Bringing the 87 Big Red back from the dead

[sleeplessknight]

Hi, I'm new to the site but not new to trikes. I have mentioned in a couple of posts that I am rebuilding my Dad's old Big Red. Here's the story. When I was 15 I bought a beat up 200s from a friend. I'm not sure what year the tryke was bit this was in 1986 The front end was trashed and it didn't run right. My father and I rebuilt the front end and the carb and soon had it back on the trail. So my Dad went out and bought a brand new 87 250 Big Red. A few years later I got married and eventually sold the 200s and an 3 185s I had picked up along the way. A couple of weeks ago we were at a family get together and he mentioned he wanted to dig it out and sell it. I talked him into letting me have it and began working on it. Now mind you, this thing has been sitting for 15 years without running. It is still in excellent shape as he always kept it inside, however he never drained all of the gas from the carb. I began digging in to it and found that aside from needing 2 new tires,( he replaced one a couple years ago when he was going to fix it himself but never got to it) it needs the carb rebuilt, a new cdi, new spark plug and a few other odds and ends.
The plastic is all excellent, the racks are a little rusty. So far I have had the carb rebuilt and put it back on and changed the cdi. Still not gatting any spark though. I used a volt meter and found power going into the coil but not out so I ordered a new one. There's where I am at now. Waiting for a coil. Heres just a couple of pics with it torn apart. I'll post more when it runs.201188201189201190

[sleeplessknight]

Well, I have changed the cdi and the coil. Still no spark. I will admit, I am not a mechanic. I can do little things like changin g the cdi and the coil and putting in a new battery, all of which I have done. Anyone got any idea's as to what is wrong with this thing?

[sleeplessknight]

This is strange. I used a volt meter and checked the voltage coming into the coil. As long as you hold the starter button there is nothing, but the instant you let go of it, for just a second there's voltage. Anyone ever have this problem?

[muthey]

check your wiring sounds like a faulty ground, had this issue with a chinese quad and idiot before I got it had grounded the kill wire to the cdi, which causes it to have constant kill. if your wiring is all good and the cdi is guaranteed to work then I would start testing the stator.

[sleeplessknight]

check your wiring sounds like a faulty ground, had this issue with a chinese quad and idiot before I got it had grounded the kill wire to the cdi, which causes it to have constant kill. if your wiring is all good and the cdi is guaranteed to work then I would start testing the stator.

Thanks, I'll check it out. Appreciate the help.

[buck420]

Hope you get her running she Is beautiful

[sleeplessknight]

Ok, I have been over every inch of this wiring harness. All I could find was this.201556201557
Can anyone tell me what this wire could be. It is a black wire with a red stripe. It was obviously plugged into something at one time because it has a connector on the end and the remains of a rubber sleve that has been tore off. I have searched and have found nothing anywhere around it that it could have plugged into. Could this be the problem?

[Chopsaw]

The other half of the connection should be on the female side of the upper plug going into the wire harness itself not the plug . Its either there . or broke / cut off .
Check a wire diagram to see what it feeds .


Had to look myself . Looks like it runs between the alt and CDI . Someone that knows more than me will help you out .

Chop

[sleeplessknight]

Yes. I found it on the wiring diagram in the back of the owner's manual. That black and red wire runs from the cdi to the alternator. This has to be the problem, at least I would think so. Thanks Chop.

[350for350]

Hope that fixes the problem. Good choice on getting it from your dad. I know you'll enjoy riding it.

[sleeplessknight]

Hope that fixes the problem. Good choice on getting it from your dad. I know you'll enjoy riding it.
We used to go riding every weekend when I was a teenager. I had a 83(I think) atc185s and he had this Big Red. He bought it brand new. I used to ride it alot during the week after school. We always had a great time and I know I will enjoy it again. That's the really cool part for me is that this is the same Big Red that we used to ride back then, and soon I hope to be riding it again.

[sleeplessknight]

There's life in the old girl yet! I dug into the wiring harness and found the other end of the red and black wire. It was broke off about 2 inches up inside the harness. I spliced the two wires together and cranked it over. Mind you I wasn't really expecting anything to happen, so you can imagine my surprise when I grabbed the spark plug and it jolted me. I put the plug in, set the gas tank on and hooked up the carb. A little gas in the tank, cranked it over a bit and bam, she was running. I still have som adjustments to make and a few little things to do, plus I need a couple rear tires and she'll be back on the trail. Thanks for the help guys.

[dustrunner]

I was always told they never sold any of the 87's to the public in the usa....most were cut up and some given to fire dept's and police dept's..... thanks for the story :)

[Chopsaw]

Happy you got it goin . Enjoy .

[effort=results]

congrats . great story and hope u have a son to pass it along to. i love my 87. had 2 in my life . once when i was a kid and one i found a year ago .

[sleeplessknight]

I was always told they never sold any of the 87's to the public in the usa....most were cut up and some given to fire dept's and police dept's..... thanks for the story :)
I always thought that too, in fact all of these years I thought this one was an 86. My Father bought it Brand new and I'm pretty sure it was late in 86 that he bought it because I remember plowing snow with it not long after he bought it. When he dropped it off after digging it out of his barn I said that it was an 86 and he said No, it's an 87 and sure enough the sticker on the frame says 1987 Atc 250es. It even still has the sticker on the back that says Russ Majors Honda Trucksville Pa.

[sleeplessknight]

congrats . great story and hope u have a son to pass it along to. i love my 87. had 2 in my life . once when i was a kid and one i found a year ago .

Yes I do have a son to pass it on to, he just graduated from High school last year. :D

[muthey]

shoot I'm glad you got it running I just took a pic today of the wire you were talking about so you could try and find the other end but I see you found it on your own but here is the pic for you anyways.201623

[sleeplessknight]

Thanks anyway, I do appreciate it. I just have a few more little things to do to it. Since it's been sitting for about 15 years I am going to change the oil and the oil in the rear. When it fired up I only let it run for just a few seconds because I hadn't done that yet. After that I need to adjust the carb and get everything back together. I ordered new tires for the rear since they were dry rotted so bad they wouldn't even hold air long enough to move it. As soon as That is all done I'll post some pics. I hope to have it rideable by the weekend.

[undertaker]

Glad you got it going. I once worked on one for someone who did not disclose that he had swappped some of the electrical connectors around. It had no spark and took some time to diagnose. :crazy:

[sleeplessknight]

Well, It's not over yet. The electrical problems are solved. Now I have (I think) A Carburetor issue. First the tank. The tank was rusted, and bad. I put a little gas in it and swished it around then dumped it into a small container and let it set over night. The gas evaporated and there was about 1/8" of red, almost like clay in the bottom of the container. Unfortunatly The engine had run for a short time before I realized this. I did have a fuel filter in place but I still think some of this gunk got in. Anyway I let the tank sit over night with cider vinegar in it and that got all of the gunk out of the tank and a lot of the rust. I put it all back together and fired it up. It ran good with the choke on but when I took the choke off it died. I started it up again, got it to stay running without the choke. It was idling good. I hit the throttle and it died again, then I couldn't get it to start again with or without the choke. So, do you think it's flooding or not getting enough gas? Carbs are not my specialty. My father in law rebuilt it for me and he said it was in bad shape and wasn't sure if it would work right. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sleeplessknight]

Here's a couple of pics. The float is stuck in the carb so I have to clean it out again.202063202064
Did have it running for a few minutes though. I think I'm getting closer.

[effort=results]

put applecider vinegar in the tank for two days. powerwasher with baking soda to clean it out. then wd 40 to not let it flash rust before u get gas in it. hope u dont need to kreem it. so do u still have the plow for it?

[sleeplessknight]

put applecider vinegar in the tank for two days. powerwasher with baking soda to clean it out. then wd 40 to not let it flash rust before u get gas in it. hope u dont need to kreem it. so do u still have the plow for it?
Yes, I do have the plow. It was sitting in a patch of weeds behind my sister's house,lol. I just dug it out today in fact. Need to sand it down and paint it but it isn't in bad shape considering it sat outside for 15 years. Will get a few pics on when it's done.

[auto5man]

Great to see you bringing the old girl back to life! Sounds like you are close. I was intimidated by carb rebuilding too, but got the rebuild kit for my 125 and it wasn't so bad.

[sleeplessknight]

Ugh!!Carburetors! Ok so now the float is sticking in the other direction and not letting fuel in. I did learn some interesting info about this trike. Apparently 15 years ago when my father stuck it in his barn the trike had been at my sister's house. Her husband wrecked it into their pond! I mean completely submerged. and they never told him! They just told him it quit running. I am shocked that it runs at all.

[Bren_downe]

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/161746-ES-SX-350X-Carb-rebuild-Tutoral

This should help with your carb issues. Nice looking ride!

[sleeplessknight]

Got it running today. Took it for a short test ride and all seems ok. It doesn't run flawlessly, but it's close.

[Jmoozy27]

You will most likely have to play with the fuel mixture screw to tweak it. Check your plug and see what color it giving. Rich or lean, I would start at factory setting and go from there. The older machines kinda have there own setting and it's up to you to find it. Nice bike and good story.

[Brandon Olivier]

Great story! Do you have any updated pictures?

[ivantate]

Nice, a barn find without the hunting around for a huge amount of years!

Enjoy it.