Scooter Exhaust
If a new exhaust is needed, there are many options to renovate the scooters pipes. But everyone having a large choice can be insecure. If however you know all about the different exhaust types, you can keep an overview on the large assortment and pick the right pipe for your baby quickly. Exhaust isn't exhaust, as many may think. Especially for 2-stroke engines with a small cylinder capacity the exhaust is a very performance sensitive part and between the available modells there are big differences. So how to decide?Original Exhaust
It is possible to turn to an original muffler, as it is mounted ex factory. But it's important to know that the construction of the OEM exhausts differs strongly from the accessories exhausts. The scooter manufacturer have strict restrictions in terms of emission standard and acoustic level that need to be met in order for the scooter to be licensed for the road. Very often catalysts and subsidiary air systems are integrated in the scooters. The catalyst reduces the pollutant emission within the waste gas and the subsidiary air system is adding the waste gas to the mixture in the cylinder during the combustion again. Both systems are used single and combined. The resulting disadvantage is that a original exhaust directly from the assortment of Piaggio, Yamaha or Kymco is comparatively expansive and the performance is pretty week compared to other replacements.Reasonable replacement exhaust or sport exhaust?
As in other vehicle industries the scooter segment is full of suppliers for miscellaneous inexpensive replacement exhausts. The major brands in this segment are the manufacturers Tecno, Naraku, Tecnigas and Sito. The pipes in the supply segment are not only a lot cheaper than the original scooter exhausts but they also come with a perfomance plus for the scooter. With prices under 100€ they really are a good alternative.Everyone wanting to move with a little more power and removing the throttle in the exhaust manifold: Be aware that in order to get the best permormance results you also have to adjust the variator and the carburetor jets of your scooter. The 50cc scooter will be faster than, but keep in mind that with removing the throttle the operating licence expires.
To electrically throttle the scooter back to 45km/h with a flick of the wrist there are engine speed limiters available. But legally this option is not safe. It's better to go with a sport exhaust. With one of these the scooter will be quicker but still within the limits of the legal specifications.
Especially our inexpensive replacement exhausts e.g. the Streetline from Tecno or the Silent Pro from Tecnigas are long time tried and trusted and are therefor highly recommended. Next to those exhausts with original optic there are also tuning versions with racing style available. These have an even better performance plus that the replacement exhausts. A general rule applies here: The exhaust (WITH the built in throttle) is leagl on the street, if it has an E-Mark. Even with properly installed throttle the Tecnigas Next-R or Leovince TT evolve an astonishing performance increase on a 50cc scooter. When replacing the original with a racing exhaust take note: You mustn't forget to adjust the variator rollers and the carburetor jets! Also don't forget that the sound of the scooter respectively the exhaust will noteably increase with accelerating performance and rev. With a Technigas Silent Pro sound won't give a hint on whether the exhaust is throttled or not. With a modell like Technigas Next-R or a Leovince TT this difference is easier to detect. In terms of pricing a sport exhaust should be in a range somewhere between 150 and 300 Euro. But as in most categories there's an open end.
scooter racing exhaust
Especially for the scooter racing field there's a variety of Tuning Exhaust Pipes. Those usually only run with the specifically designed 50cc or 70cc racing cylinders. The manufacturer Malossi and Polini offer pre adjusted exhaust / cylinder systems. For mounting and adjusting a Racing Exhaust on a scooter there is definitely expert knowledge needed.The leading manufacturers for scooter racing exhausts are Yasuni, Turbo Kit, Leovince and Tecnigas. In combination with a 70cc cylinder kit and bigger carburetor it's easily to get to performances beyond 20PS. But of cause such tuned scooters only belong on race tracks and not in road traffic. With regards to performance the difference to an origial exhaust is immediately noticeable. This justifies the higher price which is (depending on the performance) somewhere between 250 and 500€.