Modification of NQ50 1986 Honda Spree

frog357 · Post by **frog357** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 4:23 pm

Hey everyone! I just got an '86 Spree last weekend (fairly good shape). It was in a garage for 5 years and the engine is in good running condition. The body needs lot's of work, it had an accident and I have been working to get cracks fixed in the panels. Is anyone else working on a spree of this model? There is not much room to add anything, under the seat is full, the rack in the back is small and there is no place to put small stuff like a phone, I'm hoping to add some compartments and install a small stereo.

General questions, how fast do these go when they are new? The odometer shows 40mhp. I understand to be considered a spree it must be 30mph or less.

Post by **noiseguy** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:30 am

Fred,

They'll go about 30 MPH max on level ground. I'm working to improve that on mine...

As for storage, there's a front rack that was OEM, as well as a glove box that went behind the leg guard. I have idea how easily available they are now; check Ebay.

frog357 · Post by **frog357** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 9:52 am

It's awsome how much a paint job can do for the look of a Spree.

All the work took me ~10 hours (5 days, 2 hrs a day), I still have 10 minutes more work to wrap up and clean those wires. If your Spree's body is in bad shape, it's well worth it to put time into restoring yours.

Post by **noiseguy** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 10:48 am

That came out sharp. Did you use rattlecan for that, or a gun?

I started on putting together a red/white paintjob on mine. I stopped for awhile to see if I can get it going faster b/f I finish it off.

porter92 · Post by **porter92** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 11:31 am

That is pretty sharp. Could you fill us in on how you made the radio/cd player and speakers work? I mean I see an AC electrical cord and an APC AC to DC convertor. How did you wire that in to the bikes electrical system?

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 2:40 pm

WOW, that is the sexiest spree I've laid eyes on. (If you CAN use sexy to describe a spree

). Very nice custom job!

frog357 · Post by **frog357** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 8:48 pm

Rattlecan, (took 3 cans) + 2 cans of glossy clear-coat.
I took opposite approach, make it look good, run it to death, then rebuild for Speeeeed.

I started to take one approach with the wiring and turned it around. I still use the APC converter but only to power the speakers. At first it was for powering both speakers and cd player, but I found a cigarette lighter that converted 12volt into 6volt (for my cd player) so I used that insted. Then I bought a cigarette lighter splitter (1=2) and used that for powering the ac-dc converter and the cdplayer directly.

I made a mistake, I was looking for speakers with a 12volt power pack but in a rush, forgot about my plans and took the speakers that looked best. I planned to cut the power pack off and wire directly into a switch on the bikes electric. I liked the design on these better so I work with what I have.

To provide power for everything, I found an old cigarette lighter out of a boat and removed everything except the plug and wrapped the plug in special tape, cause I was too cheap to buy a new one, and installed it directly to my battery. I plan to install a switch when I get to a store to buy one, but for now, I just pull the positive off the battery when I'm done.

I placed everything right on top of the air box, i used a few plastic ties and attached the plug so it wouldn't move unless I need it too.

This is not the final design, the big white power adapter is not in the final, it was too big and I needed a replacement. (see above a few paragraphs), I'll try and get a new pic posted, what is this SpreeGallery that I need a login for?

I just bought a new battery before starting this project, I would not recommend it without it

I want to recommend for anyone with an old bike in need of care to give it a try, I used some tape and didn't have to take the bike apart. Only 10 hrs. of labor.

tom8342 · Post by **tom8342** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 2:53 pm

w0w thats sharp!

g/j on a great lookin bike

wasnt the front fender a b**** cuz you had to remove eeeeeeeeeevry thing on the front to get it off, bearings roll all over the place rite.

frog357 · Post by **frog357** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 3:54 pm

I used lots of tape and grocery bags to do the front fenders, wasn't hard at all

tom8342 · Post by **tom8342** » Sat Sep 04, 2004 4:12 pm

oh. so you didnt remove it and paint it sepertly?hmm nice. did you do anything different to the floor board? because it will rub off evutully i would think...

vette76 · Post by **vette76** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:05 am

im doing basically the same thing. i didnt even see this. i put a sony car sterio in my glove box which i made out of aluminum for extra support. i was gonna re-paint my spree with that new krylon fusion. does that stuff work? i did not have a voltage issue like this spree because i used a car sterio and the car sterio already amplifies the speakers. here is a tip. before you put a switch in it just wire the positive wire to the tail light.(the tail light is always on and it works off the ignition, so when you turn the key off the spkrs will also turn off)

relicmania · Post by **relicmania** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:31 pm

All the plastic pieces will scratch easily. It won't hold up. The krylon paint for plastic is also junk! The right & left side covers will hold up & the speedo cover because they aren't made of the same plastic. Paint won't hold unless a special elastic chemical is put in the paint ( its used when plastic bumpers are painted ). Most bump shop don't bother using it, this is why the paint peels on a car that has had an accident & its bumper painted. I went thru the process of painting a corvette bumper years ago & all the chemical that had to be added was expense and a pain in the *. Thought I'd let you know.

frog357 · Post by **frog357** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 12:26 pm

It's been a while since I did this, after some heavy driving and lot's of beating, the paint is holding up fairly good. A few areas I am having problems with are the floorboard and near the top of the speakers. On the floorboard only a few spots are wearing through, most likely due to rocks in my boots when my feet were on it. The large crack in the side panel is holding up (mostly). I bought 2 used side panels and I'll be stripping those and putting a new layer of paint on this whole scoot (this winter).

I did not use Krylon paint for this project, it was off the shelf auto paint.

vette76 · Post by **vette76** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 4:53 pm

what year is your vette? i have a 76 i am trying to restore. i need that paint for my bumpers because they are polyurethane. i am gonna try that krylon fusion on the spree anyway because it is better than what i have.(its half red and half black)

vette76 · Post by **vette76** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:57 am

i am in the process of painting my spree. everything is going good except the paint over the front leg guard. i stripped the(spree) sticker off one side with a buffing wheel i put a rag over and paint sticks to that fine. the other side paint wont stick.i was gonna take a guess and say this panel was waxed at one time? today i am gonna take some acetone and try to clean it.does it seem like it would work? i tryed a small spot and it seemed like it was working.by the way the color is navy blue with silver pinstripes around the curves, and flames of coarse.

Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

Modification of NQ50 1986 Honda Spree

Modification of NQ50 1986 Honda Spree

Spree looks good, but paint won't stay