Any Veteran 3-Wheel Racers Amongst Us?

[DixiePlowboy]

How many of ya'll raced 3-wheelers in organized events local or otherwise?
What was your ride and it's setup?
MX, Flatrack, etc...?
How did you fare?

[ATCRYDER]

My Uncle used to with his Tiger 200, Cant say I took the privelage to try it.

[Kilborg]

I can't say im a 3 wheeler racer from the heydey, but i have raced my trikes in quite a few events over the years.

[ATC'R]

I used to ice race for years until I started a business which had me working on the weekends. The Bike is an 86R with +4 axle, Durablue lowering strutt, Hondaline shortrack tank, engine ported and polished. Front forks dropped about an inch.

[catfishwhisker]

I raced back in 86 in the AATVA Grand National Series and also the Texas Arenacross series. My bike was a TC prepped 200X. Had a lot of fun back then. Sure wish I could find my old bike. That's it in my avatar. I'd like to scan all these pics for you guys, but it would take forever! If you want to see any factory racers in action, just let me know and I'll see if I got them.

[tecatecrazy]

would always love to see pics.---Joe 8)

[Jeb]

Nice Trike ATC'R! Man, I love the short track tank fitted 250Rs. I should have bought that 200R that was for sale a couple hours from me when it didn't sell on ebay. It was an old race trike and had it all, even the 200R Selvy kit motor. :(

[TimSr]

The CRA, which is AMA's competitor in Ohio, still allows trikes to compete in their events, in the appropriate quad class. I ran MX on my TriZ regularly in 98, and 99. I probably had about the fastest thing on the track other than a couple of ATC250R's which were about the same. Motocross races, however, are not won by the fastest ATV's, but rather, the ones you can get around the track the fastest, and its not gonna be the trikes! And the ATC250R, though not any faster than the Z, could usually get around the track faster than the Z. I switched to a TRX250R in 2000, but still run the TriZ at 3 of the nearest county fair motocross races, since I think of them as exhibition races. I dont win, but I finish honorably, and I always wonder what the front finishers think when more people run up to shake my hand and congratulate me for taking 8th or 9th out of 11 or 12 than congratulate them!

In the first couple of years there were a handful of trikers racing, but now its pretty rare. Most of the trike decent racers instantly became super quad racers, and suddenly advanced to frontrunner positions. They still run trikes on the track for practice, and they truly are the best way to prepare for quad racing. Quads forgive your mistakes, while trikes will point them out to you!

Some guys ran wheel spacers and a lot of mods on their trikes. (It was sad to see what $$ they sunk into 200X's!) My Z was stock, other than 18" Turf Tamers, which I gave up last year, deciding 22" worked better with the TriZ geometry. Bad news was they were my beloved Maxi All Trax trail tires, so I had to work twice as hard to powerslide!

Look forward to doing it again this year!

[DixiePlowboy]

I raced some back in '84, '85, & '86 at local tracks. I ran an '85 R mostly. My love was(and is still) flattrack racing. I had a lowering strut in the rear, and dropped the clamps down in the front. Add homemade wheel spacers(4 inches each), the stock spacer behind the hubs, and offset wheels, and you had the makings of some real high speed sideways action.

Well, I reckon sideways aint out of my system yet. I believe my current project '85 R is gonna have a race start in it's future. There are a few local speedways and ATV tracks that allow 3-wheelers to compete against quads. Extended axles and short track tank kits....OH MY! :D

[DixiePlowboy]

TimSr,
Am I to understand that you're not only trying to powerslide with stock width axle and 22" tires, but competing? With the Tri-Z's handling characteristics, you're doing good to finish rubber side down :D ;) .

Seriously though, are you still running the factory tank/airbox setup? To me, mine always felt tail heavy which seemed to help in the traction department at the wrong time, such as while trying to get sideways.

In my experience, there's no comparison between the last generation racing 3 wheelers as far as handling goes. The R and Tecate were much better sliders. In the case of the Tecate, it seemed to handle better when it was sideways, kind of like a natural.

[ATC crazy]

I raced my cousins and buddies at a home made track for years on my '87 250sx. We would bet each other a couple of bucks on who the winner was. (Usually me) ;)

[TimSr]

Hey Dixie, you understand exactly right, except I wasnt "trying" to powerslide, I WAS powersliding! Just nearly as effectively as I could have been. I cant justify another set of tires for 3 MX's a year, so ill just have fun on the ones Ive got. The Fair tracks are mostly a thin layer of loose dirt on top of hard pack, and its not difficult to break them loose.
The Z doesnt corner nearly as well as the Tecate or the R, but in my opinion, its a misconception that the problem is airbox/tank setup. Its a lot more a geometry problem with the frame setup. The forks extend too far forward, and the front end is too high, which is why 22" in the back works better than 18". If I were serious about setting it up for MX (which Im not) Id lose the 25" front tire, and use a 23", slide the forks up in the clamps as much as I can, (which Ill do anyways), and put some 20 or 22" Turf Tamers on the back, depending on what the front looks like after the items mentioned. If you ever compare the Z and the R beside each other, the first thing you notice is the short rake on the forks of the R, while the Z looks like a chopper with everything tilted backwards.
Finally, If your gonna race against quads on an MX track, pick a rainy day! It really helps even up the odds a little bit.

[DixiePlowboy]

Hey Tim,
I know what you mean about the geometry of the Z. When I mounted 18" flattracks, the front end seemed real high. I could powerslide mine, just not as easily as the R and Tecate. The extra effort in my mind, has to hurt track times. An extended axle would help.
I agree that for 3 races a year, I wouldn't put a whole lot in another set of tires either. It seems a flattrack knobby design would work for the track conditions you described, taction wise.
You deserve praise for carrying the 3-wheel racing torch into this century. I'm with ya bubba.

[3WheelHouston]

I agree, Tim does deserve alot of praise. Tim, it's really impressive that you still find a way to race. I can't say that I do race, but guys like you that do inspire my dream to start racing trikes, when I get a worthy one. I know you butt heads alot with us younger guys, but I have to tell you that I really look up to you for being a real racer, and not just a showboat. Riding trikes in the woods and on private drag strips is one thing, but to race publicly is really something. I'll be doing it as soon as I get a worthy trike done, whenever I can.