Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

We have an 86 Spree that ran fine two weeks ago. I tried to start it and it turned over fine but would not start. I pulled the plug and it is firing. I sprayed carb cleaner directly into the carb and in the cylinder head to see if it would fire and it would not. Bad starter switch? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. This was a gift to my uncle and he said it was running great. He just doesn't ride it more than about twice a month.

Theres so many reasons of what it could be. You have to eliminate all the easy basic ones.

Good rule of thumb:

AIR: has to enter the airbox, flow through an oiled filter, go through the carb, go through the reeds, make it out the exhaust port and through the muffler.

FUEL: has to flow from the tank, through the screen filter, the petcock, the fuel lines, through the carb, through the reeds.

If theres no restrictions at any of these...and you have spark...she'll run.

Most of the time the problem lies in a dirty carb. The air filter gets old, begins to flake away and tiny bits of it get sucked into the carb and plugs up the tiny holes that lie within.

If you sprayed carb spray in both the carb and the carb and still no start, you have some checking to do. The bystarter is only in the equation under normal conditions. When the bystarter is enrichment mode when it is cold, it stops being in the start mode after getting power from the motor running. So spraying carb spray in the cylinder bypasses the carb. As long as some air gets through the carb its gonna fire if everything else is good to go. Btw don't use carb spray or starting fluid, use 2 stroke mix instead. First charge the battery or jump from a charged jumper pack. If no go replace the plug and gap it to 0.025". Plugs can fire outside of the cylinder but not in. Start there. Then have a look in the air box for the roasted air filter element. Make sure the air box is hooked up as well. Then pull the carb if still no go.

Thank you guys for the info. The air filter is new and the carb and tank have been cleaned. I will check the items that yall mentioned. it has a kick start. Will it start this way if the starter switch is bad. Thanks again for taking the time.

Itll start with out battery. Kick will work fine, as long as its in run, and key is on. If u got fuel, put fresh mixed gas (1-2oz) down plug hole directly into cylinder, put fresh plug and kick away.

If the bike wont start, I don't suggest trying to use the kick starter a zillion times trying to get it to fire. In my opinion, the kick start is only there to use when a GOOD running bike has a dead battery. The teeth on the kickstart will strip in no time. Hook the Spree up with jumper cables to a car's battery(with car NOT running) and use the starter. Only try to start in short bursts of 3-4 seconds at a time. Wait a few seconds and try again. Youll burn up a starter if you run it for 10 seconds straight or more.

If it wont start after a minute or two, its not going to. Something needs to be fixed/repaired.

Try the fuel down the plug hole with a fresh plug like Melo suggests.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the advice and will try what you guys have advised.

Meatball is right. People strip the kick mainly because the put there foot on and full fledged force it. During the 1st inch of travel, the gear is spinning and moving trying to engage with drive face, at full speed it typically skips which slowly strips the teeth. To correctly do it and promote longevity, push slow untill u feel it engage and get stiff, thats when it properly connected, then u can give it a good stomp. Another good way ive found was removing the fan shroud and fan to access the flywheel. Stick a socket on the nut in the center. Use a regular drill gun driver. Not an impact gun! Make sure its in a lower torque mode like "1" and u can mechanically spin it that way.

Thanks Melo, good info to know!

I went to work on the Spree ready to use all the good info yall supplied and the scooter started. It ran at a high idle like a bike will do when it is running out of gas and then died after a few seconds. It has plenty of fuel and will start again but do the same thing over and over. Any Ideas? The bike is only driven a couple times a month so I don't know if maybe the down time is gumming up the carb?

Possibly an air leak if it ran high idle.

Thank you very much. Will look for one. Happy New Year.

Make sure that slide is in the carb correctly. Check the vacuum line for cracks. Also make sure the carb is tight and the plastic piece in between the carb and intake is installed correct.

Yep taz is right. High idle typically means too much air. Also make sure the air/fuel mixture screw is correct. Shoud be around 1-1.5 turns out from all the way in. However weather and altitude can effect what ur bike likes.

Thanks taz and melo. Will do. I didn't get a notification and did not know yall responded... So thanks!