Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

We need to really ask this question. Why are so many sprees still around. If a scooter that was produced for only three years in the USA why are there so many of them?
I got a story and am curious if anyone else has there 2 cents they want to throw in.
When I had my scooter shop I became friends with a guy who was part owner of one the first Honda shops in Vegas. Well one day we started to talk about the Honda spree. He told me when the Honda spree came out they couldnt nail one to the ground. They would sell up to 70 to 80 honda sprees a month sometimes. He told me they brought container after container into vegas and sold the living crap out those sprees. That is why there where so many in Vegas.

Taz

From what I have heard (and remember as a teen in California in the 80's ) they marketed the heck out of them to young guys who didn't need a drivers licence to operate them. So all us testosterone filled boys wanting to get out of the house and impress the young ladies with our freedom and mobility sought out the reasonable priced little scooters. It was the age of 21 Jump Street, Morrissy, and Molly Ringwald. The girls wore neon leg warmers and the guys all wanted red scooters to show off. I can still remember seeing the first one zip by trailing a blue line of smoke (no ladies following btw)...

Aahhhh, the good old days.


Of course

Sprees and parts are plentiful in MI as well. I remember I went up to Mount Pleasant a few years ago for a part nobody here had and they did, and when I seen 350 Spree carcasses I almost shat myself.

They have a few acres of "junkyard" that's scooters alone. Few moore for cycles, sleds, quads, etc.

I think it is because that the Spree was so cheap when they were sold at dealers. I have heard that new, they sold for $300 or $350.

Pretty cheap!

The Aero 50 was twice as much; $600-$700.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong....

Later, jon

tazland001 wrote:..............................Why are so many sprees still around. If a scooter that was produced for only three years in the USA why are there so many of them?..................................................Taz

I think it is because Honda cheated and gave us 4 production years in those 3 years.

Yah I guess my math was a litlle off. hehe

Taz

Where is the sub-1000 reliable scooter now? $350 from 1985 is only around $700 today.....

they are around here, but not THAT many


ive seen maybe 2 or 3 in town. Ive seen FAR more "rare" cars.

There's a lot of Sprees still around because it was by far the most popular of the 80's Honda scooters in the US. Low price, easy to operate and fit into the moped regulations. Faster models like the Aero50 and Elite's required a motorcycle endorsement in some states.

mousewheels wrote:There's a lot of Sprees still around because it was by far the most popular of the 80's Honda scooters in the US. Low price, easy to operate and fit into the moped regulations. Faster models like the Aero50 and Elite's required a motorcycle endorsement in some states.

It's a very interesting chart. Why did honda stop selling the spree if sales continued to soar?

That is a good question. Why?

Taz

I could find no data from the '87 Spree, but looking at the Elite SB50 sales, and Aero 50, sales fell off a cliff in '87. Could be the Spree's success saturated the market. Since the SB50 should have been in the price range of the Spree, and they had a moped restricted model any Spree demand should have been still seen on that model.

tazland001 wrote:Yah I guess my math was a litlle off. hehe

Taz

I hope your math is better with the contest.

I wish sprees were that plentiful here in nova scotia Canada, no one has every really seen one till they see mine. Lots of elites 80s and 125s but you never see sprees, the odd nc50 express or two myabe. i would love to have a couple more sprees to play with. Here you need a motorcycle endorsment to drive a spree maybe that was why they werent as popular. people prob figured if they had to get a license for somthing so small wasnt worth the pain so went for bigger stuff. I take my balance test to get my license on thursday then i will be legal on my spree finally! not that that has stopped me from driving it or anything...

I second the cost vote, when I was a kid, Gar's Honda sold new Spree's for $398 out the door. They were very affordable and faster than most kid's mopeds at the time. I remember when my friends all got them they smoked me on my little PA50...I also remember they marketed the crap out of scooters in '84-'85, Grace Jones, Lou Reed, etc. all did scooter commercials, even Sarah Conner rode one in Terminator...I think that was an elite though...