I’m excited. Think the first bike that Santa left you kind of excited.
The reason I’m so giddy is that I managed to bag us a 2016 Emporio Armani Vespa 946 125 with only 3000 kms on the clock. I’ve always wanted one, as it is described by myself and many other Vespa nutters as the most beautiful and stylish scooter ever built. Â
Now that is saying a lot, as Vespa has a history of making beautiful machines over the last 80 years, but I reckon it’s the 946 in the Emporio Armani version is the winner.
As a rare collectors scooter ( only 12 came to Aus) Â I was thinking we’d keep it covered and rarely ride it, but with the encouragement of my wife Sue, I decided to ride it and do a few engine modifications to liven it up a bit.
As a standard 125cc engine, the 946 does struggle a little bit. This is in part due to the fact that the 946 is some 30kgs heavier than a Vespa Primavera 150. It is definitely built too last. Â
Performance wise, the pick up is a little sluggish, and mid range power is barely adequate for my needs. A top speed on 90 kmph is OK for me as I’ll only be riding around Sydney anyway.
Here’s where Pat, Liam, Dave, Raul, John and Luke at Scooter Central come into the picture. They are our workshop team and with their input we coddled together a plan to spice up the engine and the transmission and make the 946 much more suited to my style of riding.
To start we’ll begin by stripping the 10 year old tyres and adding new Michelin rubber. This will improve the handling and reduce the braking distances we get from the 946 ABS braking system.
Next step is to drain the fuel system and clean the fuel injector for a good spray pattern. After 10 years, but only 1000kms, new fuel will be needed and the injector may be a bit gummed up.
Meanwhile, the boys will strip down the transmission and fit a new Malossi multivar, a red torsion spring, new rollers, and replace the original clutch springs with the Malossi red or yellow springs.Â
This bit of work improves the acceleration off the lights and the general ‘pull’ of the scooter across the range. It also allows the scooter to rev higher before the clutch engages, giving me greater throttle response and more mumbo when I twist the wrist. (More mumbo means more fun in my books)
Finally, the biggest work will be to remove the engine and strip the top half of the motor. We’ll upgrade the cylinder and piston from the standard 125cc up to the 182cc Malsossi kit which will give me a lot more bang for my buck. Of course all this extra capacity will require a Malossi Forcemaster to arrange a lot more fuel to the cylinder head.
I wish I could say I could ride it at this stage, but the Techs get to ride it first as they needed to fine tune the fuelling. Finally I got a go.
At the first twist of the throttle I could tell it had vastly improved pick up on the old 125cc version of its self. Â The engine built revs and put the new power to the ground decisively. The torque is vastly improved and the general acceleration is excellent. Â I also noted that the mid range acceleration is much improved too.
Previously the top speed indicated 92kmph, but now it tops out at just over 100kmph, but the speedo only goes to 99 so how much over I couldn’t say.
We decided to name this scooter the Emporio Armani Stealth model as you literally couldn’t tell it had been altered.
If you appreciate rare and very fine objects give us a call about owning this $20,000 scooter or a new $27,000 Vespa 946 150 Horse due March 2026.
Murray
Scooter Central
