Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I keep on tinkering with my little beast but continue to have the same problems. The only way I can keep her running is to have her idle what seems to be really high. She runs for a few days to a week and then dies. Usually after she is already warmed up. Then she is impossible to start again. I keep going through my carb. My belt was replaced less than 4 months ago. I just can't seem to get my carb adjusted properly. I put in a new spark plug but still the same problems. I'm really fed up. I'm used to having reliable scooters and this is infuriating to me. I get all ready to go, she warms up and then dies. She is my only transportation so this really screws my world up. Please please help.
Another weird little occurrence is that every time I clean my carb and reassemble the bike, I lose 1-3 mph. I'm down to about 24 mph now and I only weigh 140. This can't be right!

Greetings:

I looked up your posts. Apparently it's an '85 Spree?
If it keeps running worse every time you clean the carb, it's probably not the carb itself. Those O-rings are tricky to get to seal correctly without stripping the mounting flange, which may be what happened. If the carb mount is OK, start with compression, assess the exhaust for Carbon Cake, the air filter element and the usual checklist as found in the Factory Service Manual.

Also, how'd you lose 20 pounds since October?

I'm sorry! Yes. An 85 spree. As for my weight, my scooter hasn't been working!! I've lost 2 pant sizes having to hoof my happy * to get groceries hahaha the compression test is what I've been really wondering about but the only person I know with the tools for that is in Vancouver. Ugh. Plus it is my first time really working on her so I'm nervous. My 'reliable scooter' was a Genuine Buddy 50 that had parts and labor warranties. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to get something similar after moving from Atlanta to Portland (which I regret honestly). I checked my air intake and my exhaust. I'm sure my exhaust could use a clean but it really isn't bad. I got her 2 years ago with around 600 miles on her and now she has 3400. Could I have just run her into the ground?

Greetings:

Sprees can last a lot longer than that, but evidently yours has some as-yet undetermined issue. Carb cleaning fixes 80% of the running issues we read about, but yours needs further investigation first-hand. Lots of Sprexpertise here can help, but it's hard to know if/what you did wrong.

If its after warm up your getting un mettered air akak an air leak, check to make sure your oil pump is flush with the case and tightx the carb isnt loose, all the gaskets are there, pull the plastic engine cover off and check for oil build up. Look into your carb and make sure you didnt over tighten the screws and bend the auto inricher channel. I did this on an old carb and it would do exactly like your describing would warm up and die and just not start.

I live in beaverton an I'd love to help you get it running. I have plenty tools, compression tester, and a yard to work in. Canyou get the bike out here to beaverton?

http://hondaspree.net/wiki/images/4/4f/ ... e_rate.gif

See that sleeve, if you over tighten or use too long of a bolt it will crush where it fits into and wont allow it to work right and will make an airleak.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get her to start at all lately. So it isn't after warm up. I finally got to do a compression test and it wasn't good. Something like 45 psi. I realize how bad this is and now I feel really lost. I guess this means I have to rebuild my engine? I hate to sound like an idiot but I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing...

I don't think I have overtightened anything and I have used all the original bolts so it being too long shouldn't be a problem. I also replaced the bystarter within the last year if that means anything

You can find used top ends on ebay for cheap. Unbolt evrything, remembering where stuff goes of course, video record urself if u have to. Then just bolt the new stuff back on. Its easy stuff, just make sure piston goes on the same direction, and rings correct position also, the forum threads can get u thru that. Its easy, U can do it! Or if u wanna buy the part i can help u put it on, i live in beaverton.

It looks like I can get a used one for $32 with no gaskets or a new one for around $51 with gaskets. I'm guessing I should go with the new one. Do you know of a reputable seller I should go through? All this is completely foreign to me. It looks like I'll be buying an alien jigsaw puzzle.

I'm in Wilsonville. Anything you need let me know. I have acompression tester. Tools. I can help you with the new jug. For free ofcoarse. It's easy. Unless your in deep deep Portland haha!. Meloshameless. What's up? Why aren't we riding together yet?

Did everything I thought I needed to do. Rebuilt the top end. Bought new gaskets. She started up and sounded great but had a pretty awesome oil leak... leading me to believe maybe the gaskets weren't right. I don't really know. My boyfriend tried to build one out of cork but then there was no compression. I'm at my wit's end. My boyfriend is sick of messin with it and it's all I have. I don't know what to do. Now I can't even find gasket sets on eBay except ones that say mini melody and that makes me nervous (like just about all this. Almost a year now without her running right and I'm losing my mind). Please HELP!

Which gasket was made from cork? Was it the synthetic cork gasket material or actual cork sheet? There isn't much to a spree im sure we can help you get it running like it should.

I want to say he made it from cork gasket material since he works on motorcycles. I don't know why my first instinct was a cork sheet but that doesn't seem right. I can't get him to actually write on here himself which is infuriating. This seems like it should have been figured out a long time ago. From what I understand as a 'motorcycle' guy he wanted to call it the crank case gasket I think. It was leaking a pretty significant amount of oil. Looking at the gasket set I bought, I think it may have been meant for the 86-87s. Would that be my problem? I was really hoping to have it runningby my bday on the 10th but that isn't going to happen as I'm the only one who sees it as a priority and I am utterly clueless and honestly completely overwhelmed by anything mechanical. I hate to admit it... but it's true.

Greetings:

To my knowledge, all stock Honda gaskets are made of gasket paper or rubber seals, in some cases. Sprees MUST have a gasket between the crankcase halves because its thickness is factored in to the dimensions of the crank bearings. Ditto for Aero engines and the SE05 early Elites. Later ('1994-up) Elites bolt up with bare metal and a bead of HondaBond, and their crankcase is sized to fit the bearings to the crank with 0 distance between the cases. I looked up cork gaskets in Hemmings Motor News:

Gaskets made of cork have several disadvantages. The shelf life of cork gaskets is relatively short, since they lose moisture, shrink and become brittle. They also have a tendency to "wick." This is caused by capillary action pulling oil through the voids between the cork granules.
For this reason, many hobbyists who see dirt and oil film on the outside of an oil pan or valve cover with a cork gasket believe that it is leaking, and consequently over-tighten the hold-down bolts. This will not stop the natural wicking process that is responsible for the dirt accumulation. It only distorts the sheetmetal of the part and creates a leak.
Automotive cork gaskets do offer some advantages over other materials. They are easily installed on wet or dry surfaces, due to their high coefficient of friction. The cork product also has excellent compressibility and possesses good torque retention.
Cork is used in applications where oil is to be contained, where bolt loading is low, and where there are no pressure and temperature extremes.

The Spree crankcase is a high-pressure affair and bolt torque is fairly high. Your issue may be related not to the oil leaking OUT, but the tiny whiffs of Air coming IN. A case-split may necessary if the rarity of the Spree paper version induced your mechanic to use cork.