Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

My name is Tairin.
I go to a high school in Northern California.
My friend and I are taking an auto spec class and working on an 1984 50cc Honda Spree.
It has about 60psi for compression and is missing it's carburetor.
Our teacher says that we need a rebuild kit, so if anyone can direct me towards a cheap engine rebuild kit, that would be great. Thank you. (Sorry if I sound like an idiot. I don't know much about engines)

There is no "rebuild" kit. If compression is low, you need a new set of rings from Honda, or a replacement piston and rings. You need to visually inspect the bore to decide how to proceed.

First step is to locate a usable carburetor though, as this engine can probably be made to run... how did you test compression anyway?

All of this is information your teacher should be providing you. Perhaps you should have him come onto the board and ask the questions...

Yeah, bet we could give him a lesson or 2 on how a Spree runs right

Take noiseguy's advice, but in addition, do this... come see us before making any purchase so that you know you are buying the right thing and not wasting money.

84-85' model year Spree's are a bit different from 86-87's. Alot of aftermarket parts for them are garbage.. especially the carbs. If you can provide us with details of the bike and engine, and even provide pictures, we can help you ace the class, and have a nice running scoot as well.

I wouldn't buy one of those cheap cylinder kits on eBay also. I've heard they don't last long: either seizing up or exhaust flanges breaking.

noiseguy wrote:There is no "rebuild" kit. If compression is low, you need a new set of rings from Honda, or a replacement piston and rings. You need to visually inspect the bore to decide how to proceed.

First step is to locate a usable carburetor though, as this engine can probably be made to run... how did you test compression anyway?

All of this is information your teacher should be providing you. Perhaps you should have him come onto the board and ask the questions...

Okay thank you, we checked compression with a compression gauge. I am just trying to choose the cheapest way to make it run. You're right he should be helping me more with this because its my grade thats suffering...

eclark5483 wrote:Yeah, bet we could give him a lesson or 2 on how a Spree runs right

Take noiseguy's advice, but in addition, do this... come see us before making any purchase so that you know you are buying the right thing and not wasting money.

84-85' model year Spree's are a bit different from 86-87's. Alot of aftermarket parts for them are garbage.. especially the carbs. If you can provide us with details of the bike and engine, and even provide pictures, we can help you ace the class, and have a nice running scoot as well.

Awesome thank you very much!!

I guess I have a question about the compression reading you got... more like a comment. Since this is a 2 stroke engine, it runs on reeds. One of the things that can lower compression, are if the reeds are bad and are letting air threw. Have you examined the reeds yet? Changing those out, is much easier then changing the piston/jug. Need some? Come see us, I'll hook ya up with some nice SB50 ones real cheap. As for the rings, you can get them from Honda or any honda dealer online. The part number is 13011-GAB-305. Should run ya maybe $20. Carb, do NOT buy an aftermarket one, use an original, and again, we got the hook up here for that as well.

And again, if unsure, take pictures and upload on here and one of us can help you out.

Im using the stock Taz piston kit for the spree. Been running the crap out of it WOT forever no problems so far

ansneds wrote:I wouldn't buy one of those cheap cylinder kits on eBay also. I've heard they don't last long: either seizing up or exhaust flanges breaking.

I put one of the cheap E-Bay cylinder kits in one of my bikes a couple of years ago. I have to say I have had nothing but GOOD luck with it. One thing I did was run a rich oil mix the first 100 miles or so. It sure improved the performance of the bike.

I'm likin this thread- I like the idea of teaching kids about 2t!

Listen to the guys here, most of em have been there. Noiseguy actually sells air filters and I think spark plugs for these bikes, and there are a couple other guys on this site that sell quality stuff. In fact, I bet you could probably find a complete running spree motor in the for sale section, if not at least a few usable parts from random forum users here.

Just to help out a little, you need these things for a 2t scooter to run:
Ignition(spark
Fuel
Compression

I'm guessing the third one is your issue, compression. Check your cylinder for damage, or maybe just jump ahead of the curve and find a decent replacement jug and a new piston and rings. I wouldn't go for a big bore kit as those usually need more tuning to work right, even on a well running bike, and you need a good grade not a fast bike haha.

Also, cleaning your carb and checking/replacing your reeds is a good idea too. Definitely won't hurt.

For a good grade in this class, follow along kids. I'm here to give a lesson.

First of all, do NOT try anything at all, that I discuss in my performance discussion of the engine in my signature, it doesn't apply here unless you're shooting for extra credit and actually have the funds donated/sponsored to pull it off. What you want is a solid running Spree. 100% accurate and running at specified factory efficiency.

In order to get that way, you have a simple, but sometimes scout-ful task. You replace EVERYTHING that is rubber first and foremost.

This is a 30+ year old bike, rubber dries out and rots. Things you SHOULD purchase, include a carb kit, new belt, new tires, new ring for the oil pump, new fuel lines, etc, etc, whew... anything that was made of a polymer and intended to bend and flex is probably rotted and you might not realize it.. You might not HAVE TO, but consider replacing all of these things at some point.

Drain all the fuel out of the tank, sometimes these are "barn finds", old fuel doesn't perform well.

Read the Spree owners/service manuals which can be found on this website.

Locate and clean the oil screen below the oil reservoir.

Remove intake manifold and inspect reeds. And easy trick on this if they are open just a bit, is just flip them over.

You have an 84' Spree, so the reeds in it, are going to be smaller for an older model. Consider changing them to reeds from an 86-87' Spree for a nice boost to an 84's already well defined powerband.

Read the wiki to learn the difference. The bigger, later model reeds, are also known as "SB50" reeds and allow for a better flow of fuel to the piston.

Examine the piston again with a new compression test if reeds have been found to be faulty, if not, then the problem is more then likely in the rings and it is time to tear apart the jug and find out what's going on.

You usually won't come across a poorly running, or non starting Spree, unless the owner has deviated from the manuals specified settings, or the system has a clog somewhere not letting it run right.

So always make sure the lines are clean, vacuum, fuel, oil. And the air-box is REALLY important.

You want SUPER EXTRA CREDIT EVEN FROM ANY OF US, you get that bike running correctly with anything BUT an stock airbox.

On a Spree, it is tuned with the bike just perfect to give it the exact power it needs. So make sure you are running a CLEAN, PROPER, OILED filter and that the airbox is connected properly with no external leaks. Use a new, proper plug, gapped at about .24.

CLEAN THAT CARB!!, Come on, shop teacher had to AT LEAST showed you that?? Ta heck with him, YouTube it!!

No need to buy any new coils or CDI's, stock one's have been proven to work better anyway, and the odds that this is what is contributing to issues you are having are very low.

As was said before, SPARK, FUEL, COMPRESSION. These are the 3 things you need to make an engine run.

Make sure you have created a clear, and clean path for each of these things, and it will not only start, but will run properly for several thousand more miles..