2000 Elite SA50P Not Running After Initial Repairs/Service

[athensscoottoboot]

Hello all,

I picked up a 2000 Honda Elite 50 about two weeks ago for the purpose of an in town vehicle and something to use motor pacing to train with my cycling team. I am a bicycle mechanic so very mechanically inclined but new to engines and gasoline powered toys. It was an amateur race car drivers "pit bike" so the plastics were really beat up but it was low miles and a decent price. Top speed maxed out at 25mph so I have been collecting the parts and tools to completely de-restrict it, as I would like to hit 35mph. Don't need or want it to go any faster than that so I am keeping it mostly stock. Scooter started and ran fine, sometimes would not start easily after being ran for 10 minutes on short trips to the store and then shot off while I went inside. Always started immediately after sitting for overnight or for multiple hours. I was hoping that the service below would help with that. Yesterday I completed the following:

1. Removed variator backing plate "governor" and installed new rollers, slightly heavier than stock as I was not getting the belt to the top of the variator
2. Installed a new CVT belt (old one looked okay but wanted to do it)
3. Upjetted carb main jet from stock to 82 (bought a kit with multiple sizes, started with 82 based on a suggestion from someone I know)
4. Knocked out extra tab in stock air intake
5. Drilled out the washer in the exhaust
6. Checked spark plug condition and it looked fine
7. Replaced air filter (purchased from noiseguy's amazon)
8 Installed new, fully charged battery

After doing the above I got the scooter to run, but it would almost die when throttle was applied. I fiddled with the air/ fuel screw and idle to try and get it to run better, which it did for a few minutes but then it died. Now I can get it to turn over but not run. The carb fills with gas and I have to drain it if I run the starter too long (noticed gas was dripping to find this out). My next planned step is to take the carb apart again and actually use carb cleaner/spray it out with compressed air, yesterday I just wiped out oil and put it back together with the bigger main jet.

Any suggestions on what else could be the problem? Thanks in advance!
Connor

[athensscoottoboot]

Update:

Cleaned the carb with carb cleaner and compressed air today during lunch, still wouldn't start. Pulled spark plug and it's wet. Can't get it to spark against anything. If I replace it, how do I not ruin it again?

[bonesv]

Did you read up on carburetor service in the service manual? It gives specific air/fuel adjustment screw settings. Did you remove that screw when you cleaned the carb? There is a very small o-ring, a very small metal washer and a small spring inside of that bore and they go back in, in that order. Also, you should make sure the float needle is in pristine condition or it may leak fuel into the bowl. The air box must always be installed with an oiled filter and secured to the carburetor so that there are no air leaks coming into the carb, unwanted, which means only through the air filter box passage. You should always verify that the pilot jet tube is clear to the inside of the venturi using said carburetor spray cleaner. Wear eye protection. You can also lookup pictorial carb cleaning methods in the wikispreedia found in the Board index section at the top of the page. Peruse, search out and glean everything you can from this as well as the index of service manuals and how-to's -
Welcome to the Forum! We are here to help! Bones

[athensscoottoboot]

Bones,

Thanks for the response. I followed the instructions from the manual, everything in the carb looked good, it wasn't dirty and none of the parts looked worn. The float had a good spring to it. I need to oil the air filter.

During some diagnosis steps this morning I found that I am not getting a spark anymore. I was up until this point, I am not sure why these changes would damage something in the ignition system. I have used a multimeter to check and the spark plug wire is fine, and there is a new plug. Any suggestions if I could have broken something else while doing this?

[athensscoottoboot]

WELL I am a huge dummy and had the kill switch off. Getting spark now just fine and it's up and running! Now that I have a larger main jet, I need to keep the oil pump open until I get a split throttle cable, correct?

[Meatball]

Heavier rollers than stock would hinder your take-offs. The stock rollers are way too heavy as it is. Get the yellow malossi contra spring, some 9:1 gears, a decent variator and some 6g rollers.