New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Trying to get your Spree/Elite to run, or run better? Post your questions here.

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SunnyBeets
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New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Post by SunnyBeets »

I'm a broke recent college graduate who's currently living in the same town I graduated from. I managed to get a 1985 Honda Spree off of Facebook Marketplace with about 4,100 miles on it, as it was the only thing I could afford with my very limited budget. I already love it quite a lot (I've named it 'Red', guess what color it is), but it has a few glaring flaws that I need some help remedying.

Firstly, I am not very mechanically minded to begin with, but am trying to learn. Please explain things as if I know nothing, because I don't. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Red came to me with the rear brake nonfunctional, the speedometer needle hanging limply and not moving even when maxing out the speed, cracks in some of the plastic body, a restricted Iowa muffler, and no rearview mirrors. Additionally, this bike, according to the person I bought it from, has a new battery that needs to be charged every two days with a battery tender. I managed to haul the scooter up my apartment stairs and charged it overnight, but I can't pull that off in the long run. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to go about fixing these issues? Red can still run and get me from place to place, but I feel it will be a lot safer to get to those places if I can fix these issues ASAP.

The mirrors will be easiest to fix, as it appears I can find new ones off of Amazon, I just need to double check the size to make sure they'll fit when they get here. The cracks to the body seem largely superficial at this point, and I can let them be as long as I don't run into anything to cause more. The rest of the issues, the rear brake, speedometer, muffler, and new-but-still-constantly-needing-charge battery are things I want to try to fix, especially since Red is my only form of transportation. Does anyone with any more experience than me have any suggestions on how I might get this done, or know any resources that might be able to help me?

:peace: Thank you! :peace:
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vintagegarage
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Re: New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Post by vintagegarage »

Step one: Stop calling it a moped, it doesn't have pedals
Step two: Ebay should be your best friend for the next couple of weeks, Buy this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/364033461413
Step three: Install what you bought in step two
Step four: if you can't find used OEM Spree mirrors, buy these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403885372978
Step five: Install what you bought in step four.
Step six: Buy a cheap voltmeter, and connect it's leads to the battery terminals and temporarily tape the voltmeter to the handlebars, or somewhere else where you can watch it when you ride. The voltage should read more than 13 volts when you are at top speed. If it is not, report your findings back here.
Step seven: Determine why the rear brake isn't working. Squeeze the left brake handle while you watch where the cable attaches to the rear brake, and report back here what you find. You could be missing the cable, the cable could be stuck or broken, or the problem is inside your rear wheel or elsewhere.

Leave the muffler alone, get a non-Iowa one later in the project, or search on this forum on how to modify yours as a last step. This is the lowest priority of all of your reported items.
SunnyBeets
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Re: New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Post by SunnyBeets »

vintagegarage wrote: Mon Nov 14, 2022 6:49 pm Step one: Stop calling it a moped, it doesn't have pedals
Step two: Ebay should be your best friend for the next couple of weeks, Buy this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/364033461413
Step three: Install what you bought in step two
Step four: if you can't find used OEM Spree mirrors, buy these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403885372978
Step five: Install what you bought in step four.
Got it! Thank you so much!! Ordered the suggested speedometer and mirrors, they should arrive no later than a week from now. I'll look for a voltmeter and attempt to figure out the brake tomorrow. Unfortunately, my back tire seems to have given out on me (air won't stay in it), and I need to find a new one. Any advice on those? I'll report back tomorrow!
Last edited by SunnyBeets on Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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motormike
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Re: New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Post by motormike »

Your tires have tubes inside. You might just need a new tube.
Old tires really should be replaced since rubber loses much of it's properties over time.
Tires are the only thing between you and the pavement...braking and cornering will compromise old tires very quickly.
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SunnyBeets
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Re: New To Mopeds - Any advice for my '85 Spree?

Post by SunnyBeets »

motormike wrote: Mon Nov 14, 2022 10:05 pm Tires are the only thing between you and the pavement...braking and cornering will compromise old tires very quickly.
Very true! Considering Red was pretty dusty (and had a license plate that expired 12 years ago) when he came to me, it's safe to say he probably hasn't been used in a while. I checked the tires last night, and the rubber is full of cracks. I think I might need to get both new tires and new tubes. Hopefully I can scrape up enough money for that, as I've found some new ones on Ebay. Luckily, the rims seem in pretty good shape!
Thank you for your advice! :coolcruise:
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