International Dealer News IDN 144 August/September 2018 | Page 14

news ROOM Sidi hosts race stars Picture - LorenzoFerraro/ATCommunication At its annual motorcycle sector brand meeting at its Maser (Treviso), Italy headquarters in June, Sidi played host to its international distributors and a stellar line-up of its race stars, including, left to right, Ivan Cervantes, Bradley Smith, SIDI owners Rosella and Dino Signori, Alvaro Bautista and Xavier Simeon; www.sidisport.com 14 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 SIP Performance ignitions for Vespa and Lambretta models German specialist SIP Scootershop welcomed over 2,000 visitors to their state-of- the-art 6,000 sq m facility at Landsberg, Germany, in early May. They welcomed enthusiasts from as far afield as Malta (six scooter riders who made the whole journey on their Vespas) as well as Switzerland, Austria, Italy and England. Highlights included a Vespa Club information booth, rare scooter models from the 1950s and a used scooters and parts and accessories market, and the company plans to welcome visitors again in May 2019. Recent new products from SIP include these new SIP Performance ignitions for Vespa models (Lambretta ignitions coming soon). Manufactured with the assistance of VAPE, a major European producer, SIP’s Ralf Jodl says that the electrical functions of these “high-end ignition systems are representative of state-of-the-art modern technology. Due to the eight coils included on the stator-plate, enough power (110 W) is created at tick-over revs to fully illuminate the Vespa’s lighting. “We have both AC and DC versions available, and we recommend the DC type if you wish to pow er digital components such as the SIP speedometer, or you require a high battery loading charge. The CDI module is available as a ‘Road’ version with a static ignition point, similar to the original item, or as a ‘Sport’ version that includes a variable ignition point which advances at low revs. “This increases the available torque - especially at the lower end - and the ignition point is then gradually retarded as the rpm rises into the power-band. This also helps reduce the combustion temperature while simultaneously providing an increased rev-range”. The pick-up on the stator-plate is split into two and arranged on top of one another instead of next to each other, as with the original design. This eliminates the possibility of false positioning during the initial set- up “due to the sloppy manufacturing tolerances included on many Vespa engine casings, crankshafts, stator- plates and flywheels. The exact ignition point is clearly marked with a precise line on both the flywheel and stator-plate, which allows exact positioning during assembly and makes a strobe- lamp set-up unnecessary”. Jodl says that one of the most important advances achieved is the production of the fly/fanwheel unit as a single component - avoiding a riveted inner mounting-cone and an uneven rotation. He says this greatly reduces engine vibration while also noticeably extending the working life of the flywheel side crankshaft bearing. The precisely balanced one- piece, twelve-finned fanwheel is CNC-machined from solid