What could have gone wrong?

[CharlotteSpreeRider]

So my Spree has been running very well the past few weeks, bringing me faithfully back and forth to work every day, etc.

I left a little late this morning, so there was no traffic. As a result, I was able to run wide open, on a slight downhill for about a mile, and got the thing up to almost 40 MPH, which is the fastest I've gotten it up to. It does 30 on flat level ground.

The problem is, at about 7/8 of the way, the rear started dragging. Badly. It never stopped, but it slowed down considerably. I kept going another half mile to work. Low end is fine, but if I get up over about 23 - 24 MPH, it feels like it is dragging. It was doing 30 just fine this morning and for the past 2.5 weeks.

Other clue - I've been reconditioning this thing, and one of the things I was working on is the final reduction. Two weekends ago, I took the left cover off and checked the final reduction cover. The gasket for the final reduction is in very bad shape, but it doesn't appear to be leaking, or at least not too badly. I didn't want to open it all the way without having a new gasket ready, so I orded one from my local dealer, along with bearings. I drained as much of the goo (and I do mean goo, it was not oil) out of the final reduction as I could without opening it up all the way. The stuff that came out was greenish and smelled like some kind of solvent. After it quit dripping, I sealed it back up and filled it as much as it would take with clean 10W40 oil.

I think the bearings may have seized up in the final reduction. I'm going to see if the Honda dealer has gotten my parts in yet today. The question is, is it logical this new problem could just be the rear bearings giving up, based on the high speed run this morning? I don't really want to work on it here at the office, I'd rather ride it (slowly) the 2 miles home and work on it there, after topping off the final reduction oil of course.

Thanks,

-aseigler

[CharlotteSpreeRider]

Wouldn't you know it. It was the darned spark plug wire! It had come almost completely off the spark plug! I don't have any idea how it even kept running at all. Pushed it back on, and I'm back in business. Took the opportunity for a plug chop:



-aseigler

[hondaman]

Drain that 10w40 oil out of final reduction and replace it with 80-90 gear oil. Thats what is suppose to be in there.

[CharlotteSpreeRider]

I thought so too, but chapter 9 of the service manual says to use SAE 10W-40 or equivalent, so that's what I put in. I'm planning on draining and cleaning it whenever the gasket and bearings come in anyway.

After I pushed the wire back on, I went back and made the same wide open run. Guess what? At almost the exact same spot (and speed), the spark plug wire came off again and it did the exact same thing. Weird.

-aseigler

[Kenny_McCormic]

cant use gear oil unless you live in Hawaii its too thick in 70 degree weather and will slow you down

[darat]

your running rich.

[hondaman]

I am afraid I have to agree to disagree with Kenny Mcormick on the gear oil. Every scooter made today recommends 80-90 gear oil for the final reduction otherwise known as the transmission gears. It is recommended to use this so you do not have to change it very often. It will stand up much longer than 10w 40 oil. It will not slow you down whatsoever unless you put too much oil in there. That would be the same for 10w40 oil as well. Put the exact recommended amount in there.

[stillspeeding]

Check your final drive, take off the center spring and twist the pulley out & in if it binds its shot, most people don't know to grease it? it could lock up if you don't.

[tru72]

even in hawaii no one would use regular oil...
the only different oil that i have used before was automatic trans fluid.
be safe and use the right stuff!
aloha
D

[DENMANSHAFFER]

Your plug actually looks good. It might be hair on the rich side, but rich is great for 2T engines. The gas has a cooling effect and aids in engine life. Lean is hotter and hotter is closer to seizure. I run every 2T engine I own, and I have a bunch, with a plug chop just like yours, at 40:1 if premixed, and they run forever. I have a Stihl, Homelite, Echo, Poulan and two Sprees. All at 40:1 using Homelite Exact Mix or Powercare (Home Depot and same as Homelite). Best 2T oil on the market.