SA50 Elite Build

[dem0nk1d]

Gents,

I'm back after lurking in the shadows.

So yesterday morning I came across a $100.00 1995 Honda Elite Sa50. I couldn't let this deal pass me by for the price. So what do you get for a 100 bucks? A non running elite left out in the elements. Thank goodness San Diego, CA doesn't snow, and rarely rains. Oh and they key to getting a killer deal like this was not only to be the first caller, I also took the gamble and put a down payment of 45 bucks via paypal.

So lets see...


I have no truck so i had to get clever and try to figure out how one could haul an elite in a 2004 Civic. =P



As she sits ready to be dissembled


Buck, Seat, Rear Panels and rear wheel pulled


Front tire removed






Elite relaxing checking out the view from the car


Back home and power washed!


Testing this plastic trim restore stuff from turtle wax (looked good for an hour)


Front panel back on and slightly buffed out




Exhaust had so much flakey rust built up, thought i'd knock some down before i put the stock pipe back on



Pulled the carb off to inspect why she won't start. Varnish!!!





So all in all good find. I will try cleaning up the carb tonight to see if i can get her running. More to come! Also building the Elite for the wife to ride around town with me and the scooter gang!

That's it for now.

[dem0nk1d]

only concern i have is the o-rings on the idle adjustment and enrichment screws. haven't taken them out yet... don't want them to fall apart... i hope they dont... =P

[ped]

hi demonk1d. that's the same look I got when I sold my elite I had for 8 years.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h216/ ... a84714.jpg

[Red Eft Performance]

Thats a good deal!

Looks good!

Welcome Back!!!

Keith

[scootert]

should do it a favor and loose that 2 slow

[dem0nk1d]

should do it a favor and loose that 2 slow

Ha Mike! * you doing on here...

Anyhow update tore the carb apart. The varnished didn't come out easy in the bowl. I had a round wire brush that i was able to loosen that gunk up. Hit everything with a ton of carb cleaner, cleaned out the clogged jet, and tried to fire it over...

Nothing....

Checked the plug, oh wow what a beauty that was. Super fouled and i chucked the spark plug in the vise and cleaned it up pretty quick with the wire wheel. Slapped it in and tried it again...


Nothing...

Little blast of carb cleaner down the throat of the carb..

Chug... Chug... Smoke!

Stalled out... Hit again with the carb cleaner down the throat and boom she starts! Let it warm up and off we went for a test ride. Last time the Elite saw the pavement was back in 2002. Man so awesome! So now i have to figure out if i'll go big bore after the wife gets the hang of ridding it at 50cc's then will drop the hammer and go with a 72cc! Stay tuned...

[dem0nk1d]

Anyone have any tricks to buff the panels back to life? Compound, brand, etc?? Anything is worth a shot...

[bajack]

Novus 2 they got 3 things to their little kit, i forget which one is which. 2 is fine scratch remover, one of them is a polisher, only and the other is a heavy scratch remover. Does ok. Also, a heat gun, on the high setting, keep it moving. Will turn them back black, but you gotta keep it moving fast and as soon as it appears back black, get it away. Plus extra on some spot, will make it warp if your not careful with it. i practiced on an old piece. Itll work on thick plastic, i wouldnt trust it on car dash, with foam behind it. itll melt it, just a little, then the original plastic will shine back through. So it's hard.

[dem0nk1d]

Novus 2 they got 3 things to their little kit, i forget which one is which. 2 is fine scratch remover, one of them is a polisher, only and the other is a heavy scratch remover. Does ok. Also, a heat gun, on the high setting, keep it moving. Will turn them back black, but you gotta keep it moving fast and as soon as it appears back black, get it away. Plus extra on some spot, will make it warp if your not careful with it. i practiced on an old piece. Itll work on thick plastic, i wouldnt trust it on car dash, with foam behind it. itll melt it, just a little, then the original plastic will shine back through. So it's hard.

So the question is the gray plastic panels, did they come gray from the factory or black? Last night i tested the side skirts and hit them with my propane torch, they went from gray to black in seconds. I moved very fast with the torch not to get the panels to hot to warp. But like I said they went black... So i want to know what's the original color.... I'll post pictures shortly.

I talked to the autobody shop supplies and they said all the back to black, things are snake oil. they are only a quick fix and turn back to the dull colors within days or weeks if your lucky. The recommend i paint them with bumper trim.

Experimented with propane torch on the side skirts.. Quick passes... Notice the difference...

[Rip_City_Spree]

I painted all mine with bumper trim paint. Every piece except for my shiny plastics are shot so I said why not. They look great so far been over a month of hard riding and they still look good and easy to touch up

[dem0nk1d]

So the battery from 1995 is dead... Pffft... Time to experiment. They call this a sealed battery, but it's not it's a lead acid battery and the caps are removeable. We will be filling the battery with acid, and then seeing if it does anything



get ready to add acid


Hmmm... It's charging how strange. Just add more acid i guess... However when i first bench tested the battery directly from the bike the charger didn't even come on. So obviously the acid is enabling the battery to charge again!


Add too much acid but and is overflowing on charging... That's ok no biggie, had to run to the store because i thought i had baking soda...


Conclusion of the project is just by adding acid back to the empty battery reenegized it. Saving me at least 20 bucks. Purely a win!


Broken throttle cable, i might beable to mend it back together with a small piece of tubing and glue until a get a replacement.


rollers still in good shape


Pulled the CVT cover and inspected the stock variator to make sure it was unrestricted. More tomorrow probably.

[swimmingfree]

one you put distill water in the battery not a acid... acid will f up the battery..
the rollers look like thay have flat spots on them.....
swimmingfree

[dem0nk1d]

one you put distill water in the battery not a acid... acid will f up the battery..
the rollers look like thay have flat spots on them.....
swimmingfree

I agree with the distilled water, but even the battery said not to fill with water. It was empty from years of sitting. I figure the whole thing was a mad science project. The rollers with minor flat spots are not going to hinder performance. This bike is staying stock until my lady really learns how to ride...

[dem0nk1d]

California DMV and their process of pawning old fee's to the new buyer is BS. I just found out the Elite has over 500$ in back fees! Wow was a * yesterday about this. So this means at 8am this morning i will be calling the DMV and see if i can work something out over the phone. Then i might be standing inline after work again.

[scootert]

guess you never watch that PA parking authority show on tv

if you got your car towed your responsible for your parents parking tickets before you can even get your car out
or something stupid like that

so is a $600 elite not a good deal then