My SA50 to Spree motor swap

[Mopestaro]

Hello to all, this is my first post but by no means my first experience on this website. First off I must say how impressed I am by the wealth of knowledge and the generosity you all express in helping others with their problems.
I bought a 1986 iowa spree from a guy in hick town Iowa that had it laying around in a barn. When I purchased it the scoot was running but needed some obvious attention. The plastics are nearly perfect as are the seat and all electrical items. As stated it is an "Iowa├óÔé¼┬Ø Spree so you all know the challenges with restrictions.
I have been reading numerous posts and learning all the personalities of the members. I knew very little about small engines let alone 2 stroke, air cooled, oil injected motors that seem to be very ├óÔé¼┼ômoody.├óÔé¼┬Ø My experience with turning wrenches has been only with my chevy half ton 5.7 350. I have replaced manifold gaskets, belts, o2 sensors, and more. Piece of cake compared to what I would take on with this spree.
First thing I learned from this website was to focus on the current motor and get it running as smooth as possible. In doing so, I learned a lot about the carb, lean and rich, compression, etc.
Second was to find an elite motor from 1994- 1997 as these are the most upgradable. Also, that I needed to be patient. I found a pile of parts on craigslist (see pic) and my journey began. I put together a 1997 SA50, this was the easy part. Getting the motor mount and shock mount placed in the best spot was a little more difficult. I did what others did and took motor mount from the elite and shortened it. For the shock mount I took the front fork arm from the elite, modified it a bit and welded it to the frame. A word of caution about welding to the spree frame, be careful because it heats up much quicker than the metal you are welding on. I suggest ├óÔé¼┼ôkey holing,├óÔé¼┬Ø but I am really out of my element because my neighbor helped me in the welding dept.
So I got everything adapted and it fired right up. Now the problem. I believe the crankshaft is bent because I have a stripped drive face nut due to the kickstart gear (see pic). It still runs but I am afraid test it because I don├óÔé¼Ôäót want to damage it more. I need help here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[wiguy05]

I'm actually considering the same swap. How much did you shorten the motor mount? And which shock did you use?

[bradthreee]

Nice work!

[Mopestaro]

This pic is from someone else on the forum but I did the exact same thing. The mount is from a 1994-2001 SA50.

[chevyguyjay]

if your lucky, i had the same problem a week ago on a customers Z-scooter (geely). both sides of the crank had a wobble....bad. i told him u have 2 options. buy a new one, or i can try and straighten it for u. after about 3 hours, i was able to straighten the crank with a rubber mallet. its time consuming work, but i saved him some money on buying a new one. rotate the crank and find the high spot on the wobble. lightly start tapping and rotate and c if your straightening. the nut look just like yours in the pic. a nice set of craftsman bolt outs did the trick perfectly in removing the nut. hope the info helps.

[bradthreee]

This pic is from someone else on the forum but I did the exact same thing. The mount is from a 1994-2001 SA50.

I used the mount on the left and just trimmed the sides so it would fit snuggly within the 2 plates on the frame. I didn't shorten mine tho.
Looks really good in there Mopestaro

[Mopestaro]

Thanks for the kind words. As far as the crank, I dremmeled off the stripped nut, opened up the crank case and discovered it to be broken at the pin. I immediately ordered one fro ebay and it just arrived. I will updste as I prgress. Thanks again