Ralph,

I'm not Paul, but thought I might comment all the same.

I doubt any engine manufacturer is still producing engines which are identical to those made 40 years ago (I might be wrong). Italians in particular are masters of design. In my opinion, more than anything else in the country, design is something that allows them to continue to be innovative; otherwise, one could consider Italy and Italians to be a country of traditions where things change little over time. However, they also tend more toward "design refinements" rather than starting from scratch every year - this can also be seen in the European car industry - same concept.

The OPS design of these engines came about over the last 40-50 years but as far as it being the same as in the 70's - highly unlikely. I'm not sure a 1970's engine of any brand could produce over 3.5 bhp in a 10 cc 2 stroke displacement.

Getting to the point - these are Italian brutes!

David.