Damn! I wish this video was out 2 years, and a lot of my dollars ago. I wanted a cool looking retro get around. Boy what an expensive lesson I learned. Just like you said “a carburetor clean and I should be good. Ha! Thanks for the videos. You do great work!
The „carb clean“ is a classic selling tactic though. Basically, don‘t believe anything a seller tells you, if it doesn‘t run / run well, it just doesn‘t. The reason doesn‘t matter to you as a buyer. I don‘t want to sound fececious but it sounds like you just got ripped off oldschool style.
The Spree when tuned correctly is a great little scooter. They run at 33-34 mph. I just had completed a Elite 50E (Spree basically with different panels) and it went 25mph. When I was done going through the whole bike it now does 34mph. Getting it running is one thing. Getting it running like new is another.....
@@volvo850r3 Hey there! Been slow. Lots going on lately! Soon I'll start on it. This weekend will be first video in a while! Getting hot here in Texas! Ready to ride!!!
hey i love your channel weird seeing you on another one of my favorite channels. anyways i have an 86 spree that only tops at 25 used to do 32 have no clue whats up with it
As someone elbows deep in an SB50 restoration, I agree, they are money pits, but good swap candidates. Just remember, it's costing more than they're worth to fix up, still, I have a vision for my build. Even if it takes me years to complete. That, and preserving these scooters is sometimes worth it.
I'm not sure what you were expecting from a 50cc almost 40yr old moped. They're perfectly find if you find them for $300 max and love to tinker. Big plus and draw is only car drivers license required for most states right?
These were super iconic, and get compliments everywhere. I'll agree you're partially correct. They were one of the few mopeds that were made to not be modified. They came out at the height of regulations, so they're definitely not able to be "Big Bored" or really have any modifications done to them. At the end of the day, they're old-style two-strokes that did 34 on a perfect day. And performance wise, that's all they'll ever be.. Couple points though: Yeah, you're dealing with almost forty year old stuff. These ran fine, at 32-34 mph when they were new. And were rock-solid dependable. Parts are drying up for them though, and they were so sensitive you HAVE to use original Japanese Honda parts. Chinese junk isn't really compatible, even if it fits. That also means actual Honda air filters, and carb parts. The carbs were so sensitive, you can't put pods, or cut your own filters for them. And the old plastic fender/airboxes and intake tubes have to be checked periodically for vacuum leaks. Drive belts make a huge difference. New OEM are still available. They will help get it up to original speed. Auto-clutch material wears down. Since it's a part that's hard to find, people can't change them. Again, that'll lead to slipping or not taking off as fast as they should. There's a place in Michigan I believe, that'll rebuild the auto-clutch material though. Two-strokes are easy to work on, but again it has to be with Honda parts and you have to take care of or at least mitigate wear-and-tear as best you can. A forty year old auto-petcock, even though it's a Honda, can't have twenty-year-old-gas sitting in it, and expect to work like new. They were dirty and smoky. Part of the reason the government regulated them out of existence. The mufflers clogged up, but at least now there's videos and instructions on how to help break up the carbon and gunk inside them. (Bake it out, chemical clean it, etc. It'll make a huge difference.) There's some ok aftermarket stuff. That's actually helping keep a lot of these out there running. Scooterswapshop has some stuff for them...But I'd still be really concerned with anything not Honda OEM. There's a few places making motor mounts for Af16/Elite engines, but even finding those engines is almost impossible. If a place came out with a bolt-up kit, and wiring harness adapter for the horizontal engines, like the GY6, they'd sell tons of them. I'm hanging on to my Sprees for now, hoping they can be easily modified sometime in the near future. Stay safe out there man, watch for traffic!
Found an 85 free on the side of the road, hasn’t ran for like 20 years. everything is garage kept, seems to have been put away after the oil tank broke. The scooter is only missing the mirrors. Nothings rusty:)
I had one in the 90s. It was already ten years old and rode like a champ doing32 mph all day. I drove it 20k miles. The centrifugal clutch had its moments but never broke down. I never even put rings in it. I would occasionally tear down the top end, scrub the barrel with comet and slap it back together with the old gaskets. Ran like it was new. I even had a full size dairy carton on the back yo carry my stuff. One of the funnest times in my life. Always hated getting a flat!
Me too when I was a kid I had a black one I rode the piss out of it even taken it through some trails and never had a problem with it it always started and ran
It was my first scooter, in '84. I then traded up to a Passport (C70) and from there a motorcycle. I have great memories of that little scooter that could!
I weigh 260 and my spree with 4300 miles on it has no problem doing 30-32 mph. Funny though in California they make you have a regular motorcycle license to drive these and you can't ride them in bike lanes yet most of the speed limits around here are 35 mph and up so riding it around town is almost pointless unless you got a deathwish. People around here usually do 10mph over the speed limits as well.
Main issues with the few I’ve had are not enough vacuum to pull fuel to the carb on cold starts and post ‘85 bendix is incompatible with ‘85 starter gears. You’ll definitely feel the vibration through the floorboard. Aside from that it’s good for cruising to the pool or around the neighborhood. Doesn’t really compare to the CH80 speed at all.
The carburetor and let does not pull vacuum it's a gravity feed gas tank are you talkin about enough vacuum to open the petcock? If you are change it out
I still have my Spree I rode in the early 90s. Been sitting for 30+ years. Cleaned and polished it. Flushed and refilled the tanks. Rebuilt the carb. Runs like a top and looks nearly new. I forgot how fun these little machines are to ride. Tops out about 30mph.
I’ve had like 5 of these through buying for cheap, fixed them and tunning them, then re-selling. Used to drill a bigger whole on the carb jet and port the cylinder inputs and exhaust (outputs), good spark and make sure good compression first and foremost and a good cvt belt and they were zippy under its category 50cc can offer you at best lol. I was 15 years old and had soo much fun. We used to beat the Yamaha rass but never the Yamaha jog lol which is my favorite 50cc one. Remember once my spree went head to head with an “elte lx 50” . It was the early 90s - Those were good dayzz
It’s funny cause I’ve had a completely different experience with these, I just buy to flip but I’ve had like 10 of them and every single one the only problem has ever been cleaning the carb and they run, idle and ride like a champ after that and they do around 30-35mph stock not super fast but faster than the 20-25 you stated I think either you’re not cleaning the carbs as good as you think or some other simple issue is going on cause there’s really not much to these at all, I usually buy them for $100-$300 a piece and flip them for around $1000 and I think the most I ever spent to fix one was like $30 bucks but usually fix them for free just cleaning the carb
Oh they're supposed to go a lot faster than that. I had a brand new one a long time ago and it always went 34 mph full throttle. Never slower unless you were climbing a hill.
Petcock was the issue on mine. For some reason it would not allow flow. I actually shoved a zip tie tip down in there to open the little flap wide open.
I had one as a kid and it always started no matter what I rode the piss out of it I used it like a mini bike and even took it through some Trails never had a problem
Bypass the oil mixer! Use premixed 2 stroke fuel. Problem solved. The oil mixers on these are POS, runs to rich and then stalls out. After bypass, runs like a champ. 👍🏻
Man you must not have been around when they came out. I still remember in the 80s when I was a kid and one of my older friends got one for his bday. I was like 12 and he was 15 . I used to borrow it all the time. Put a helmet on and roll. I am looking for one right now to get back to my childhood hahaha
you seem pretty confident about these being bad, but you don't really elaborate much on it, aside from vague "electrical issues". sounds more like you just tried to clean the carb, and gave up when it didn't work.
coming back to this comment after fixing the bad idle on my spree, all i did was clean carb (main jet specifically), adjust the carb, replace the reed valve, and add a missing air filter. i still have no idea what "electrical issues" could even mean, the thing runs without a battery lol
@@FellipeRodrigues89 You can adjust the idle speed from the two adjustment screws on the carb, I'd recommend checking the service manual and spree forum to figure out how to do it. My issue was that my spree wouldn't idle for more than a few seconds before stalling (fixed by cleaning the carb main jet and installing air filter). It wasn't hard to do but I did end up completely disassembling and reassembling the carb.
@@FellipeRodrigues89 Super easy to do. Just keep it stock, and check some videos. Sprees were VERY sensitive to carb changes. You have to have the stock airbox, hose, and OEM filter. Your idle screw is the phillips screw, if I remember correctly. Once it's warmed up, just turn it to the left a little tiny bit. You'll hear the idle slow down. Good luck.
I put a new reed and belt in mine and burned the oil and carbon out of the exhaust and it runs 30-35 now without the occasional hesitation on the high end
I have a 1987. My problem is my turn signals do not work. With the engine running, I move the turn signal switch to left and right with no results. I figure it's a broken wire or a bad switch. The brake light and headlight both work fine. It has approximately 1900 miles on it. Any advice would be much appreciated.
@@Mechanic_kid Yes. The battery is fully charged. Could it be a flasher relay? I don't have a service manual for it. Is there a fuse box somewhere? Thanks for the help.
@@stinger4583 I haven’t had that issue but I would put 12v to the blinker and see if lights up. If it doesn’t your bulb is burned. Could be your blinker switch or relay. Check the continuity with a multimeter on the switch. Could probably get a replacement relay on eBay. If you haven’t already, join the Honda Spree facebook group. Ask on there, many enthusiasts are willing to help and will know more than me. Hope you get it figured out. Sorry I couldn’t help more.
When they don't have power like that is because sometimes mice is get in through the muffler and they clog it up clean it up and you'll see what happens
Take the carb and reeds out and flush the case with brake clean, over 36 years the oil build up turns to sludge and causes problems. Mine starts first kick idles like a dream and does 30 flat ground 25 uphill and 35 down. Iv got a video on my channel of it pulling a trailer with a full live we’ll going uphill.
@@courtneytayylor5026 There's some videos out there, It's takes a decent amount of time, money, and welding skills. Not something you can just bolt-together at all. Good luck though. The few I've seen are pretty awesome.
Early 90's a buddy of mine had one that topped out at 47. Out of 15 of us, his was by far the fastest. We'd disassembled it, and could never figure out how it went so fast. The rumor was that an old airplane mechanic owned it. And he had to have done something to it. Granted, it took about a half mile to get that fast. Even real motorcycle mechanics didn't know how it went so fast. Definitely not normal for back then...
@@revdrshad My guess would be that he swapped the belt out for one that rode higher, and ported the intake. That's an old school Spree mod you can do to make them go fast. Now they have a custom pulley that gives almost the same effect and makes the job easier.
If I could find these not running for $100-200 I’d be loading my truck daily lol I’m in Milwaukee and currently these sprees are being sold in non to rough running shape for $4-600 and if running well even more. I think they are iconic but personally find it easier to work on Chinese GY6 motor scooters
Hey can I ask you something the Toa Toa scooters are basically clones of the Honda spree right I can basically .? Use a Honda spree handle bar on a Taotao scooter 50cc? Because I think the Honda spree has better quality some better quality parts like OEM parts like the handlebars and stuff like that and I just want to swap it out I know you can basically put a GY6 engine and make them faster more reliable I don’t see why he doesn’t even do this it will make it more reliable even if it’s tore up
I’ve been looking online they seem compatible I just don’t wanna waste my money you know like with these Chinese scooters and stuff like that you have to be careful what you buy and I’m just not trying to blow all my money I know a Honda spree is Japanese but I know you can buy parts that are compatible because it is a clone and I don’t wanna keep blowing all my money on handlebars I’m just trying to find a nice quality aftermarket one that’s not an OEM telltale scooter one Pretty much I’m just about almost fully modded it out I’ll show you guys on my account when I’m fully done it’s hard to find good help with these Chinese scooters cost people don’t want to put good parts on the boat like you asked him do you always want to fight you or give you a run around That’s why it’s good to be mechanically inclined and you could be able to help yourself but I do believe Taotao scooters are more reliable than Hondas breeze and quicker Honda spree
Dio swap it, 72cc polini corsa bore kit, port the intake, 28mm oko or Keihin Carburetor with the right jets, heavy kelly clutch, kelly pulley, s Trans etc.. my honda eve goes 75mph on flat ground
My first spree never could get past 27, tried everything to get it faster but nothing. My second spree can easily do 35+ bone stock down a hill. It’s a dog up to 15 but once the power band kicks in it will do 30 all day.
Mine is a 85 and yea its a dog on lower rpm but as soon as that rear pulley catches up with the engine its all magic right up to 35mph. Pretty scared to go over 30mph gets a lil dodgy lol. Probably my tyres they are old. But shes a minter and im 300ibs.
I think you're wrong about those sprees they're awesome they're pretty fast I had one and everybody else had new ones and that thing they couldn't keep up with me I don't know what you mean but those things are awesome 😁
lol I have one of these and it's the same story, Sure it cost me nothing, but it way more work than its probbly worth it. The 50cc Elite/Dio's are 100% always a better bet.
I had a mint red one that ran perfectly fine. At first it would only do 30 mph. because by law that is all they are supposed to do. But then I learned this trick and was able to bury the speedometer without making any upgrades.
You're just complaining because you can't tune a 2-stroke engine it's not anything in the engineering it's you and I suppose other people don't know how to tune them either
I got a Spree for my 13th birthday. Drove it until I was old enough to get a driver's license. LOVED it!! Yeah, it only topped 32 mph, but 50 CC's aren't made for highways anyway and it was perfect for backroads. I drive a Honda Silverwing here 37 yrs later. Lots of great memories with that little Spree! 🛵❤️
Not really... lots of people messed with these. Adding underglow, alarms, remote starts, etc. Lots of coils get unplugged or rewired too, for some reason. The 90's were a rough time to be a used Spree. Lol.
They go faster than 25 maybe the one that you had was a junk they're awesome sprees mine's never gave me a problem ever only a couple of flats and that's probably what it was yours was a junk
