Jim McDaniel has published a website all about repairing
your Spree. Please do not email me with tech questions about the
scooter; I am not a mechanic, rebuilder, or restorer.
Instead, see the repair link at the top of this paragraph.
1986 Honda NQ50
This little beastie is a nifty scooter, what Honda called
a Spree. I used a hair dryer to heat and remove the hot pink
Spree! decals. Much better.
I bought this scooter on 8/19/99 from a fellow who was using it to
scoot around an airport (he also had a disassembled 1949 V-tail Bonanza
in the hangar). The bike had recently been serviced (carb clean, etc)
and had less than 800 miles on it so I bought it for $450. One year's
liability insurance is $31 (!), annual registration ~$41,
and inspection is $5.75. I use a Kryptonite hardened steel cable-lock ($30)
to keep it locked up.
Maintenance
I need to get the fuel gauge fixed.
Scooters: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good
100 MPG ratings are common norm for 50cc scooters, normally ranging 80-130MPG. Somewhat less for bigger scoots.
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Cheaper than dirt to run, insure, register, inspect, etc (see actual numbers above).
Park most anywhere
Squirt through the tiniest spots
Scooters make people smile! Kids will wave to you...
You can wear a black turtleneck and pretend to be Eurotrash. Strap a baguette to the rack and you're in business! Remember to chain smoke.
Did I mention scooters are fun?
The Bad
lame acceleration
fuel tanks can be very small. Mine is only .55 gallon, which gets me 50-60 miles. Arggh!
scooters are "nickable" (easy to steal) because of their light weight
2-cycle scoots can be loud and smokey. Go slow and smooth in your neighborhood, especially at night, to spread scooter goodwill to your neighbors.
new scoots are expensive as hell! $4000 or more in some cases. IMO, if you need that much bike then buy a motorcycle
The Ugly
Some bikers will harass you because you are on a scooter. They may assume you have never ridden or owned a motorcycle
Your scooter is so "cute" that everybody in the world will want to ride or borrow it. Stand your ground. Remember, this is your licensed vehicle, not a toy they can break. If you feel uncomfortable with saying "No", ask the next longtime scooter or bike owner if one of his friends ever wrecked their bike and never paid for it. That is a very common tragedy in the two-wheel world. Don't become a statistic. Rehearse your "no" ahead of time if you need help to stand your ground: "this scooter is my primary transportation, like your car. I can't risk it."
Your scooter looks enough like a toy (and may not require a license) that you may think riding one is like driving a car. Not so; it's more like riding a motorcycle, which is a complex and potentially dangerous undertaking. Please read my tips for beginning scootists below.
a Motorcycle Safety Foundationbeginner's course may save your life. Cheap ($50? $100?) and fun. They supply the bike and helmet; you bring leather gloves, long-sleeved shirt and pants, the willingness to learn.
wherever you are, continually scan the situation for a way out in case a situation develops. Plan ahead!
practice low-speed maneuvers in your parking lot.
Keep your feet on the pegs/floorboard. Even a small dab of the toe above walking speeds can pole vault you off the bike, break your toe/foot/ankle/leg/knee, or result in you losing control and slamming into stuff. Bad, Bad, Bad. Here are Real Life results of dabbing a foot at about 10mph. Luckily, the DW suffered no breaks or other major injuries.
During daytime, ride with your high-beams on for visibility. At night, use the appropriate beam as you would in a car.
If you're idling at a stop light at night, your lights may dim. When a car approaches from the rear, dab your brakes to light your brake lights, or cycle your turn signals. When a car approaches from the front, open the throttle a bit so your headlamp will brighten.
Find any excuse to use those blinkers. Use them when turning in parking lots, any time at all. It adds another bright, flashing light to your profile and might just keep you from getting run over by a mommy van.
Use a psychologically aggressive lane position. This is usually in the tire track closest to the centerline, or closest to the next lane. This will keep people from trying to squeeze past you.
Ride in the tire track of the vehicle in front of you; avoid the middle
of the lane. That is where the antifreeze, oil, and fuel drips and spills and road debris will likely be.
the road surface in the general area of a tire track is usually satisfactory. Cities will ignore potholes in the middle area of the road, but will repair tire path holes quicker. This is another reason to ride near the outside tire track.
beware of road shoulders, or any rarely-used road surface. This is where nails and gravel accumulate. If you must pull over or cut a corner, be aware!
When you stop at an intersection, move closer to the outside of the lane. This does several things:
it lets you cheat, by beginning to accelerate before the car ahead of you does
it puts you in a position to squirt between the lanes if a wreck is in progress behind you
it puts your tail light out from behind the tail light of the car in front of you, so the following car won't mistake your light for his and squish you
It gets really slick right after the rain starts to wash away the above spills. Watch for the rainbow oil patterns on the water surface and beware!
Paint stripes, manhole covers and leaves get insanely slick in the wet.
You can't see potholes in the rain, or accurately judge their depth as they fill with water. Go slow, and learn your neighborhood roads.
When cornering, be hyper-aware of sand, dirt, trash, or anything else that could cause you to lose traction.
when driving your car, become aware of the road surface. Watch for road conditions and other things that would be a problem on your scooter. If you ever hear one of your tires skid or slip on gravel/sand/etc, remind yourself you would have just dumped your scooter.
use both brakes.
learn how hard your bike can brake
look where you want to go. New riders frequently slam into objects they are trying to avoid; you may find yourself hitting bump or pothole dead center even when you try to avoid it. This is called "target fixation". In other words, newbies stare at the pothole because they know it's dangerous. This is why you want to look at the safe path (a path around or beside the road hazard because you want to go in that safe line. If you look at the hazard you will hit it, bullseye. That's how the human mind works.
look through corners, not at the ground in front of your scoot. Imagine your line through the curve and look past/through it. This is like follow-through in golf, only ahead of time. You're setting yourself up to ride a good line by looking through/past it. You can tell people who fixate on points along the curve; their ride in the curve is in segments, sharp corrections and general fearfulness.
If you think someone might not see you, give them a few light beeps and look at their eyes. They will spot you quickly.
If your shadow is in front of you, the sun is in oncoming traffic's eyes. They can't see you.
Be aware of the blind spots of other vehicles. Usually this is to the rear-and-behind. Stay out of this position as much as possible.
if you find yourself going to fast/wide/deep in a corner, roll off the throttle smoothly (or maintain the same throttle setting) and trust your bike enough to lean it. You have little to lose at this point. Keep OFF the brakes; braking in this situation may exceed your traction limits, and down you'd go. Ouch.
Related: if Bad Things are happening around you, continue to ride the scooter. This is a corollary to the pilots' dictum: first, fly the plane. You will occasionally hear people say "I had to lay the bike down to avoid a wreck". Two things: laying it down is a wreck, and you have more control over your situation on the bike than off it.
Learn what is meant by leaning into a turn.
The bike leans, you do not (ie, you are sitting straight up in the saddle relative to the bike). Exception: in high speed turns racers (who can't lean over any more without losing traction) move their bodies to the inside of the turn to keep the bike balanced; this is not a practical issue on scooters.
You induce a lean (and therefore a turn) at normal speeds by applying forward pressure on the left grip to lean/turn left, and on the right grip to lean/turn right. You are, in effect, turning the handlebar in the opposite direction of the turn, albeit slightly. This is sometimes known as pushing on the inside bar/grip because you are pushing on the grip that is closest to the inside of the turn. Exception: At very low (eg, walking) speeds the bike turns by following the direction of the front wheel, not by leaning.
Specifically, you don't induce a bike lean by leaning your body over in that direction. This would destabilize the bike-human unit. Learn to push on that inside grip, and think of the bike and rider as one stable unit with no flexing or moving about.
If you have a passenger, pre-flight them with the proper info. They are to hold onto you and stay in alignment with you, no matter what. If they get scared they are to close their eyes and hold on tighter. Show them how you prefer to be held onto. Realize your acceleration and your braking distances will be affected.
do all your braking before you lean into the turn. Accelerate smoothly through and out of the turn.
When you pull up to a shiny object (a store window, a tailgate of the truck in front of you), check to see if you can see your headlamp in the reflection. Check your turn signals if one is on. At night you can check the same thing by watching the car stopped behind you light up when you cycle your brake light or turn signals.
Always be aware of what's around you; check your rear-view mirrors any time you use your brakes.
Cover your controls; keep two fingers on your brake lever[s], and make sure your thumb automagically knows where the horn button is. Practice actuating the controls without looking.
Remember that your scooter is a 2-stroke; there is no crankcase oil, but you will either have an oil injection reservoir or you'll need to pre-mix the oil with the gas (hopefully the former). You must use 2-stroke oil in the manner your owner's manual owner specifies. Many people make happy noises about reduced smoking and carbonization with fully synthetic 2-stroke oils.
Buy a helmet; wear it if you want. I prefer to wear a helmet.
A helmet with a face shield will keep dust, bugs, trash and the ubiquitous
lit cigarette butts out of your eyes. People ahead of you will
throw things out of the car onto you. Learn to expect it. If you like
the lower part of your face, get a full-face helmet.
If you are at speed and see a bump coming, push down on the
floorboard/pegs with your feet. Not enough to lift you from the seat,
but enough to remove some of your weight off your rear. This will allow
your legs to absorb some of the shock, decreasing the chances you'll
hurt your bike and increasing your control/stability.
Beware of the wind! Lars Friend correctly reminds us that:
your scooter may act like:
a
sail in a crosswind because of their much increased surface area, much
less weight, and less space between the faring and the road for the wind
to blow under you...
Especially on country roads coming around a turn or past a stand of trees
or something like that were all the sudden there will be a gust of
unexpected wind... Watching trees up ahead to look for wind is a good idea
on a scooter...
The performance is simply not there: acceleration, braking, handling.
You may find yourself watching traffic signals like a drag racer, opening the throttle before the
car in front of you starts to move. A 50cc bike is that slow...
Potholes and other road surface imperfections are more dangerous on scooters, because of the smaller diameter tires.
The electrical system will likely be very weak at idle, dim lamps, etc.
Remind yourself of the new control positions. I still think the left grip is a clutch from time to time...
step-through models give you no tank to brace your knees against. This makes aggressive maneuvers feel less stable.
the mousepad
This little beastie is a nifty scooter, what Honda called
a Spree. I used a hair dryer to heat and remove the hot pink
Spree! decals. Much better.
