Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

So after a long hiatus in riding my 85 Spree (was getting poor vacuum on my carb which in turn killed most of my starter system), I give it a ride and it's feeling a little odd. It's not going very fast and the engine appears to be shaking. I pulled it over in a safe place to have a looksie as my first thought was that I'd just not tightened the shock bolt properly and it went careening off somewhere, but that was not the case.

I started it back up while gazing at the engine/innards to see if i could see/hear the problem from up close, but it only ran for about a second before the engine straight up seized. I heard a big ol' "CLUNK" sound from the rear end of the engine, so I popped off the cover to see what was up, and lo and behold the belt was stuck on something. I cleaned it out and found many little pieces of what looked like aluminum shavings, including one that was wedged between the belt and the rear end of the belt assembly. I rotated the belt a little bit to see/hear if all was well now and I heard something rattling inside the flywheel (that's what the rearmost wheel is in the belt compartment, right? feel free to correct me if it's not)

A closer visual inspection revealed that it looked like there was some kind of inner wheel that has disconnected and has all but melted/shaved off, I got a pic from the back



Any ideas? I tried to get the wheel off with my adjustable wrench, but nothing doing. Didn't have my universal holder with me.

That's the clutch. Your clutch blew up. Kind of unusual. Remove it and take a look.

Also inspect front pulley, but sounds like it's fine.

Dang really? How was it running at all (however poorly) with an exploded clutch?

tbplayer wrote:Dang really? How was it running at all (however poorly) with an exploded clutch?

Realistically, that area is more like a transmission or rearend than engine. Motor can be running, and front pulley running the belt. I doubt it is running now, is it?

tbplayer wrote:Dang really? How was it running at all (however poorly) with an exploded clutch?

You'll need to take it apart and tell us.

Took it apart today. It's definitely the clutch plates. In retrospect I'm amazed it was running too (however poorly)

Pictures provided more for plot resolution/schadenfruede than information:





and the shrapnel:


obviously not counting the shavings I cleaned out of the compartment.

Greetings:

Wow! Schadenfreude?! Good word choice!

Did this scooter perchance sit idle in Uncle Clarence's tool shed for, like uh...10 years? Weird things happen in storage, especially in humid climes.

When I finally removed Timmy the Spree's back wheel (a feat the dealership had been unable to accomplish... ) the rear break linings stripped off the shoes, and were stuck instead to the inside of the drum.

Thanks for sharing. Find a clutch from eBay or someone here. It won't be hard to locate one in better shape than yours...

Looks like new shoes will get it going?