Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

We just picked up a 1987 Honda Spree and got it to fire and run, however, the handle bars (whole steering column) are pulled in towards the seat. We are compared it to a 86 Spree and it way different. It also drives wonky. We couldn't find any dents or crimps in the frame that would make it do this... Any thoughts here?

flinthills76 wrote:We just picked up a 1987 Honda Spree and got it to fire and run, however, the handle bars (whole steering column) are pulled in towards the seat. We are compared it to a 86 Spree and it way different. It also drives wonky. We couldn't find any dents or crimps in the frame that would make it do this... Any thoughts here?

Wrecked!

the previous owner crashed it and the forks are bent.
I've seen it before.
The front forks don't need to be bent very much to get WONKY.

So, they all look fine though? I mean everything is straight on it? Will replacing the forks cause the handlebars to go back into position? How much do forks run?

flinthills76 wrote:So, they all look fine though? I mean everything is straight on it? Will replacing the forks cause the handlebars to go back into position? How much do forks run?

I would suspect the stem and frame are bent. Remove the plastics and it will become obvious.

That's the wacky part, the frame looks straight, stem, looks straight too. We took it down, we can take another look....

Greetings:

I have a straight, never-wrecked '87 fork you can have for shipping if no better option comes along. Not particularly clean, but can be shined up.

The '87 forks are unique to that year. Plastics are different, too. Maybe that's the reason for the different steering feel?

Good luck!

Cool, may take you up on that, do you have to pull the forks out to see if they are bent? The 86 and 87 sit differently when on it. The 86 feels normal and drives straight, the 87, your hands are further in towards you and pulls left.

I think a comparitive picture would shed some more light for us...

Greetings:

The key to determining Spree-straightness is to ensure that the forks and the steering stem lie in one plane. In a crash, the wheel usually gets knocked under the scoter a little, producing an "L" shape at the stem. I pulled out my '87 Spree fork last night to dust it off a bit:

The protruding struts below the thicker painted body still have some chrome plating, but spotted with rust. Might clean up with light abrasive or ScotchBrite. The painted surfaces are pretty clean with a few scuffs but no rust under the caked-on grease I removed. The bearing races are unblemished and most of the balls are in a little baggie with the upper race and nuts. One of the rubber dust seals is cracked but usable. (Electrical tape? )

Having pulled it out, I decided to recycle some packing material I had and boxed it up. It's about 10 pounds, subject to actual weighing. I have a straight set of handlebars too. LMK if you can use any of it.

Cool, we may take you up on it. Let us pull apart the the fork and column. If the bentness comes from the frame, there would be a crimp somewhere right? And also, with what you are suggesting, with the mis alignment, this would cause the handle bars to kick back towards the seat?

Thanks man

My frame bent without kinking.

I straighted it out with a bottle jack

flinthills76 wrote:Cool, we may take you up on it. Let us pull apart the the fork and column. If the bentness comes from the frame, there would be a crimp somewhere right? And also, with what you are suggesting, with the mis alignment, this would cause the handle bars to kick back towards the seat?

Thanks man

I had an sb50 that was bent like that, no kink, the tube just curved more than it should have. Later found out it was because the scooter had been driven off the roof of a local high school.

Can you bend it back without screwing it up?

flinthills76 wrote:Can you bend it back without screwing it up?

I did and rode it for another couple thousand miles. It also bent the motor mount so the rear wheel looked like it was twisted. I just replaced that(better safe than sorry).