The point of this article is to show exactly what performance to expect from any of these exhausts if they are bolted onto a standard Runner/Dragster 180. These results are largely irrelevant once you get involved in tuning and fitting kits, because the higher revving exhausts may then be better suited to the engine's characteristics, In all the subsequent graphs, the standard exhaust is represented by the blue curve and the compared exhaust is shown by the red curve.

On a standard 180 Runner /Dragster, only the PM and Stoffi pipes provide a worthwhile performance improvement. Considering that we have tested samples from the cream of Europe's tuning houses , then this really does go to show how far the development of original equipment silencers has come in the last few years and particularly how fussy the 180 Runner engines is to pipes.

Even the less powerful exhausts may still have some thing to offer. The original Gilera exhaust is extremely heavy, prone to rusting and in some rare cases can even break along the bottom part of the bracket. When this happens (usually heralded by a new vibration felt on the machine) all the weight oft the exhaust is supported by the top mounting bolt which can-if not dealt with quickly-break the top mounting lug off the engine. Apparently later exhaust feature brackets with strengthened welding but like all exhausts, even those will have a finite lifespan. For all its excellent performance, you will have to pay around £230 to replace a complete genuine Runner Considering that you can have more power for the same sort of price with a Stoffi or PM exhaust, both of which look and sound sportier, it seems you might as well do so . Alternatively for around the same sort of price - when they arrive in the UK - you could have a DIG wich gives you a similar power output to standard, but a higher top speed thanks to a revvier delivery. This comes of the cost of having to modify your transmission with the bits provided,

and to the detriment ofthe life of your engine since it is having to run at higher rpm all of the time. If you just want something cheap to replace a broken original pipe - and arent worried about loosing 1.3 hp - then the best bet from this bunch appears to be the Kundo for £150. As for all the others, then the simple answer is mot to waste your money if you are simply looking for a simple boost to a standard scooter, because they will all make it perform worse in some way.

We also planned to include the Gianelli Freeway exhaust for the 180 Runner in this test, but the current batch for this model turned out to have been recalled by the distributor. There are also some systems wich we may hopefully manage to try if all the manufacturers and distributors are willing to play ball: the Kegra Racing exhaust, Sito Plus, and a bit of luck, a brand nea PM 55 Mk2 Whatch out for a part two soon.

STD versus MALOSSI

STD versus PMZ PM 55 Mk2

Like the Polini pipe, the Malossi is designed as a race part
to work with their cylinder kit and other engine components
as part of a full tuning package. On its own - without any
transmission changes the Malossi pipe makes less
power than standard all the way up to 68 mph, though
it still provides a sizeable advantage at 80 mph. With
properly calibrated transmission rollers allowing
the engine to rev higher before the pulleys adjust,
you should expect a graph similar to that of the
standard pipe, but with little worthwhile advantage
apart from the ability to rev on harder for a
higher top speed. Peak power is 16.6 hp,
which is still slightly down on the original.
It does at least seem to fit well. The
springs which attach the chamber to the
stub mani fold fit through very small
holes in the manifold itself so it is
better to fit them before the manifold
is bolted to the cylinder. The Malossi
exhaust is very expensive, at £335.
Since it gives little worthwhile
advantage of a standard road
machine and is very noisy, we
wouldn't recommend it's use
unless combined with all the
other Malossi race components
for track use.

I know from experience on my own Runner that the
PM Tuning pipe works well, and fits nicely, although
it's not exactly the last word in deathly silence. Sadly
Paul didn't want to lend us one if the test was being
done at a competitor's shop, in case there was any
impropriety concerning the results (there are ways to
fiddle dyno results, as Italian tuners are quite capable
of demonstrating). Without the PM included in this test,
I was worried that we'd have nothing to show that
actually worked better than standard, so I managed
to borrow one from a reader - Steve Adams. Steve's
pipe is 5,000 miles old, and as such can' t be
expected to perform as well as a brand new one
which hasn't been coked up. The exhaust itself
has remained reliable over that period apart from
the bracket which supports the U-bend on the end
of the muffler breaking and needing to be welded
back on. Certainly we've heard of standard Runner
exhausts not lasting that long. Even in that well
used state, the PM performed better than a
standard pipe. It added just over a horsepower,
but the gain was all across the speed range.
You can feel the advantage all the time you
are riding. Personally I was expecting the
advantage to be a little more, but that is
probably down to the secondhand
condition of the exhaust. We have
again asked PM to supply a brand new
pipe for a re-test next issue.