Today’s question for Dr. Buzz comes from Ryan B. in Chicago, following a thread on CHIscooterList about protecting your cylinder while working on your engine:
……So a 12 oz can of beer fits perfectly in the cylinder of a P200, a shot glass filled with 2 stroke is the perfect mix ratio for a gallon of gas, are these coincidences or is there something going on here?
Dr. Buzz: While it’s easy to write Ryan’s examples off as the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy, the truth is that scooter designers are well aware of the rich history of drunk scooter bodgery. It’s a known fact that the original Vespa was designed to run on a gallon of Martini dry vermouth with a 5% olive oil mixture. Scooter designers take every opportunity to ignore ISO, DIN, ANSI, SAE, and other standards in the interest of utility and convenience for the alcoholic scooter tinkerer. We’ve compiled several of the most useful conversions in this handy list, hang it in your garage for handy reference:
- 66.7 mm: Diameter of 1st oversize P200 cylinder
or a standard beer/soda can - 75 ml: 2% of one US gallon
or volume of one US double-shot glass - 7 oz: Volume of Polini 207 cylinder
or one Little Kings Cream Ale bottle - 243 lbs: Dry weight of a Vespa S
or one 2strokebuzz editor - 12”: Diameter of Kymco Agility wheel
or the Erasure “Chains of Love” dance remix that makes you cry when you’re drunk. - 23 liters: Volume of Givi E340 Vision topbox
or four cases of beer, (without cans) - .08: Displacement (in gallons) of the Kymco Downtown 300i
or the legal blood alcohol limit in the U.S. - 0.0112″: Thickness of beer can aluminum
or of a base gasket made from beer can aluminum.
See, the coincidences are endless. And useful!
Post your favorite conversions in the comments, maybe we’ll make a poster and try to sell your own ideas back to you or something.
Do you have a question for our so-called experts? Email Dr. Buzz! Your confidentiality is guaranteed, to the degree that we’ll spell your last name with one letter.
Note: Dr. Buzz is an unlicensed, mostly-fictional doctor. Take his advice with a grain of salt.
Chains of Love is a peppy upbeat song. the 12″ single you’re looking for is Sometimes
Don’t tell me what Erasure song to cry to!
Sorry, I’m feeling fragile.
::edit::
Note: Dr. Buzz is an unlicensed, mostly-fictional doctor. Take his advice with a grain of salt, a wedge of lime, and a shot of tequila.
Ooh, I like that.