Greetings all!,
This past weekend, in Detroit, I was willed an'86 Honda spree from my wife's grandfather. I've never owned a spree or any other kind of moped before. The spree has only 250 miles on it. It has been sitting for 10+ years in a garage. Prior to that it was used by an old guy at motor-home rallies to get around. My wife used to play on it when she was a kid (late 80's-early 90's), but it stopped running. It does not currently run, though I do not know why.
Upon getting it home I:
1.) Downloaded a manual and familiarized myself with the general scheme
2.) Patched the front tire
3.) siphoned out the gas
4.) drained the oil from the nozzle on the bottom of the oil tank
5.) replaced the battery
6.) replaced the oil and gas
7.) replaced the spark-plug
8.) checked the air-filter
The spree has all of its parts.
With the new battery and fluids in, the blinkers and rear brake light work, the headlight does not. With the red knob on run and the key in the on position, pressing the start button does nothing. Using the manual kick starter turns the engine over, but there is no ignition. There is also no ignition regardless of how much throttle I give. There is no gas smell from turning the throttle (i.e. a flooded engine in an old car).
Basically, I have little idea where to start. A couple of sights said "clean the carburetor", which I'm willing to try. When any of your veterans gets a spree that doesn't run, what steps do you go through to determine the extent of the problems and fix them? Are there still spree mechanics? My level of mechanical skill is limited to oil, brakes, radiators and fluids on cars. I'd love to get this thing going.
Thanks a ton in advance,
Hans
e-mail: jdhansen@umich.edu
Newbie would love assistance
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