here’s a few beautiful ciao photos from adottaun ciao. the ciao is a work of art. it is the most perfect moped. there is no question. this makes me want to put my ciaos together. just for around town riding. no racing , nothing crazy. just a kitted ciao that’s variated. it’s perfection, bliss. i seek thee

the latest advances in vespa technology, perhaps. i’ve got it to start so far, but ran out of time. tuning next.

a mikuni 24mm carburetor, or it could be an oko if i want. an oko is cheaper and should work about the same. the quality of construction, casting, bolts and other parts are inferior on the oko, you’ve got to have a steady hand and a gentle touch to use an oko, or it will strip out and crumble apart on you. a mikuni is so much nicer. its a real carburetor. made from real materials. getting an oko is like buying a tool from a 99 cent store. it’ll get the job done, for cheap. but it won’t be like working in jimmy’s garage.

so i trimmed and drilled some holes on the italkit derbi gilardoni whatever reed block to fit on the simonini side cover. the opening is actually about the same size. so now it’s got the gilardoni 4 petal reed block going to a 24mm carburetor instead of the malossi 4 petal with a 21 dellorto.

so the carburetor would’ve been at too steep an angle and sticking out too far if i attatched it directly with the intake from the reed block set, so i used the parmakit 24mm gilardoni intake. now it curves up and over quite perfectly. the carb sits back where i want it and the pedals even clear it! the only problem is that the carburetor is pretty high up and the bottom the petcock is a tad lower than the fuel inlet on the carb. but once the fuel is flowin it should be fine. i think.

the simple pull start theory that works for once. one acorn type nut shaped to fit a vespa pulley. wrap rope with handle around pulley. pull. pulley launches off and moped starts. finally.

racing was fun this time, i got to race for the first time and i didn’t come in last place. i got to feel out the track on the new bravo, and it’s so much nicer than the ciao. handling is waaaaaaaay better. i went on the track three times and each time my lap time improved by 2 seconds, so a . well i sucked to begin with but at that rate ill be number 1 ye. the number one bravo racer. see here some fine photo graphy, pistol pete’s photos of the june race here

here’s the bravo framea. i did some work on the sub fame, reinforcing all the connections and hacking out some room for the simonini.

a couple reinforcement bars, room for the transfers on the side. i didn’t have time to make it nice, so a. ya get what ya get.

four stars from a swamp in the euro. these really took the most time. getting them cleaned up just enough to spray some red paint i found half a can at me shope, the box shop. buning man madness and me. ive never been to burning man, but this is the best shop one could dream up in any apocalyptic dreamscape, huters point, ship yard, decay, at the end of the earth

new top secret projects, not so secret, not so fast, two speed maxi faster on the straight. than i, no, so. . .

simonini side cover, view inside. opening, intake, had the malossi 4 petal intake with 21 dellorto, now

this gilardoni italkit reed block for derbi will be more than 26mm of flowin 28 perhaps, 24 at least.

then to this intake by parmakit, great makers of moped parts from thee old world

to top it off, then one of these or a mikuni, a big carburetor, a 28mm!!!! ugh. . it’s actually already on, it’s done. i just need to tune it. maybe. next see the flawless pull start method 4 or 5? works every time the first time, second time sometimes. pullin good times to come. and new variation on the variator may be in the works?

ciao start method pull start pulley. pulley welded to nut, is variator nut. starts soooo good, so easy, no problem! then down the block, variator explosion. rollers and plastic guides and all parts everywhere on the street, under cars, lost forever, down the drain. loosens up somehow. too big, to much vibration, falls off, maybe a new version of this with a smaller pulley. stock ciao one speed pulley 110mm, maybe 80mm, too big still. one day to find out. one day to perfect. but wait

i did some practice for the first time at the races. no real racing for the ciao. more starting trouble. the drill sends the variator flying apart. as far as i can tell, once the engine starts it spins faster than the drill for a second and loosens the nut and then… the variator explodes in pieces all over, and i loose stuff and have to borrow things from dean. broken pull start ropes, bad ropes, slippery ropes, i did get a polini pull start handle out of it so that was a big win for team awsome. ridding the track is intense, whoa! and on the ciao it suckers, no suspension is bad, slippery tires are bad. not wanting to crash is bad. so i got a few new ideas for next time. i already paid my fees so i might as well go out and have fun practicing. new things to come. . .

i’m bringing the ciao to atwater. i’ll have at least 10 different ways to start it in case something doesn’t work. mag wheels, racing tires, fenders hacks, long seats and much more coming soon. for your visual pleasure, here’s a beautiful rendition of the ciao by renee.

here is a glimpse into one of the failed attempts at starting this moped. narration to come.