 50mph without creaking the
bank, sometimes without spending any money
at all,
Beyond basic derestnct'on there is a huge pool
of attprmar^pt si inpiliprs ann ti inino ^oPnia'i^tc; tnat
can supply go-faster goodies ana the technical
expertise to make the most ot your scooter's
potential, And that potential can be realised
whether your goal is simply to bea: your mates
round the streets or mix it with the fast folks on
the racetrack,
Just remember the basic rule of tuning -
there's always a trade-ott, Whether that means a
less civilised, smooth and tractable ride, poorer
fuel economy or compromised reliability depends
on how far you take things. For example a race-
tuned scooter on urban streets would be a misery,
as all the power is usually at the top end and
raised gearing will tend to compromise
acceleration at me expense ot me rrgner speeo
needed for racetracK work, And once you've
spent a few hours razzing a full-nouse race motor
on the street it'll be t'me to get stuck into the
considerable Time, not to mention expense, of
rebuilding it,
The trick with tuning is to have all of the
elements working together to deliver the type of
usable performance you want, The good news is
that there's enough headroom even on standard
scoots to raise performance safely and reliably.
The scooter
The machine shown be'ow is an aging 1993
Yamaha B Whizz, but nonetheless provides a
OCiCiQ i?Y3mpl(? o.t \,',/nat can bp oonp This c; thp
scoot that was at tne vanguard of the current
sports scooter craze, and was first introduced
over ten years ago, Although it's now looking a
bit dated, it's stili a current model in some
countries, and the engine and transmission are
still in use on loads of scooters worldwide, so
it's a good example to use to show wnat's
available to pep it, and countless scooters iiko
it, up