Looking at buying two sprees

[schinner16]

Hey guys, first post, new to the forum and looking for some general information.

First I found a couple spree's for sale locally for what seems like a very good price. There price is $625 for a couple mid-eighties sprees (not sure on year yet). one has ~800 miles and newer tires (two years ago but ~10 miles) and was running last summer. the other has ~1700 miles and hasn't been run in a while. Thing is neither of them are running at the moment, both turn over supposedly.

How does the deal sound? What should I be looking for? And what could cost a substantial amount to fix? What would cost to rebuild the top end?



I have a lot of experience with snowmobiles from mid 80's to current sleds, two stroke engines are not new to me, and I consider myself quite mechanical.

[Dio89Elite]

the most substantial cost to fix would be to rebuild/ replace the top half,
depending on the parts chosen, and where you source your parts (to include shipping & handling).

what should help is your background knowledge of 2-stroke machines and mechanical aptitude.
that's not a bad price for two whole sprees, if they're not in too bad a shape.

of course, you should always try to barter the opening price,
at worse, the seller will just say "no".
at best, you shaved off a few dollars

"both turn over" doesn't really mean anything except that the internal parts aren't frozen
or have something blocking. it's a diff story if they turn over and actually run.

bbk (big bore kits) are popular for most top end rebuilding, these will vary in price
a quick look in ebay's prices $80 thru $280

along with a bbk, an upgraded (larger) carburetor, intake, and exhaust is recommended.

before I get ahead of myself, here's a few questions for you to ask yourself.
how much are you willing to pay to upgrade/ fix your sprees?
are you planning to get both sprees running?
what kind of speeds are you expecting to run? what are your goals (mph)?

a stock spree running well will inch towards 30mph tops (somewhat, more like 27mph+)
depending on many variables (weight of rider, tailwind, downhill, etc.)

if anything, Sprees are fun to have
if you have the time (and patience) do a forum search to see what others have done to fix up their Sprees.

and welcome to the forums schinner16

[schinner16]

"both turn over" doesn't really mean anything except that the internal parts aren't frozen
or have something blocking. it's a diff story if they turn over and actually run.

I guess my thought comes from my knowledge of high performance sled engines where a twin 800cc engine could be 140-160hp or a 440cc could be 95-105hp from the factory. It's not uncommon for these engines to have crankshaft issues...and a not running engine could mean that the complete engine needs replacement. For instance I bought my last sled with blown engine...one of the rods snapped taking out every bit except for one cylinder. $$$

Anyways thanks for the quick feedback! Seller says they have been stored indoors with minimal sun fading. In the pics they look pretty good.

What kind of hp does the engine make and I assume its a single cylinder?

As far as speed...well faster is definitely better, I would be all over a supermoto if my parents wouldn't cut me off for owning one. I'll be graduating college soon enough though and then maybe I'll step it up. For now a moped would be a blast to drive around campus when the weather is nice. 30 mph is slow...but it would be my first two wheeled vehicle with an engine.

O and btw, I would probably be splitting the deal with a friend.

[Dio89Elite]

i had the same deal when i bought my RZ350.
it came with an almost complete parts bike. I got the running model and my friend and I split the cost to get the other one running. His came out better than mine.

This was my best friend so I knew he wouldn't try to rip me off.

Did you decide to get the Sprees?

yes, these mopeds are single cylinder, and 30mph is slow (altho fast enough to hurt when you crash )

[schinner16]

I'm still working on setting up a time to go check out the sprees on sunday so we shall see. As of now if the seller has them and they seem to be decent I will likely be picking them up. I'll let you know as soon as I can, and I'll post pics and stuff for any questions I have.

My friend going with is also a good friend so I'm not worried about anyone getting ripped off. Likely I'll be the one with the scoot that needs more work.

[schinner16]

Little update:
The seller was unable to find the titles for the scoots so I had to start looking elsewhere. Just tonight I saw another spree listed, very local, starts up but doesn't continue running...I'm thinking dirty carb. They are asking 275 and have the title in hand. I'll be checking it out tomorrow.

[eliteguy50]

If you want the scooter equivalent of the 100hp 440, in the 50cc class, Aprilia SR is the only option. If you want Hondas closest competitor, look for the '94-01 elite 50.