Elite 50 stopped running mid ride. Big or Small issue?

[ITLNBUC]

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post here so excuse me if i'm not in the right section or anything.

I recently bought a 2001 Honda Elite 50. Bought it under 600 miles and the scooter looked basically brand new/ran perfect. Over the last week or so, I have been noticed that it will sometimes stop running at idle, especially when I first turn it on. Figured it wasn't a huge issue so I didn't worry. But today, I filled up my gas tank, probably made it a mile, and then the scooter just died out of nowhere. Went to the side of the road to try and start it but couldn't get anything from the electric. Tried giving it a few kicks and it sounded like it wanted to get going but just wouldn't get there. It was the weirdest thing. Didn't make any weird noises, no weird feelings before it died....just simply shut itself off.

The last owner said he had changed the batter right before selling so I didn't think it was the battery. And I am not experienced at all with these things but I do know that with it being a 2 stroke, it needs oil. When I bought it, the seller said he had never worried about it because the scooter has that pump that mixes the oil by itself so I didn't worry about it either seen as how the mileage was low. Also, there is a light that says oil and figured that would pop up if it was the oil. But I seriously can't think of anything else that would make it just shut off like that. I also called a scooter repair man in my area and he couldn't think of anything either.

So my questions are these: 1. If the oil was too low/out, would the scooter just die like that? 2. If so, does the scooter have a sensor that cuts it before things get bad? There is a light for it so I am assuming yes but I know running without oil can destroy your engine so is it possible the sensor caught it before the engine got destroyed?

I am going later today to buy oil and put some in to see if it is that simple of a fix but I wanted to ask some people who know what they are doing to see.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[ITLNBUC]

Just a little update if you are reading. I went and got oil and put it in the oil tank. Guy at the cycle shop said give it some kicks without the ignition to get the oil through the engine. Did that, try kicking it to start and got nothing. Tried the electric start and held it for a decent amount and was able to get the scooter started for a few seconds but it died pretty quickly. Wasn't able to get it going again.

Man at the shop said it is definitely not seized since I can still kick it but the other thing he thought of was a hole in one of the pistons. Any way of testing that without going into the engine?

[otto-man]

Check to see if gas is getting to the carb. Loosen the drain screw on carb and kick it over and see if gas drains out the bowl. If no gas, it could be a vacuum problem caused by a crank seal issue or bad petcock. Check compression. Check for spark.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Open the airbox and examine the filter element.. there may be a chunk of foam missing. Original Factory filter is crumbly by now. Retrieve it from the reed block if so. Small issue, but you'll need new manifold gaskets and some patience to reassemble. Follow Service Manual instructions and clean the mating surfaces to Perfection. Slather the new or home-made gasket with Hi-Temp grease to ensure easier removal next time. See Noiseguy for a new filter element..

[ITLNBUC]

Appreciate all the replies. I am not experienced in working on these things so I ended up just having a repair guy come look it over. Not sure why but when he came to pick it up, he tried giving it a go because, according to him, what I explained happened made him think it was a lot less complex of an issue. Well, he started it second try. He also turned up the idle which I already knew was low. Been riding the scooter around all day and have not had any issues.

I still have no clue what the issue was the first time but the scooter is running even better now.

Again, thanks for all the help.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

It's probably still worth removing 5 identical Phillips head screws from the black air-box cover on the left side and eyeballing the sponge filter element. Except for Divine Intervention, the only other thing that could explain this behavior is a sticky throttle cable.

[ITLNBUC]

I will definitely still look at it.

Mechanic said his thoughts were that either the sparkplug got flooded or there was oil build up in the exhaust because when we actually got it going, it was spitting quite a lot of smoke for a while and he said that was just all the oil burning.

[MrJumps]

Yeah sounds like oil pump is leakkng, leaks very slowly so when it sits for 2 months it fills the case up and causes it to flood with oil.

[ITLNBUC]

Can you explain a little more, MrJumps. The scooter has been ridden everyday for the last month. If the oil pump was leaking, but I was still riding everyday, would it cause it to stall like that? I will add this scooter is still under 700 miles so it hasn't been ridden much since it was first bought in 01 but 50 of those miles have been me alone without issue.

[Rip_City_Spree]

I'd still check everything over. If it only has 700 miles on it that means it was sitting before you got it. Fuel lines get dry air filters dry out... Everything you need is here on the site. good luck

[bonesv]

The oil light "switch" does not cut off the engine when the oil is low, it's just to warn you that it needs to be filled some. If you run it out of oil, it will seize and scar the internal parts - don't be that guy.
Use correct oil for 2-stroke, air-cooled motors.
Change the spark plug. For 3 or 4 dollars, it's cheap to replace it. NGK is the brand Honda recommends #BPR6HSA.
Be sure the spark plug boot is seated all the way onto the fan shroud.
If the air filter is good, or needs replacing, be sure to saturate with oil and squeeze out excess before installing to insure proper operation.
Read up on your new scooter and easily look up important information about it here http://hondaspree.net/wiki/index.php5?title=Main_Page