Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

Can someone please tell me if milling the head down will improve the low rpm torque. I just don't want to go through the expense of a motor swap or a bore kit.

Thanks to this forum I've gotten my free spree up to 34mph (from 28mph) on flat ground but I lost some bottom end.

Have you opened up the intake mani yet? Lapping the head and jug flat(if warped) and using a THIN layer of high temp silicone will make you lose ~.020" for free.

Im not sure what to do to the mani, when I look inside I see something that looks like it's completely blocking off the intake. When I push on it with my finger it opens up. Since I didn't know what it was I decided to just leave it there.

p.s. When I looked in the exhaust mani I didn't find any washer either, I looked in the head pipe too.

mccain wrote:Im not sure what to do to the mani, when I look inside I see something that looks like it's completely blocking off the intake. When I push on it with my finger it opens up. Since I didn't know what it was I decided to just leave it there.

Those are the reeds, you have to have them otherwise it will not run.

"the reeds" Thanks! Is there any other removable restrictions after the reeds?

If you look at how the manifold is machined it has horrible flow, smooth out the round-square transition with a dremel.

I'll take a look at the intake tomorrow, this would be my first porting experience. I've done a bit of reading about porting over the years so I feel confident I won't screw it up. Do I need any last minute advice?

Milling the head improves performance across the torque band. I'd run the high-temp gasket material 1st, then have the machining work done if you like the improvement.

noiseguy wrote:Milling the head improves performance across the torque band. I'd run the high-temp gasket material 1st, then have the machining work done if you like the improvement.

Why bother if the silicone holds?

Well if I can take away .020" for next to nothin' then I don't think im gonna' pay someone to mill a perfectly good head down.

I got this scooter for free and my goal was to see how much I could improve on it without spending more than the bikes worth. So far im up to $170, that includes new clutch tire tube and several other little things. I can't wait to see what the porting and high temp silicone does for it.

Kenny_McCormic wrote:

noiseguy wrote:Milling the head improves performance across the torque band. I'd run the high-temp gasket material 1st, then have the machining work done if you like the improvement.

Why bother if the silicone holds?

I'm not a huge fan of silicone.

see if you can get hylomar, the s*** is crazy....it works great in a pinch for a trackside head gasket! im sure it would awesome for a permanent on for a small engine.

Hylomar, thats the stuff I was thinking of. Im not a big fan of sillycone, but it has saved my * a few times.

mccain wrote: I can't wait to see what the porting and high temp silicone does for it.

Dude, I have three sprees and I have done as much as possible and the gains are very small. Make sure you have the #68 jet in the carb after all your changes. What year is your Spree?

Mines an 86 with 4300 miles on it. My moms boss gave it to her and she gave it to me, so I nick named it the Honda free. All I had to do was rebuild it.

I flooded the motor with the 68 jet, I'll try it again after I port it.