Look what has made it to the USA.

[katoranger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/250cc-UTV-MOTORCYCLE-FLATBED-SIDE-RAILS-FOLD-DOWN-FULL-LIGHTS-TOOL-KIT-/400315547189?pt=ATVs&hash=item5d34aa7e35

[FastDoc]

Very cool. 8)

3 things I don't understand.

The copy says automatic? I thought these were manual 5 speeds. Also why not street legal, and finally, How can it have a BIN price of only $1,000? Almost sounds fishy...

If that price was real it would be a steal if a guy had a use for it. :P

[FastDoc]

Copy says 250, side of bike says 200... Some usual discrepencies...

[katoranger]

My guess is that this one is a dealer sample and probably the only one.

[SpudRider]

I'm sure you could get a license plate for that trike in Idaho. ;) Even if it's only a 200cc engine, I think that trike is a steal at that price! :)

Spud :)

[katoranger]

I noticed it has a shaft drive.

[Weldangrind]

Shaft drive makes perfect sense. I was thinking that an old ATC motor with shaft drive would be a good donor for a home-brewed version.

[katoranger]

I was looking at the countershaft area and it appears that they adapted a gearbox to a standard chain drive engine.


This has me thinking. Old shaft drive bike and a rear axle from a small rear drive car.

[Weldangrind]

Old shaft drive bike = no reverse.

A current 200cc atv engine would do the trick, except for the chain drive. A China atv reverse gear installed in an old Honda Big Red atc has potential.

[FastDoc]

Still available. I think it's a steal for someone who can use it. :P

[katoranger]

Old shaft drive bike = no reverse.

A current 200cc atv engine would do the trick, except for the chain drive. A China atv reverse gear installed in an old Honda Big Red atc has potential.

Good point. That would make backing a load difficult.

[Weldangrind]

I wonder if the gearbox is available as a spare part?

[katoranger]

Probably not in the US.

[david3921]

I'm thinking that the lever should say slow and slower with the weight that poor little engine has to haul around.

...and don't put any gas in it as the gas line isn't attached.

[david3921]

Old shaft drive bike = no reverse.

A current 200cc atv engine would do the trick, except for the chain drive. A China atv reverse gear installed in an old Honda Big Red atc has potential.

The sixth picture shows a lever that might be for forward/reverse. It's located above what looks like a filler for gear lube.

[MICRider]

I'm coming into this thread kind of late, but all the Big Red's I ever saw had shaft drive and reverse... Also low range. You can even pick them up pretty cheap here, but most of them are pretty beat up cosmetically. :wink:

[Weldangrind]

Interesting! I only ever rode one Big Red, and it tried to kill me. It had an unconventional shift pattern of five down, and there was no reverse. Trikes are priced a little high where I live; what can you pick one up for, Stew?

[MICRider]

Here's one about a half hour away from me... Definitely falls into the fixer upper status! Lol! Does run though, that's half the battle!

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-ATVs-snowmobiles-ATVs-1984-HONDA-ATC-BIG-RED-W0QQAdIdZ394500124

Here's one in very nice usable condition, but at triple the price of the "fixer upper" :lol: The better machines seem to run around 1K and up. Fairly reasonable for what your getting though :).

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-ATVs-snowmobiles-ATVs-Honda-ATC-200ES-W0QQAdIdZ402979895

Here's one that's kind of in the middle. Still needs a bit of work but is in better shape cosmetically than the first one for $500

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-ATVs-snowmobiles-ATVs-Honda-Big-Red-250-W0QQAdIdZ401967994

I'm guessing that the ones my buddy had and our next door neighbor had at the farm must have been 84 + as they both had reverse... My bad, I thought they all did.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/oldsite/files/Sads/sHonda1984atc200esC.jpg

I love the old ATC's... I had a 185's when I was 14 or 15 and I pretty much wore that thing totally out. Served us very well on the farm for quite a few years. A few of us farm kids would get together and go riding on ATC's and one guy had a brand new Fourtrax (his dad's of course!). The ATC's would go through the muskeg much better than the Fourtrax did.... At the time we attributed it to the much lighter weight of the ATC's.

[katoranger]

Now I am seeing a stretched big red. I can legally drive them on the street in most areas around here.

Most of the smaller towns have ATVs in the grocery store parking lot.

[MICRider]

Now I am seeing a stretched big red. I can legally drive them on the street in most areas around here.

Most of the smaller towns have ATVs in the grocery store parking lot.

I loved riding the ATC's, to the point where I personally think they were easier to handle than the four wheelers. I remember doing high speed drifting turns on gravel where you weighted the outside peg to take traction off the inside wheel and leaned toward the inside wheel to keep from highsiding... They were a riot! :D

[FastDoc]

My buddy had a Honda ATC250R. Basically a racing motocross bike with an extra wheel. It was very fun but not for the novice.

I think part of the danger of 3 wheelers is they look easier to ride than they are. I also think they got a bum rap. :cry:

[MICRider]

My buddy had a Honda ATC250R. Basically a racing motocross bike with an extra wheel. It was very fun but not for the novice.

I think part of the danger of 3 wheelers is they look easier to ride than they are. I also think they got a bum rap. :cry:

I never really found them difficult to drive, did have a few mishaps though... We were riding on some rough trails (cutlines) once and I was in lead, I was going a little fast and I hit a bump that pretty much bounced me off the pegs. At that point the rear wheels quickly clawed up the back of my Moto X Fox boots and pretty much pinned some tender parts very tightly to the seat/tank. Lol! I was pinned there until my buddies came along and lifted the back end up so I could get my legs free, with much jeering and teasing of course! I sang soprano for a couple of days after that... :oops:

That being said I still miss the old girl, kinda wish I had hung onto it.

[SpudRider]

My understanding is the quads replaced the trikes because it was feared the trikes tipped over more easily; is that correct? :?:

Spud :)

[Weldangrind]

That's a big part of it. Add to that, if you climb over a log with the front wheel and then put your foot down, you'll trap your leg between the rear wheel and the log; rescue is your only hope. As well, you can't lean a trike like a motorcycle and you can't drift it like a quad. Experienced riders make it look easy, but the dynamics aren't natural.

[SpudRider]

As always, thank you for your detailed, informative reply, Weld. :)

Spud :)

[FastDoc]

Experienced riders make it look easy, but the dynamics aren't natural.

Well said.

Again also the look like tricycles which non-riders thought anoyone could ride. Many of these people hurt themselves and helped sue the three wheeler off the market.

FWIW though I sold my ATV a few days ago. I liked it but I'm a two wheel kinda guy...