Buyer beware - Shawmut Hills sales / Spree parts

[Charles Butler]

I've been dealing with a fuel delivery problem since I bought my used 1986 Spree earlier this summer. From reading all the excellent advice here on the forum and downloading a copy of the service manual + asking A LOT of questions, I boiled the problem down to a faulty auto fuel valve. Cleaning it as per numerous recommendation didn't help. I even did a leak shake down and determined that the vacuum was pulling @ 3 p.s.i. ... adequate pressure to opperate the diaphram in the valve. I contacted Shawmut Hills Sales out of Grand Rapids, MI and for $52, they sent me a new valve and tank filter. Things were working GREAT until the tank got @ half full and the same problems I was having prior to this surfaced... my scooter would die for lack of fuel. In trying to diagnose this problem, I thought perhaps maybe my gas cap was plugged and wouldn't vent properly as the gas level in the tank got lower. Unscrewing the cap as the tank level decreased didn't help either... same problem. I finally got fed up and took a pet spare auto fuel valve from a 1981 Express SR parts bike and machined an adapter to fit it to my Spree tank. BANG.... problem gone. Bike runs like a top! I contacted Shawmut Hills after 10 days - within their stated return policy listed on my receipt. I told them they had sold me a defective part. Their response was because I wasn't a certified Honda service center, they wouldn't take the part back nor refund my money... Don't waste your money on this outfit. Buy your parts from a local dealer or buy from CMS (cmsnl.com) out of the Netherlands if you're looking for hard to find NOS Honda parts for your classic scooter. This place is reputable and won't sell you crap. CRB