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UFLBret
06-24-2014, 06:53 PM
Hey guys, my name is Bret and this is my first post. I'm a 3-wheel addict. However it has been 16 years since I last owned a ATC. I just bought a pair of '84 Big Reds today. Woot! One will be for sale shortly as he wouldn't split them up so I had to buy both. But the one I wanted is street legal so I bit the bullet. Yes street legal. :) Cool huh?

UFLBret
06-24-2014, 07:16 PM
OK, I figured I'd share some history about myself and ::cough cough:: pictures of my new trikes!

I am 40 now but as a young'n up in NJ & PA I was always around ATC's. Our small town in NJ was right on the Passaic river and there was a great trail network along the river for miles and miles. I also had a really nice area behind my house to ride. So I mowed lawns for 2 summers until I saved up $500 and bought my first 3-wheeler, a 1984 Honda ATC110. It was like a dream come true. My cousin in Reading PA had a blue 110 and so I knew that was the one I wanted. I bought it used from a neighbor kid who was not very coordinated and was scared of it. Pretty much mint condition. Used it lightly around NJ for a few months until we permanantly moved it to the Poconos at my parents house on Lake Wallenpaupack. Great memories up there all the dirt roads and trails EVERYWHERE back then. Fast forward to 1988 and the Yamaha Blaster had come out. I had to have it, so I reluctantly traded in my 110 and bought a new Blaster. Had that until 1990 when my family moved to Clearwater,FL. I sold the Yami and bought a Kawi 650 stand-up JetSki. Had that for a few years and raced in the 650 Limited class. Got bored and decided to sell it. Traded it to a guy with a 1993 Yamaha Banshee. I raced that in the Open class at Dade City Raceway, and County Line Raceway east of Sarasota (now closed). Sold it a few years later, went to college, got a job, got married, divorced, re-married, now have a great wife and beautiful 2-yr old daughter. I love to hunt so was looking for an old school Big Red to use at the hunt camp/lease.
So fast forward to this past Sunday and I see an ad for a guy selling not one but 2 '84 Honda Big Reds. OK, so here is where it gets cool. I call him up and he tells me he is the ORIGINAL owner of one of them and it is STREET LEGAL AND TAGGED!!! WHAT??@!!! So he was asking $2,000 for both of them. I got up today with $2k and try to buy just the tagged one but he won't split them. So I tell him I'll take both for 2k only if he throws in the trailer. Long story short, he reluctantly does.
So the good: The tagged bike runs flawlessly, it is 98% original (has aftermarket pipe/silencer and new tires), looks great, never been in mud, well preserved. Has all the street legal required equipment: turn signals, horn, brake light, mirror. Has gun rack and a winch up front which unfortunately is not working so I'm either going to try and fix it or scrap it.
The bad: The other one has been painted, still looks very good, runs very good, but has aftermarket cheap looking seat cover (ok no big deal), and a aftermarket head pipe and shorty silencer from what looks like a 2-stroke bike. Runs pretty good but some rust inside the tank, backfires some at WOT. Probably not jetted right for that stupid pipe and also it has sat for a while so the carb most likely is going to need going through. So that's it, that's my story. Sorry about the long wind! No idea what either of them is worth, I'm assuming the tagged one will be worth more? I already went to the DMV with the PO and got the new registration/title in my name as I was petrified of it not being able to be carried over. We had zero issues and I have my own tag now!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/uflbret/ATC_side2_zpsfe5b5387.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/uflbret/media/ATC_side2_zpsfe5b5387.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/uflbret/atc_rear_zps4e35e50e.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/uflbret/media/atc_rear_zps4e35e50e.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/uflbret/atc_side_zpsa962b121.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/uflbret/media/atc_side_zpsa962b121.jpg.html)

UFLBret
06-24-2014, 08:22 PM
Stand by for pics/story, had to be approved by mods?

Billy Golightly
06-24-2014, 08:47 PM
Nope - you're good! Where at in N fl are you? I'm in Live Oak. I've only ever heard of one other street legal trike down here, a Tri-Z. I'd LOVE to build/end up with one some day. I'd seen those 2 big reds on craigslist but I never paid enough attention I guess or knew one was tagged, that is awesome!

UFLBret
06-24-2014, 09:04 PM
Hi Billy! I'm in Gainesville, but will be using it primarily just outside of Mayo where my hunting lease is. It's gonna be a hog hauler! Not sure what happened to my post with the pics and story about them, it said it had to be approved before it was posted. Was it because I had image links from photobucket? I'll try and direct upload them also.

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Not sure why the 3rd pic makes it look like there is a dent in the tank. There is no dent must have been the lighting. Yes those are the ones from CL in Lake City. I got him to give me a trailer also. He was the original owner of the one I am keeping. It is a true survivor. It is mint and 98% original. Aftermarket Cobra exhaust and tires are the only non original parts on it. He added a winch to the front and a gun rack, all bolt-ons. As well as the street-legal stuff like turn signals, brake light, horn and mirror. All bolt-on and removeable. I couldn't believe how easy it was when we walked into the DMV together and switched over the paperwork, tag, etc. How cool is it to have a street legal Big Red? Don't think I'll be taking advantage of that aspect very much but it is pretty awesome nonetheless. Still need to get it insured to be 100% legal. At least I can putter around the neighborhood or up to the store real quick if I wanted to. Wonder how much value that adds to it? If any?

jakep53
06-25-2014, 06:44 AM
welcome to 3ww

murrietamike
06-25-2014, 09:04 AM
Welcome... sweet ride...

JasonB
06-25-2014, 09:56 AM
welcome to the boards! that big red is mint! looks like it was really well cared for, and the street legal aspect is real neat. i cant imagine it would be all that much for insurance on it, if i had a street legal bike i would ride it to work to save gas lol. anyways, nice bike and welcome to the boards!

UFLBret
06-25-2014, 08:33 PM
I've thought about riding it to work since it is only 6 miles from my house but just cruising up and down my street I think I will forgo that idea. It's downright awful to ride this thing on the pavement. I'm sure the wide tires don't help but it's really sketchy. I can't imagine doing 50 on it. It does NOT like to turn at all with that live axle. Although it would be nice to ride legally on all the county dirt roads up at the hunt camp.

Billy Golightly
06-25-2014, 09:02 PM
The other plus side is - you can legally run all the fire roads in any national forest in the entire country now with that thing, including all the areas in Ocala that had they had closed off to Off-Road vehicles.

Although the sand whoops down there would be hell on a hard-tail for sure...:lol:

coolpool
06-25-2014, 11:37 PM
That is a beautiful machine for sure. Wouldn't it be cool to cruise around with a piggie strapped on the rear rack and a gun in the mounts! Not sure how the authorities would like that, lol.