1985 spree - can you prime?

[Father of Spree]

Hey guys,

Winter in Michigan here. Haven't started my spree since probably October. Without much trouble she fired right up.

My question is, can you prime the sprees? If my spree sits for a couple days it won't start unless I inject fuel into the carb. I take a infant syringe, screw off the top of the carb that houses the spring and needle, and inject 100 ml or so of fuel.

My guess is that my carb leaks a little so after a couple days there isn't enough fuel in the carb to start.

Thanks for the insight.

[motormike]

Yes sir, your described method is fine.
There is probably a very simple solution to your hard-start condition.
First, however, the problem should be diagnosed.
After several months, gasoline will evaporate out of the bowl, but...
If after only 2 or 3 days the Spree will not start without a prime,
there is clear problem.
I would start by checking the fuel level in the bowl after it has been sitting for 3 days.
Simply open the drain screw and observe how much fuel runs out.
Even if the bowl is full, there is possibly no fuel getting into the "bystarter reservoir"
This is caused by the inlet into that reservoir being plugged with debris.
The fix is to remove the carburetor bowl, and check the reservoir inlet for blockage.
I suspect strongly this is your problem.
If you are not familiar with my description, I will gladly help you through the process.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Hmm, I'm not quite sure that this behavior represents a Clear Problem. Flash 9 is an Elite with a similar stock carb to the Spree's. If it sits for 1 to 3 days, it usually starts on the first kick. After 4 or more days, it takes 6-10 kicks to fire. On the rare occasions when it goes more than a week or 2, it can take 20 or more kicks. (Or more than 10 seconds on the electric starter... which I don't like to do.)

My carb doesn't leak, or at least not visibly, but I have been of the opinion that the bowl vent allows evaporation from the bowl in a pretty short time, like less than a week. If I happen to have the vacuum line handy, a short pull on it results in the same first-kick startup as a daily ride. This is despite the fact that I have the short line connected to the bowl vent fitting. Starts with bystarter fast idle and otherwise runs perfectly.

I'd be interested to hear if other PA carb users see the same behavior.

[motormike]

Totally agree with Wheelman's statement that there may not be a "clear problem"
May be no problem at all, considering the evaporation rates are different in every case.
I can say that many of my past scooters have displayed the same symptoms.
Each scooter has a personality, and can vary in status of cleanliness of the carburetor that
will dictate it's tendencies to be easy or hard to start.
Safe bet is as I said, after it sits for a few days, open the drain screw on the bowl and see what is there.
If it is near empty, it will not have enough to supply fuel to the cold-start enrichment circuit, thus requiring
a lot of cranking to allow the petcock to open and fill the bowl....

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Yes Mike, I think the same way. I wonder if the inlet for the bystarter circuit sits up higher. It takes a lot of crank time for the vacuum fuel valve to trickle enough fuel in any case.

[Rideslikenacho]

I was having/have the same issue with my 85 (no kickstart). The battery will get run down from the electric start and not crank over. I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s a possibility a small primer bulb can be added to the fuel line prior to the carb. I was considering adding one to the vacuum line on mine but not sure if it will break vacuum when the motor is off then flood the case. There’s a good thread about this where someone else tried it with good results.

[Father of Spree]

I was having/have the same issue with my 85 (no kickstart). The battery will get run down from the electric start and not crank over. I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s a possibility a small primer bulb can be added to the fuel line prior to the carb. I was considering adding one to the vacuum line on mine but not sure if it will break vacuum when the motor is off then flood the case. There’s a good thread about this where someone else tried it with good results.

That is a good idea. I'll look into adding a bulb to the fuel line.

[Rideslikenacho]

I was having/have the same issue with my 85 (no kickstart). The battery will get run down from the electric start and not crank over. I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s a possibility a small primer bulb can be added to the fuel line prior to the carb. I was considering adding one to the vacuum line on mine but not sure if it will break vacuum when the motor is off then flood the case. There’s a good thread about this where someone else tried it with good results.

That is a good idea. I'll look into adding a bulb to the fuel line.

Let me know if you have any success with that. I got a primer/plunger off amazon and tried connecting to the vacuum line and the fuel line with zero success. One thing I did notice is the ‘vent’ line to the float bowl is letting in a lot of air when running. When I covered that hole with my thumb the rpms jumped up considerably. Not sure if that vent is absolutely necessary to have or not but it definitely lets in extra air. I capped it with a cover then adjusted the air mixture and idle screw, rode around the back yard a bit, parked it, and it died. Would not start after that and the battery wore down again.
Charging that back up to try again.

[Rideslikenacho]

I was having/have the same issue with my 85 (no kickstart). The battery will get run down from the electric start and not crank over. I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s a possibility a small primer bulb can be added to the fuel line prior to the carb. I was considering adding one to the vacuum line on mine but not sure if it will break vacuum when the motor is off then flood the case. There’s a good thread about this where someone else tried it with good results.

That is a good idea. I'll look into adding a bulb to the fuel line.

Just curious if you have tried anything that has worked? I tried adding a tecumseh primer bulb to the vent line on the carb and didn’t send fuel to the carb.

[Father of Spree]

I was having/have the same issue with my 85 (no kickstart). The battery will get run down from the electric start and not crank over. I haven’t tried it yet, but there’s a possibility a small primer bulb can be added to the fuel line prior to the carb. I was considering adding one to the vacuum line on mine but not sure if it will break vacuum when the motor is off then flood the case. There’s a good thread about this where someone else tried it with good results.

That is a good idea. I'll look into adding a bulb to the fuel line.

Just curious if you have tried anything that has worked? I tried adding a tecumseh primer bulb to the vent line on the carb and didn’t send fuel to the carb.

Took apart my carb today. Pretty sure I just have a fuel leak I needed to solve rather than adding a primer bulb. Solve fuel leak, solve no fuel in carb to start. That's my thought anyway