86 fourtrax 125 1 yr later!

[aldochina]

was thinking about picking one up. Looks good, needs some break work for sure, but thats about it i think. Gonna go check it out later today. Any thing i should check on these? Share any parts with the ATC's? How is the power on the 125's, never ridden one. If you own one, tell me what you think. I think its an 86. Just gonna use it for easy cruising around the property. Maybe for my wife, and the kids as they grow. Any problems hauling an adult? Thanks for any insight!
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv103/aldochina/125fourtrax_zps53f92d8b.jpg (http://s674.photobucket.com/user/aldochina/media/125fourtrax_zps53f92d8b.jpg.html)

[just ben]

It's been many years since I had one. It was my first machine way back in 86. Fun machine, The biggest downfall is the lack of suspension. Power wise they have plenty of power to haul an adult around. We used to plow our driveway with ours, if it got traction it would push whatever we threw at it

[dman10]

Shares all the same drivetrain as the 125M. The only differences is the 125M has Hi Lo on the transmission. Seems like they are fun, I have one, just not much of it.

[Ghostv2]

Looks like it would make a good investment, you can get some use out of it then give it to your kids as they grow. Only problem i see is it might be a little cramped with a larger adult on it. I never rode one so i dont know.

[Jason125m]

I have that exact same machine. It is 5 speed with reverse, unlike the first gen 125m's that also have the laydown motor. As you can tell from my name, I friggen love my 125's. I hate to say it, but i like the four wheeler better than my 3 wheelers. Very light and versatile, stable, plenty of power, reverse.... comfortable. All around great machine.

Buy it if the price is right. I traded labor for mine..... best thing i ever did!

Lots of parts are the same as the atc's, minus the front end. Motors swap without modifications.... I wish my atc had a trx motor..

[aldochina]

I bought it! 375 bones! I will post pics up when I can, heading out for the weekend!

[MIK6]

Blue27 put that motor in a 70 to build the mini bigred...
He wanted reverse! Lol
Looked like it had all the power he needed!

MIK6/ Mike

[aldochina]

Monroe Mike, Got a link to a manual? Gonna go through this this week. ripped it around alittle, think it need tie rod ends? a bit sloppy up front.

[Jason125m]

Hey Aldo, Here is a link to download a PDF manual. http://www.mediafire.com/download/bfl6jnjv8u5fwff/%5B1985-1986%5DHonda_Trx_125_Service_Repair_Manual.pdf

If it requires a password, the password is hondaatvforums.net

Here is the site it came from, if the above link doesn't work. http://www.hondaatvforums.net/forums/honda-atv-schematics-manual-help/10914-service-manual-downloads-all-years.html

Post up some pictures when you can!!

[aldochina]

link worked fine, thanks jay. got some tear down pics for you.
Like stated all it needs is brakes from what i can tell. fronts all looked great, but the damn cable snapped by the right side. Figures its a 50.00 cable from honda, and i cant seem to find an aftermarket. Its an odd thing with a chain linkage between 2 cables. everything else up front is perfect aside from 1 tie rod end is smoked, probably do them all.
Rear brakes where toast, pads must have delaminated, the housing was full of powder and chuncks of pad, and the shoes were wearing into the metal. unfortunately when i got it all cleaned out i found the break hub to be cracked. Too bad to cause its in great shape otherwise as far as seal surfaces go. Must have gotten supper hot to crack like that. I will get a pic of it. I have another I cleaned up that should work fine, seal surfaces need some attention though. Not an easy or cheap part to find. I happen to have a new take off rear end from an 84-85 atc125m that most of the parts are the same, but the break hub on the atc is all steel no holes. looks like it would work fine, but i am only robbing the pads from that set up for now.
Other than that the front tires are pefect, rears are worn, and have a few plugs and checking, but hold air. I would like to find a set of balloonie?lol 22x11x8 set similar to the stockers to replace them, i slapped a set of 18 inch durros on it for a few days, but the ride was harsh as you coud imagine lol.
I cleaned the frame in a few spots just for a comparo. Should clean up great. Little rust around the battery box, but not much else.
rear skid and chain case are trashed up good. gonna look for replacement. axle and sprockets look great. needs clutch adjusting cover.
Gonna give it some fresh Gn4, air filter is oem, and looks and feels great.
This thing is gonna look and be cherry when i get done going through it. Got 375 for initial purchase, found an oem rear cable on ebay for 20 bucks, and a nice set of inner fenders for 18 bucks to replace the left one that someone chewed a hole in for some reason. you can see it in the pic on the shelf.
if you have any of the parts i need CHEAP lol hit me up.
I rode this around a bit before i tore it down, and i gotta say it had some pep. I liked it alot!! Enjoy the pics. I will post up a few when i get the naked portion all sexied up!!
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv103/aldochina/DSCN2713_zps08290234.jpg (http://s674.photobucket.com/user/aldochina/media/DSCN2713_zps08290234.jpg.html)
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[aldochina]

a few more
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv103/aldochina/DSCN2720_zps7541bb27.jpg (http://s674.photobucket.com/user/aldochina/media/DSCN2720_zps7541bb27.jpg.html)
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[atc007]

Your work space appears a little cramped,might I come up and get those Big Reds out of your way ??? Lol,, Watch reverse on that bugger. There's a slider gear in the sub trans that brakes commonly and has been disc for well over a decade. I have a chassis for parts,but don't care for that word cheap unless I'm the one Buying lol.. But I feel forever indebted to you.. I went by that Post office the other day and literally and utterly got sick to my stomach just thinking about that mess... I used to be able to get the 2 lower cables for the fronts. LMK everything you need in a email. And I will send you everything I can.

[Jason125m]

Looks like a nice machine, just needs some washing. When I got mine the brake hub was also cracked. I used the one from an atc 125m parts machine. Reverse is pretty peppy on these machines, can be a little scary how fast it goes in reverse compared to the other 3 wheelers. I've beat the heck out of mine, still looks in great shape, and runs perfect. These machines also like to wheelie, I wheelie mine all the time on my lake when it freezes, so much that I smoked the cam. WHOOPS. But, shes all fixed now with an atc 125m head. I like how they are a straight 5 speed as apposed to the 125m's 4 low 4 high. Less time switching between sub gears. Pretty quick too.

[aldochina]

Sweet Bill! I will get back to you. Funny, I had almost forgot all about that until you just mentioned it!! You know the saying. Unfortunate it happens to guys like us! Stop eying my reds!! Cramped, I got tons of room in there! Good think for the garage and basement or I would be working outside!!

Glad to hear you enjoy yours so much jay!! I also like the tranny, it does have a super low first or something. So is this laydown motor with reverse exclusive to the 86 trx125, or did the 85 have reverse also? None of the laydown trike motoers ever had reverse?

[aldochina]

I hate to say "cheap", cause it makes me feel like a tight ass, but I hate even more finding a good machine for a few hundred, and having to spend more than you paid for it for new cables, shoes, and bearings!! Thats the way it is alot though! I like my stuff tight!

[Jason125m]

You know, i've never seen an 85 in person to know if it has a 5 speed with reverse(trx). I always wondered why they did not put reverse in the trikes!!!! My first intentions when I bought this trx was to install the motor into a spare 125m frame I have, but I like the thing to much to want to do it .

[jb2wheels]

That's a great project!


... Rear brakes where toast, pads must have delaminated, the housing was full of powder and chuncks of pad, and the shoes were wearing into the metal. unfortunately when i got it all cleaned out i found the break hub to be cracked. Too bad to cause its in great shape otherwise as far as seal surfaces go. Must have gotten supper hot to crack like that...

I think what gets them is water or mud or something gets in there and combined with the delam/crumbling shoes, a good freeze cracks the drum. I ended up parting out a 200s and it had a rear brake exactly like you describe.

[dman10]

Hit me up with a list of parts, I got one for parts, I could see what I got.

[aldochina]

Thats exactly what i was thinking! You know its probably a good thing there were no brakes on this thing, or it would have wound up trashed. When I bought it the guy said his son had been riding it a bit, he let his buddy ride it who ended up bumping this guys garage door cause he couldnt stop, denting his door! Thats when it got parked last year.



I think what gets them is water or mud or something gets in there and combined with the delam/crumbling shoes, a good freeze cracks the drum. I ended up parting out a 200s and it had a rear brake exactly like you describe.[/QUOTE]

[aldochina]

well its been a damn year this thing has been in my way. Its going back together. has all new brakes, tie-rods, and a few cables going on. All bearings are tight and smooth. Clean and regrease. got all the parts here, have to weld a bit on the skid and chain gaurd, that will be the last thing to get put on most likely. Going to be a sweet cruiser for us all.

Every time in the shed my 4 yr old goes right over to the 4 zinger that needs a top end and asks when I am gonna fix it for him. It really is killing me. I got so much to do as do alot of you, that my head spins sometimes. I am determined to get this out of the way and pull the zinger apart for him. Plus its perfect for my 7 yr old too. He does like his 70 though. Pains my 4 yr old to watch him go, although he does still like riding with "Pop"! They both do really.
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv103/aldochina/DSCN3887_zps472032e1.jpg (http://s674.photobucket.com/user/aldochina/media/DSCN3887_zps472032e1.jpg.html)
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[coolpool]

Looking good! You'll get'r done. It's funny how time flies when you're waiting for parts...then labor....then parts........then labor, you get it, right!

[dman10]

That's a really nice BR in the background. And if your still looking for parts let me know. Mines headed for the scrap soon.

[petesatc]

i just bought a nice 86....
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh318/pilotpete1/photo5-8_zps429afbb6.jpg (http://s259.photobucket.com/user/pilotpete1/media/photo5-8_zps429afbb6.jpg.html)
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[clmeue37]

^^nice find!

I had an 86 trx125 as a kid. Suspension would have been nice but I didn't know any better. Lots of hours spent riding that little bugger and our atc70. Good luck with getting it put back together!

[aldochina]

unfortunately I could not find a decent skidplate. All the ones on ebay are pretty much crap though whole, but I just drop 25 bucks on a spanked skid so I repaired the smoked one I had LOL!! Got about 3 hrs into this but hey! Alot of but welding on that thin arse metal!! even with the weldpak 100 I just couldnt seem to dial it in just right. either too hot or too cold. When I upgrade I will definately be getting a welder with infinate adjustment on both wire speed and amperage!! ready for paint
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[aldochina]

got some parts cleaned and painted. Bought some rust converting primer cause i didnt want to get too fussy, but i ended up cleaning everything up pretty good with wire wheels. used the primer anyway, and some coats of semi gloss. welded a hand formed extension on the pipe to keep it from sooting up the fenders and such. some bbq paint. had a crack in the rear of the frame that got welded up and a bunch of patching on the inner chain gaurd. will run without the outer until i can find a replacement, the one i have needs to much work to mess with at the moment. Cleaned up the brake housing with the wire wheel. some of these pics may not be in order.
http://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag196/tmhayes77/20140822_193259_zps48d86db0.jpg (http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/tmhayes77/media/20140822_193259_zps48d86db0.jpg.html)
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[kaymo]

looking good. nothing like getting things fixed right. who cares if you have 3 hours in it. your did it yourself makes it priceless :D

ive got an 86 and 87 trx125. both need restoring but both run! love honda....

[aldochina]

Just doing some final spot cleaning before assembly! Trying to not get too fussy! Only have a few minutes here and there to work on it at the moment, but should fly together once I put the degrease down lol!!