Help identifying a frankentrike I bought

[PartyTX]

Hello, names Johnny, first time poster here.

Recently bought a three-wheeler from my mother. She bought it years ago, but it turned out to be too fast for my brother. So now it's mine, and I have NO clue on what year/model it could be. This thing has been altered some, and is in ROUGH shape, but I can't get it to a shop to fix, so I will have to do it myself. I will post pictures and I would really appreciate it if anyone can give me any info on it like what year/model, or really ANYTHING would help out. I can also take picutres of anything else thats needed. ADMINS: If I do anything wrong in this post, please let me know.
Thanks!

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[Cornholio]

That would be a 81/ 82 Honda 250r. With 200x front suspension and tire setup.

[PartyTX]

That would be a 81/ 82 Honda 250r. With 200x front suspension and tire setup.


Man I have been looking all morning through pictures trying to figure out which model, and it looks like you nailed it.

Thank you so much man.

[Cornholio]

Man I have been looking all morning through pictures trying to figure out which model, and it looks like you nailed it.

Thank you so much man. No problem dude! Glad to help.

[atc300r]

If it has rear drum brake its a 81 if it has rear disc its 82.Also under the gas 82 has some scoops for the air to go into the frame tube to the airbox.81 doesnt have them. Cool old DG one piece pipe.

[PartyTX]

So why would anyone put a 250r, and a 200x front suspension? And will that cause any riding problem, issues? Also, was it worth the 200$ I spent on it? I am catching HELL from my wife because it's not running. I have a Honda tech coming out to my house this weekend to give me a parts list and estimate on fixing it.

According to the guy my mother bought it from, he had the engine taken out and "bored" out, then put back in. It was gotten up to 85 mph (supposedly) before the rider backed off from being too scared. Now thats all hearsay, my mother is old and the guy she bought it from is old, so im sure some is lost in translation between the two.

[jb2wheels]

I bet it was fast. I bet it was scary.

The 200X front end gives superior brakes and forks and likely better handling due to the skinny tire.

Was $200 worth it? Well... if your wife's giving you crap about the $200, she's gonna kick your trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro if she ever finds out what it will cost to make it a safe, reliable runner again. Let alone pretty.

Does it turn over and make a spark? If so, you might be able to clean the carb, clamp on a filter and make it run.
How's the seat pan and inside the tank look?
Bearings, sprockets, chain, seat, plastics OH MY!

On the plus side, I dig the outside of the tank!

But, I once built a nice hardtail 110 from 3 or 4 Craiglist parts buys.

[hatc200x1]

If its mechanically sound its worth it, i bet that dg one piece exhaust is probably worth 200 if its not rotted out or rusted through.

[yaegerb]

I will take that one piece DG if you want to sell it :)

btw, that poor old 250R is in rough shape. Gonna take a decent amount of dough to resurrect that poor atc.

[PartyTX]

No, I don't want to sell any parts off of it yet, I want something fun to ride! The seat pan im guessing would be the frame it sits on, and not the cushion. The frame it sits on is great, no rust or anything. The cushion as you can see looked like it was cut from a boat, and wrapped in an American flag lol It also has no brakes. The brakes consist of a SPEAKER WIRE running to the back brake that you pull with your wrist. LOL Yep, I bought this clunker. 173443

No, it won't fire. It could be the plug, but according to my step-dad who also knows nothing, he said you can spray starter fluid in the back in that open hole, and that it will crank up and run just fine. Im guessing thats where the filter clipped on at one point in time? I have no clue about these, it's the first one I have ever owned since I was a kid. It will turn over with the kickstart, compression is there, but just no fire. Spark plug is rusted on top so God knows how old it is. Im not really worried about making it look pretty, I just want something that will run to have fun around my house. I live in the woods, no neigbors at all.

Had a Big Red when I was a kid, but hit a giant anthill and rolled it over on myself. Next day someone "stole it" by unlocking the master lock to the chain (with my key). (Parents lol)

[hatc200x1]

It has some sort of aftermarket carb on it. What brand is on the side of it?

[yaegerb]

It has some sort of aftermarket carb on it. What brand is on the side of it?

Looks like a normal flat side Mikuni carb to me....I could be wrong.

You need to take the spark plug out of the head and keep the plug wire attached to it. Ground the electrode of the sparkplug to the side of the engine and see if it produces a spark when you try to start it. You may have to do this in a dark area. Oh, and don't touch the sparkplug or wire when kicking it over, you will get shocked.

If no spark, then somethings wrong in your electrical system.

Also, you need a manual for that bike. If you don't have one, then click on the link below to download one of the manual's off of KBOnly's home page. I would read it cover to cover so you have a good idea of the bike and how it works.

http://www.kb0nly.info/ATC/index.php

[jb2wheels]

Where are you in TX? SETX = Houston, Baytown, Dayton areas?

Would be fun to tinker with and have a beer or two with you if you're in the Austin area.

[honda200xguy]

holy trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro that's a rough 250r

[PartyTX]

Where are you in TX? SETX = Houston, Baytown, Dayton areas?

Would be fun to tinker with and have a beer or two with you if you're in the Austin area.

I live in a tiny little town called "Pollok". It's 15 minutes from the city of Lufkin. We just moved back here, originally from Port Arthur. We got smacked by a huge tornado in Oklahoma, then two days packed up came back to the hurricane country lol

I got some starter fluid, im going to give that sucker a squirt and see if it will crank. I can't take the plug out, my roomate took off with all of my tools on a roadtrip, but will be back in the morning.

[90guy]

Man I would love to find a 1st gen R like that. I would have given $200 for it. Without thinking!

[hatc200x1]

Ya im not familair with what Mikuni looks like

[PartyTX]

Well I tried starter fluid, it's just not firing. I will replace the plug first, and then go from there. The top of the plug is brown, as in covered in rust. I do know the thing ran fine less than a year ago, my mother even rode on it (60 yrs old). She said it was so fast that she she never rode it again, same as everyone else in my family.

I have a Honda tech from a local shop coming out to give me a list of what I will need, his wife is a friend of mine and he said he could get me brand new parts at their cost. I will have to pay him for anything I can't do myself though. I will pay him anyway just for looking at it and giving me a list I need, it's just how I am.


I would like to thank you all for all of the helpful comments, before today I knew nothing about this thing. Now I know the exact year/model/ and a decent guess on what I have sitting out there.

Great, helpful forum

[PartyTX]

Man I would love to find a 1st gen R like that. I would have given $200 for it. Without thinking!

Why are people after these so much? Are they hard to find these days, fast, dependable, whats the draw to these things? Is 1st gens better than the ones made after?

[jb2wheels]

History - these were REVOLUTIONARY when they came out in 81. We were just a couple of years away from the ATC110 being the baddest trike on the block. Trick dune trikes were ATC90 based - 180cc bored and stroked time bombs running on alky, maybe with a leading link front end. Or maybe an RD or H1 or H2 in a hardtail aftermarket frame. Then along came the 250R. Full suspension. Real, reliable power. A disk brake. Instantly better than all of them. Hard to put into words the impact they made.

Nostalgia - a lot of us had them "back in the day". I had an 82 with a 300kit, piped, ported, +12 arm, etc.

The later generation Rs were better trikes. Heck, any "race" or "sport" trike made after 82 was a better trike. Hard to believe the 85 R was only 3 years of evolution apart from the 82.

But the 81/82 250Rs were the first.

http://airfoolers.com/?page_id=128

They're over 30 years old. They were beat on then and hard to find a nice one now.

[jb2wheels]

And with the right parts, a 480R or 450R engine bolts in...

[Glen]

Damn, that thing could be real sweet

[atc300r]

The first gens have alot of aftermarket goodies if you can find them.I built my 81 250r into a DG racer.Handles great.Im still dialing it in for flat track racing.

[JasonB]

i see some potential! just need to find someone close to home that can come tinker with you on it. Taking it to a shop will be outrageous and make the wife angry lol. You can get enough free info on here and by googling anything you can think of. theres so many things you can learn and do on your own for free or next to free to test things. And these motors are easy to tear down and rebuild yourself, just need to take the cylinder to have it bored or honed and bolt it back together. Theres alot of info around here on the air foolers, heck go join airfoolers.com and get to it!


edit* dont know why that didnt show up, i said AIRFOOLERS.COM . stupid browser plugging ads in my posts lol

[PartyTX]

i see some potential! just need to find someone close to home that can come tinker with you on it. Taking it to a shop will be outrageous and make the wife angry lol. You can get enough free info on here and by googling anything you can think of. theres so many things you can learn and do on your own for free or next to free to test things. And these motors are easy to tear down and rebuild yourself, just need to take the cylinder to have it bored or honed and bolt it back together. Theres alot of info around here on the air foolers, heck go join airfoolers.com and get to it!


edit* dont know why that didnt show up, i said AIRFOOLERS.COM . stupid browser plugging ads in my posts lol

I have a guy who works at the Honda ATV shop coming out tommorow. He's an old boss of mines son-in-law, and has been working there for 13 years. I looked up the prices on parts and it floored me, I had no idea. I know it has the BG exaust, but im wondering about the head? It has that shape to it, but it's been repainted, and the ones I saw online were gold. From the pictures I uploaded, or just by what you guys know, how would I tell the difference?

Can anyone tell me by looking at the pics if thats whats on it? I know the guy my mother bought it from said he had the engine taken out, bored, and put back in. She thinks he may have said he had after market racing parts added, but I found out today he's dead now, so I can't ask him anymore.

Im going to keep the pictures I have as "before" and make an album of after. 1-2 hundred bucks each week and it shouldn't take too long (I hope).

[hatc200x1]

Not a DG head. Just a stock OEM head.

[yaegerb]

I still have all receipts of my 1982 250r resto-mod. Plan on spending somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-3k, unless you have someone that can get you deep discounts.

[JasonB]

just take your time, and search like crazy. you will be amazed at how much people have done with these bikes and little to no money lol. just be a savy shopper, watch the for sale threads and especially craigslist daily to see what pops up in the free and classifieds. You might be suprised at what some people give away or sell for next to nothing. Bike just needs a little clean up and tlc :D

[Just-Tri-It]

Also, was it worth the 200$ I spent on it? I am catching HELL from my wife because it's not running.

Give her some money to go buy a new pair of shoes and she'll help you work on it. Every new toy much come with a new pair of women's shoes.....or else.

[PartyTX]

Update::

Had a Honda tech come by. He cleaned the carb, cleaned the plug, and now it cranks first hit!

Runs like a machine possesed. I need a new throttle cable though, I had it in the last gear and it stuck. When I finally got it unstuck, and my testicles returned where they are supposed to be, I parked it. It needs air in the tires anyway. He said the engine is in perfect running condition surprisingly, and that all I need is brakes, and a throttle cable, and a filter. The rest is cosmetic for the most part. I called my wife while I was driving it so she had proof it was running, so I shouldn't catch anymore flak over it.

200$ -- Im one happy bastad!

[6speedthumper]

Those are some tough bikes. I had one for a short while last January. Sat outside for years, got it running, and had to sell it to fund another project. Wish I had just kept it. It too had a one piece DG, extended axle, and .080" Wiseco. Just take your time with it, like everyone else has said, and it can be made into one hell of a noice trike. And, definetly go to air foolers.com. Some pretty sick bikes on there, and lots of fab work/knowledge like there is here.

[jb2wheels]

Fantastic news!

[Scott9]

nice sounds like you got a good deal

[honda200xguy]

nice sounds like you got a good deal
How-so? lol