A couple of years ago I bought a Honda Spree, because some friends bought some Sprees as well and they were fun little scooters that you could mess around on with no care in the world, and no speed. I found it on good ol’ craigslist for a whopping $200.
We did a couple of rides around town with them as a group. It was fun if all the scoots in the group were Sprees, but could be stressful if anyone had anything even slightly faster. On more than one occasion I’d find myself far in the back struggling to stay about 30mph or literally pushing it up a steep hill.
This was all well and good, it still worked as a great little thing to mess around on in a parking lot, where speed didn’t really matter. Then it started to break. After about a year of use, one of the crank bearings imploded and the engine was making a terrible grinding noise. After that was fixed, everything was cherry for a while, but on the way to a night ride, the belt shredded itself and I was stuck with an engine that was no longer connected to the rear wheel. I was pushed for the whole ride!
Thankfully I had a spare belt, so I opened it up, cleaned out the rubber shreds, and put the new one on. I made the mistake of using an impact driver on a bolt that was cross threaded. Oops. A buddy and I tried to back it off the thread, but in doing so I snapped the thread clean off!
So there the Spree has sat, for nearly a year, with a new belt that cannot be attached.
But my scooter game had to continue! I always browse craigslist and offerup whether or not I’m looking to buy anything. I came across a Yamaha Zuma for sale that was dirt cheap! On top of that, I knew the guy selling it. He had done some nice upgrades to it, and seeing his other bike builds in the past I knew he did a good job with them. The scoot had a 70cc big bore kit, up from the standard 50cc’s, and a matching carb and clutch. It’s a sporty little scoot, not even sure if there’s anything I want to add to it, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.
I say bye bye Spree, but as of now that isn’t true. It’s still sitting in the same spot, like a mummy in its tomb.
