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If you are the type that fancies flying kites in thunderstorms, then the Casa Performance Lambretta Twin is right up your alley. This is pure 2-stroke Jekyll and Hyde on 10” wheels.  If you can master it then it’s pure exhilaration. If you get it wrong, then the results won’t be pretty.

Let’s talk numbers

In the 80s, while most Scooterboys were battling bikers on the way to Bridlington, spotty-faced casuals were getting all erect about the latest Japanese 250cc race replicas. The Suzuki RGV250 had a listed output of 56hp (at the crank) but on a dyno, at the rear wheel, it was more like 45hp.

By the early 2000s, Aprilia had fitted an evolution of the Suzuki RGV engine to their RS250 race replica. In derestricted race form it boasted 70hp at the crank but that’s more like 62hp at the wheel if you are lucky. Aprilia placed that engine into a fine-handling chassis, weighing in at around 140kg without fluids.

Pah, that’s kids’ stuff. Not even worthy of a semi.

If you really want 250cc two-stroke insanity then a Casa Performance Lambretta 250 Twin beats it hands-down. More power than an Aprilia RS250 engine in a lightweight 1960s scooter with about the same suspension travel as a high-end camping mat.

Think riding around the rim of an active volcano with Hunter S Thompson wielding a shotgun and feeding you from his pharmaceutical suitcase.

This is life on the edge.

Some Facts

The Casa Performance (CP) twin has a cylinder from a Grand Prix kart engine. The racing kart uses one of these cylinders. The Lambretta engine uses two. Double the fun. Double the trouble.

The CP twin has five gears and it power-wheelies in all of them. It is geared for 180 kmh (112mph). I have not ridden it flat-out in top gear, but I’m sure it has the performance to go faster than that.

The guys from Casa Performance have made 3D-printed wings feeding through holes in the carbon fibre legshields. They are designed to keep the front wheel on the ground. They don’t work. Or at least they don’t work as well as I’d like them to.

JetPrime CNC-machined the engine casings from billet.

Dr Jekyll

The twin is very low compression so it takes little more than bad breath on the kickstart pedal to fire it up. The only difference from a normal Lambretta is that there are currently two flip-up choke controls on the rear-facing Dellorto VHST28 carbs, but that is just a temporary solution while the set-up is perfected.

Once started, the belt-driven pump immediately starts circulating coolant like a beating heart. The engine settles to a satisfying stereo burble, as each exhaust sends out an alternate puff of smoke. As I rode it, the carburation was still quite rich at low revs but blip the throttle enough and the engine suddenly screams in your ear like a choir of angels being fed into a meat grinder. Invigorating!

With a clutch and 5-speed gearbox both based on Casa Performance’s standard product range, gearchanges are light and easy. Twist the left headset to select first gear, ease out the clutch and you are off. No drama…yet.

It is perfectly possible to ride the twin around town below 8,500 revs in a civilized manner following the traffic. There’s barely any engine vibration: certainly nothing noticeable above the general background noise of road vibrations you get when riding on wheels smaller than a fat man’s dinner plate. 

At those revs it burbles a little but nothing much is happening. Open the throttle wide below the power-band and you seem to do little other than increase the burbling. It does begin to accelerate but not rapidly. 

These cylinders do not have the benefit of a power-valve to adjust exhaust port timing and fill the gap in the power curve between ‘sad’ and ‘mad’. This is old-school split-personality stinkwheel adventurism. The barrels and exhaust design come from a kart Grand Prix series where power is everything, grip is ample and power-valves are not used because you either need to be on the gas or on the brakes. Nobody would mess around below 8,500 revs. It’s as pointless as counting the steps on an escalator. 

Casa Performance twin cylinder Lambretta GP being ridden by Sticky.

Mr Hyde

When you hit 8,500 rpm: things change rapidly. The power output jumps from 20hp to 50hp at 9,500rpm and the front wheel tilts skywards. By 12,500rpm the output has peaked at over 75hp but there’s also some over-rev to enjoy. It’s still making 70hp at 13,300 revs…

In a Lambretta chassis it honestly feels like someone has hit the ‘hyperspace’ button, such is the sudden transition as the exhaust hits its resonant frequency and the scenery accelerates in reverse. If all you wanted was to gently overtake an old lady in a Fiat Uno, you might as well forget it. ‘Gentle’ is not in the Twin’s dictionary.

Once the engine is in the power band, the throttle is responsive. Thankfully. You are accelerating madly whatever happens, but at least you can adjust the rate of acceleration and the angle of wheelie with the twistgrip. I’m not comfortable with the front wheel in the air at high speeds. Call me a cissy but I like to use the front wheel for abstract concepts like ‘steering’ and ‘braking’.

The idea of the throttle as a ‘wheelie adjuster’ is perhaps more relevant here than anything else I’ve ever ridden. If you hit the power at 9,500 and the front wheel lifts then you can back off to get the wheel on terra firma again, but open the throttle again as the revs build and the front wheel will lift again; such is the width of the power band.

I found myself clinging on to the bars trying to stay forward in the seat and using my right foot underneath the rear brake pedal as a way to hold on. Anyone who’s done an advanced riding course will tell you that tensed arms and legs are not the right way to ride quickly, but equally, you need a firm grip to ensure you aren’t left at the side of the road, like my Insta360 camera was on the second test ride…

It wheelies in this gear, and all the others…

Mr Troll

Whenever we feature a mentally-fast scooter like this, there’s always some boring arse who comments, “You might as well get a motorbike.” Invariably, these are people who could never afford the scooter in question and wouldn’t have the talent to ride one if they could. They are the sort of folks who criticize a Lamborghini for its poor boot space compared to their Seat Alhambra. 

The point that they are missing is that this sort of scooter is far more exciting to ride than a production motorcycle, precisely because it is doing what a scooter shouldn’t do.

I’ve ridden a few Superbikes. Compared to this Lambretta they are extremely civilized and, dare I say it, a bit sane. A Superbike chassis is built in harmony with the engine to cope with the power. Accelerating quickly on most feels nowhere near as sketchy or exciting as doing the same on a 1960s scooter, with a chassis designed for 12hp. Fast, modern production motorbikes do not generally try to flip over if you give them full throttle in top gear – they accelerate forwards from one silly speed to another. I always found it hard to get a buzz out of Superbikes until you are at speeds where your driving licence is as secure as a trampoline in a tornado.

Let’s be straight though; a 112mph howling twin cylinder Lambretta is just as likely to lead to Butch Cassidy-style run-ins with the Feds. My point is that there is still plenty of excitement to be had below 70mph; where Superbikes just feel under-utilised.

If you want to lap the Isle of Man as quickly as possible then a Superbike might be the right tool for the job. If you want an adrenaline rush and to feel ‘close to the edge’ then it’s easier to do it with a 76hp Lambretta…

If you look carefully you can just see sparks from the exhaust’s belly.

 What’s new?

 Since our reveal article about the CP 250 Twin, Casa Performance have had some new exhausts made. The Lambretta, with the engine operating as a swinging arm, has always proved a challenge for exhaust builders. It’s hard enough trying to plan a route for one expansion chamber. Fitting two exhausts, each with a belly diameter on par with a Christmas Turkey, below Lambretta bodywork is a work of automotive origami. I rode it with 2L Tech’s first attempt at a usable street system but revised versions will inevitably follow.

The right-hand exhaust follows traditional routing, keeping the belly at the front near the centre stand and uses a long ‘stinger’ tube that leads to a muffler supported by the engine. The other side is more of an issue. There’s little room for the exhaust belly in order to clear the bodywork and the HPI ignition. As such, left-hand ground clearance is inevitably compromised. Despite only using a short stinger, the muffler still overhangs the number plate.

Despite all these design compromises, these carefully-wrapped exhausts have lost little power compared to 2L Tech’s original straight-line system. It was showing 76hp on the day of my first ride, whereas previously it hit 78hp with the straight versions.

This is unlikely to be the definitive layout, but something has to give in order to get more ground clearance. Either the centre stand will have to move, the belly diameter will need to shrink or the last resort will be to test a 2-into-1 exhaust system. Even if that works perfectly, I’m sure most prospective Twin owners would rather have two exhausts. One pipe simply isn’t ostentatious enough if you are spending large on a twin-cylinder motor.

Moody shot of Casa Performance's Lambretta GP twin exposing the 76bhp engine and left hand exhaust.

Superbad!

Come here, there’s more

 There’s a reason why high-end car and motorcycle manufacturers carefully guard details about their new models until they are ready for release. Pressure.

If you are working on a secret project then there’s no timetable for launch except the one you make yourself. You can take as long as you want to finish the final details.

Casa Performance have not afforded themselves that luxury. In this world of social media, it’s simply not realistic for a small shop to keep a project like this unseen. Instead, they showed it off very publicly at the Scooter Center show in Koln earlier this year. The internet went mad.

Consequently, there are salivating scooter nuts all around the globe looking to buy what will probably be the ultimate in high-performance engines for the Lambretta. 

I can’t see any other firm investing so much time, energy and technology to beat the CP Twin. Even if someone did, there’s still room for the Rimini lads to turn up the dial on this configuration by fitting two 175cc versions of the Motori Seven cylinder and making a 350cc version. I have no doubt that there’s 90-100hp potential in this engine if you want to go looking for it.

Casa Performance have set themselves a more modest target (!) of 85hp, using their own cylinders; which have already been designed in CAD. Basing the cylinders on Kart Grand Prix spec means that there’s tons of data available. 

Almost every part is custom-made for this engine, including the billet rear wheel.

I have no doubt that they can reach 85hp. And it’s important because what this scooter really needs is another 7hp…

Currently though, the 250 Twin is not really ready for sale. The exhaust layout still needs to be finalized with carburettor jetting to match. The HPI ignition fitted works fine but the lights output is as weedy as the power output is strong. All the complicated work has been done: designing totally new CNC-machined engine cases to incorporate crankcase reedvalve and a belt-driven water pump. Now begins the tricky and often time-consuming phase of tweaking it to get it working right.

Micky and Lorenzo of Rimini Lambretta/Casa Performance with the first running prototype of the Casa twin Lambretta.

Micky and Lorenzo of Casa Performance.

I want one, what do I need?

If you are really into something, then it’s logical that if you can afford it, you get the latest and greatest version. The performance of the CP Twin simply puts all other packages in the shade for performance. Before you pick up the phone and hand over your credit card details, here’s another short list of things you will need:

  • Good Riding Skills: If you want a CP Twin to actually use for anything other than a seafront pose then you really need to have a delicate throttle hand. Fast production motorcycles are much easier to ride than a 75hp 2-stroke scooter with a light-switch powerband. Micky from Casa Performance might be comfortable with 5th gear wheelies but I know very few other scooter riders who are…
  • A specially-prepared Lambretta chassis: If you buy this engine then fitting it to a scooter is your problem. This means finding space for a radiator, sorting out the hosing and venting and preparing the chassis for a beast of an engine. It needs the best brakes and suspension available. The Casa Performance catalogue is a good place to start for that sort of thing.
  • Somewhere to use it: If you want to use this engine on the track then that’s possible; you just need a race, practice or drag-race series that will accommodate you. If you want to use it on the street then you must live where this sort of vehicle modification is acceptable (UK and USA for instance), where it could be made legal through inspection (Germany perhaps) or simply not give a shit and ride like an outlaw.
  • Wealth: At the moment there’s only a ball-park figure of €15,000 being bandied about for one of these engines. Knowing quite how many parts are artisan-produced one-offs that seems to be entirely justifiable. I also suspect that it’s not likely to be the end of the deal once you begin to look at the extras required to fit the engine into a scooter. Essentially, if you need to ask ‘how much’ then you are on the wrong side of the shop window.
  • Patience: The longer the Casa Performance lads have to develop this project, the better the results will be. If all you want is an insane drag-race motor then what they’ve built already fits the bill. If you want something with better road manners and lighting then you’ll need to wait a while.

In Summary

If you follow the world of continental dyno dick-length competitions then this is not (yet) the most powerful 2-stroke scooter on the planet. I don’t subscribe, because I don’t believe in that sort of ‘dyno bollocks’ as Ralph Saxelby would succinctly put it.

Tweaking jetting only for the dyno, jumping up and down on the seat to get the highest readings, it’s all just an immature contest about who can piss highest up the wall. If you can’t actually ride it on the road without it looping-the-loop or seizing, then any dyno figures are totally academic.

By contrast, the CP 250 Twin does what it says on the tin. The dyno read 76bhp when I first rode it, and without adjustment it sure as hell feels like it on the strada too. All the things that usually let tuned engines down (clutch, cooling, ease of starting) seem to work fine; in fact better than plenty I’ve tried before, so it is possible to ride it on the road.

The performance however is on another level from any two-wheeler I’ve tried before. If you want one but have any doubts about your ability to handle it then I’d suggest taking up something safer. Maybe learning to lion-tame while wearing a suit made of bacon. That sort of thing…

Rimini Lambretta Centre are taking deposits to make this dream become reality. Give them a call on (0039) 0541 686449. Be sure to tell them it was this feature that got you hooked!

 

Words, images and video: Sticky

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4 Comments

  • Nudger says:

    By the Beard of Zeus! I’ll take 2 please…

  • Chris says:

    If that screen ever went in to production, I may be able to afford that.

  • Nickednic says:

    Absolutely mental. I wish I had the riding skills to just ride it lol. I believe the engine will be at the Newark show on Oilteks stand in January. Great article 🙂

  • Simon Booth says:

    Maybe there is a purpose to life once more..

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