General spree issues

[schinner16]

I have an 86 spree, tops out at 25...no more what so ever. not an iowa vin though...

the battery doesn't seem to get charged while riding...at least not enough to turn the engine over...starts first kick though.

just today when riding it around an messing with the fuel mixture screw the turn signals stopped blinking and just stay lit...i heard some noises in the fairing when taking a turn at 25 to go down a hill...used to work just fine

also the scoot had some serious power fade and couldn't make it up the hills around my house after riding for 15-20 mins...would make it fine but slowly at first



oil and gas are fresh, fuel petcock is new, and carb was just cleaned out....where do i start with this guy, if it doesn't want to hit 30-35 after some tinkering ill want to sell it and pick up a variated honda/yamaha

[Bear45-70]

Your battery is so low the flasher will not work and that is why the starter doesn't work too. Charge the battery at least overnight at less than 2 amps. More amps will fry the battery.

Is the airbox with filter in place and connected properly?

[schinner16]

Airbox and filter are stock and yea its all connected properly...I could snap some pics tomorrow if you want.

O and it is a brand new air filter as well, and it is oiled up.



what would probably be the culprit for the battery not charging while i ride??

[Bear45-70]

Airbox and filter are stock and yea its all connected properly...I could snap some pics tomorrow if you want.

O and it is a brand new air filter as well, and it is oiled up.



what would probably be the culprit for the battery not charging while i ride??

The service manual has a good troubleshooting guide for the charging system. It will answer your questions better than me guessing with no info.

[mousewheels]

what would probably be the culprit for the battery not charging while i ride??

IDK for sure - A guess at ranking:

1. Failed battery - old lead acid or even new battieries stored discharged show poor charge acceptance.
2. Bad connections - at battery or ground
3. Blown fuse
4. Failed regulator
5. Failed stator

Armed with a multimeter and service manual, you can check all the above for only time and fun of the hunt

[schinner16]

Ok, well the power fade is there the day after....can't climb a moderate hill and tops at ~21 going downhill...even with the tire lifted up off the ground it doesn't seem to wind out quite like it should

I didn't try charging the battery yet...

[Bear45-70]

Sounds like a partially plugged exhaust.

[schinner16]

Maybe hearing it run can help a little?? Notice how sluggish it seems to be on the throttle and it really doesn't seem to rev up that high when held wide open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MidEpBh4mkI

[abreen89]

i would clean the exhaust. if that doesnt work get a new battery and plug be sure you run ngk or better dont settle for a cheap plug (ngk's are only 2$ anyways) i bought an autolite and had nothing but problems.

[abreen89]

i would clean the exhaust. if that doesnt work get a new battery and plug be sure you run ngk or better dont settle for a cheap plug (ngk's are only 2$ anyways) i bought an autolite and had nothing but problems.

oh and i bought my battery through batterychrome.com was only 24$ shipped and has been working very well for me.

[schinner16]

Update:

I pulled the muffler off and the thing really flies! well compared to before. it can pull me up hills at 25 and take me down them at 35+. i only put one short lap on it as not to * of the neighbors and because its not a good idea to run without exhaust on a 2t.

What is the best way to clean out the muffler, i saw on wikispreedia there was an article about putting it on a campfire to clean it out. is there any chance with a cleaned out exhaust it will run as fast as it does without one?

it sure is a blast to ride when it has a little oomph to tackle the hills.


I also snapped some shots of the exhaust port and it is pretty carbon coated, is there a good way to clean that off without any chance of harmful bits entering the engine? burn it? lol the pics are too large otherwise i would post them...and they are pretty blurry

[abreen89]

You ran the scooter without a exhaust????????????????? are you nuts now you will probably have to replace the whole top end... I would check compression asap.

[schinner16]

You ran the scooter without a exhaust????????????????? are you nuts now you will probably have to replace the whole top end... I would check compression asap.

lol yes for maybe 4 seconds wfo

i could swear it was wikispreedia that said to try the scoot without it to determine if it was the issue...lol cant find it now

i had a good camp fire going and burned out the exhaust ran good and strong with it for 5 miles then started to slow again, when i shake the exhaust you can hear something (maybe rust) banging around on the inside like a marraca


still starts first kick cold or warm so compression should be just fine, i can check it...but i dont see the need now that the issue is determined and the scoot engine runs and starts great

[abreen89]

its probably a broken baffle

[schinner16]

so is my best option to slice it open and have it welded back up? or roll the dice for a diff one on ebay?