02 Honda Metro project.

sc00ter · 11-10-2019, 09:54 PM

Wife and I have a family member who needs cheap transportation. So we bought him a 2002 Honda Metropolitan for $400. Has around 11,600 miles, all service work done, been dropped on the right side (slow speed, nothing bent-just scrapes), seat ugly, new rear tire, needs front tire (I should have a new one in my garage), and dead battery but scooter runs like a top. No leaks either. Wife paid for the scooter, I'm covering everything else. It should be reliable and serve him well. Stinks that its coming up on winter! Funny part of story: I originally had another friend in mind for this Metro. This guy has a Metro with WELL OVER 40,000! Has a weird oil leak and is getting tatty. Oh, and its a Metro 2! Sloooow. He backed out because he thought I said it was a Ruckus! How he got Ruckus for $400 out of Metro is beyond me. So the Metro goes to the family friend because the $500 Genuine Venture I looked at was a sketchy, so we walked away.

sc00ter · 11-17-2019, 09:23 PM

So the $400 Metro turned into $600. Front tire and all the parts for a tune-up. Hits 40mph now vs. the 34mph before the tune-up. Shim and bucket valves are weird but work, and they were in spec. Dealer only charged me $14 to mount the front tire-off the scooter. Tire (OEM IRC) was $35. Belt, rollers, OEM air filter and other small parts were not to much money. Battery was $90 from Batteries Plus. So its now ready for its new owner. Tuesday is the target day. Gonna ride it into work on a plate/tag that is registered to a pink Genuine Buddy. Need to do a final shake-down. The prior owners dumb step-son was doing burnouts in gravel on the Metro and his mom told him to "finish it off". Owner came out and took the keys from him. This step-son has murdered 2 cars already! Not even 18 yet! First was a truck he didnt like (blew the motor) and the 2nd car (Subaru WRX) had a crank position sensor fail so he begged mom for his inheritance money and bought a ugly Mercedes SUV. Letting him kill the Metro would have sent a terrible message, so it was rescued.

sc00ter · 11-22-2019, 10:26 PM

Oh boy, this might not end well. So the wife and I get the "new to him" Metro owner over to our house to pick it up. I give him a new helmet that fits him correct, a pair of winter gloves and show him how to start it. So, off we go back to were he's staying. He does ok at slow 'hood speeds so we head to the faster streets. We come up on a fast, right sweeper. I sent him up front to set the pace. I was on my wife's big trike covering him from cars. He goes into the turn and crosses 4 lanes and clips the curb on the median strip. Sparks from the center stand! Barely saves it. At the stop light he asked what he did wrong. "You didn't lean!". Oh! So we survive the trip. As I'm leaving I tell him to read the owners manual and go practice in the neighborhood. He instead sat around all day with his girlfriend. I hope he doesn't go down but I have a bet he will wreak it in the first 100 miles. And I know what tight, fast left hand turn that will get him!

sc00ter · 12-11-2019, 10:01 AM

So far, so good! He's been riding the heck out of it, even figured out how to start it when its cold out. Glad it went to a good home.

sc00ter · 01-08-2020, 10:47 AM

The owner of the Metro called and said it "wont start". I didn't speak to him so Im not sure if its turning over and not starting or its not doing anything at all. Best part is I told him I would swing by last Tuesday on the way to work at 11am and when I got there I knocked on the door for 15mins then just left. It turns out he was either taking a nap or playing his Xbox with is headphones on. I hate working on complicated 4 strokes anyways so Im not to excited to even look at it. Priorities and kids today.... So he's back on a girls mountain bike for now.

sc00ter · 01-11-2020, 05:04 PM

Weird!? The brand new battery was "weak". The scooter does not sit for more than a day. It started up on kick start no problem, but when you hit the starter button you would hear a very faint clicking sound. So I rode it awhile at WOT and it then started on the button. I told the owner to try it this Sunday and if its weak again I'll take the expensive battery back to Batteries+ and have it checked. Note:
Battery tested on the low side for spec with a volt meter. Forgot what it was.
Both terminals were properly tight.
Fuses were good and properly seated.
No new crash damage.
Still fun to ride. Got it up to 45 (indicated) with a tailwind!

11-17-2019, 09:23 PM	#2
sc00ter Join Date: May 2017 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 524	So the $400 Metro turned into $600. Front tire and all the parts for a tune-up. Hits 40mph now vs. the 34mph before the tune-up. Shim and bucket valves are weird but work, and they were in spec. Dealer only charged me $14 to mount the front tire-off the scooter. Tire (OEM IRC) was $35. Belt, rollers, OEM air filter and other small parts were not to much money. Battery was $90 from Batteries Plus. So its now ready for its new owner. Tuesday is the target day. Gonna ride it into work on a plate/tag that is registered to a pink Genuine Buddy. Need to do a final shake-down. The prior owners dumb step-son was doing burnouts in gravel on the Metro and his mom told him to "finish it off". Owner came out and took the keys from him. This step-son has murdered 2 cars already! Not even 18 yet! First was a truck he didnt like (blew the motor) and the 2nd car (Subaru WRX) had a crank position sensor fail so he begged mom for his inheritance money and bought a ugly Mercedes SUV. Letting him kill the Metro would have sent a terrible message, so it was rescued.
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12-11-2019, 10:01 AM	#4
sc00ter Join Date: May 2017 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 524	So far, so good! He's been riding the heck out of it, even figured out how to start it when its cold out. Glad it went to a good home.
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01-11-2020, 05:04 PM	#6
sc00ter Join Date: May 2017 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 524	Weird!? The brand new battery was "weak". The scooter does not sit for more than a day. It started up on kick start no problem, but when you hit the starter button you would hear a very faint clicking sound. So I rode it awhile at WOT and it then started on the button. I told the owner to try it this Sunday and if its weak again I'll take the expensive battery back to Batteries+ and have it checked. Note: Battery tested on the low side for spec with a volt meter. Forgot what it was. Both terminals were properly tight. Fuses were good and properly seated. No new crash damage. Still fun to ride. Got it up to 45 (indicated) with a tailwind!
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