Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I have a 2001 sa50 with 80cc bore and a set of 8.5 gears,with 25,500 miles.Been having a gear rattle when acceleration, sounds like they are rattling on the side of the case.I opened case and didn't find anything that looked bad.I am thinking it mite be the side cover.

Greetings:

The late '98 to '01 Elites use a plain bearing on the left end of the axle shaft; the shaft rides right in the aluminum socket of the cover.
With that many miles, it's possible that the socket has enlarged to the point where the axle can rattle around in there. The damage might not be apparent.
Measure the axle end and compare that to the socket diameter in the vertical plane. If it's more than a few microns different, that may be the noise source.

A new cover would resolve it.
The '94 to early '98s used a smaller axle end diameter and a second proper ball bearing. I don't care for the later arrangement.
I suspect it was a cost-cutting measure for a product that wasn't expected to rack up so many miles.
Check the end play of the countershaft and be sure to use the correct thrust washers. Some aftermarket Dio gears have different dimensions on the countershaft.
The sealed right axle bearing can be worn, too.
If you plan to ride it to 50K, consider swapping axles and covers for the 2-bearing version.

had that happen on my nq50 only thing was, it was on the case side so it was a crappy moment