how determind is everyone with there bikes?

[200xkwit]

ive been determind for years on having this 200x run perfectly in every way and be so dependable it should be renderd bullet proof. and its not happening for me one bit every time I get it running it always breaks! but after all the work ive done to it and all the learning time i have in it... its impossible for me to sale it. but what about some of u other guys.. if the bike dont work is it gone like that??? or does it sit in the shed for years and collect dust?? or does it get undiveded attention?

[Pistonhead]

Always undivided with me, I never sell stuff, I'm the worlds greatest pack-rat.

[atcmatt]

I've never really had a non running trike. The old honda's, particularly the bigred are bullet proof beasts. They will never or rarely let you down. Even after drowning it in water last week i just pulled it out and let it sit and it fired right up. You just cant kill em, end of story. Im more touchy on the looks side of thing, i want it to be spotless and scratchless. Nearly impossible for a farm trike, but you can try huh?

Matt

[a-camp]

I have felt that. Find the fun in the challenge. One time it was a new carb. Rebuilt the old one 50 or so times.

[chris200x]

What's the story with these 200x's. Everyone says Honda's are bulletproof. Yes, some of the might be. I never had a problem with my old 250sx. Now I own a 200x and I'm having nothing but problems. I suppose I just got a LEMON! But, you would think after fixing every problem and sinking so much money into it, it just has to run-is this wishfull thinking?

[jeswinehart]

why are our trikes refered to as bikes ??? they ain't bikes.

but as far as 200x's ,,, i'll never have another unless to part out.
that's how bad the last one i owned pissed me off. that was 3 years ago.

howdy ,,, i still think i would have had ALOT more enjoyment out of burning it to the stinking ground ! ( he talked me out of doing that )


so i took the next best step ,,, with the help of a 6 pack ( and a air ratchet ) i had it all apart and ready to take pics and ebay.
with in a couple of weeks it was spread all across the country side.

but ,,, it was still a trike and not a bike.

john

[thefox]

Most of the time my trike is not running but that is probably because when I finally get it just right I sell it soon after. I like working on the trikes, almost as much as I like riding them. Out off the 8 trikes I have owned only 1 was running when I bought it. I buy a trike when I come across it cheap then rebuild it, no full restorations just replacing what is missing/broken. It usually takes about a year to finish the trike and when it is done I will do some riding and make sure everything is 100% and then I will sell it to fund the next project.

I have to admit that I would like a daily driver though (the atc 70 doesn't cut it) so that is what my plans are for the tri-moto that I am finishing although I have been offered a nice 1 owner barn stored Big Red but I would need to sell the Yami to pay for it :( . Tough choice.

I really hope you guys are kidding about the 200x, that is going to be my next project, I already have the frame!

[chris200x]

I really hope you guys are kidding about the 200x, that is going to be my next project, I already have the frame![/QUOTE



Did you ever seen that movie with Tom Hanks "THE MONEY PIT" kinda reminds me of my 200x.

[twgranger]

If something breaks on the Z i try to fix it ASAP!!!

[a-camp]

200x are hard I think. We have 5 or 6 in camp. Some run great some dont yet. I have a friend who is the man with them.His sounds bad and was on the heels of a 400ex with a good racer on it. Just got to get him to take the orange spinning light off his helmet.lolReally wears one.

[thefox]

I really hope you guys are kidding about the 200x, that is going to be my next project, I already have the frame![/QUOTE



Did you ever seen that movie with Tom Hanks "THE MONEY PIT" kinda reminds me of my 200x.

Well I am planning on doing that from the start so I guess I am safe :rolleyes: . I figure that I can do a full restore on it slowly over the next 2 years that way I can do the "spread the investment out so it doesn't seem so much" thing.

[Dammit!]

The thing about the 200x is this; they are probably the most abused trikes out there. If you look at the demographic that bought them it's not hard to see why they lived very hard lives. They were extremely popular with not only teenaged riders (no offense) but also the weekend warrior types that beat the crap out of them but didn't maintain them properly. I've seen more jury rigged 200x's than any other off road bike period. I got mine when I was 11 and had NO idea what the hell I was doing. Learned a few hard lessons though. I had reliability problems with mine too until I learned to maintain it better. All the reliability problems I had in the beginning were my own fault.

If I were to get another one (and I plan to eventually) I wouldn't even attempt to go on a long ride with it until I tore it down completely and went through it with a fine tooth comb. Total top end rebuild, carb rebuild, thorough bottom end inspection, check the entire electrical system and replace anything that looks even slightly suspect. You'd be amazed how many people don't take the time to simply adjust their valves and jet their bikes properly too. Years of running like that leads to bad things.

They're very reliable and can stand up to a good beating but you gotta start off from a solid base mechanically and maintain it with dedication. Patchwork type repairs on a used one is going to lead to very mixed results and probably a ton of frustration. You have to assume that there's years of shoddy repairs that need to be un-done.

I'll add this as well. People have a tendency to mod the 200x in an attempt to make it into something it's not. They're sport/play bikes. Not racers. You can make them very stout for what they are but few will go the extra mile and DO IT RIGHT. If you put a performance cam in, follow that up with heavier valve springs and for the love of god adjust everything correctly. Don't put in the highest compression piston you can find and use the cheapest head gaskets on the market and expect them not to leak. I used to see that kind of crap all the time. Upgrading any one component will have a trickle down effect that has to be taken into consideration. When you notice a part is getting worn, replace it. That worn part can cause excessive wear and tear on other parts.

I personally don't recommend to mod them too drastically. Pipe and filter with proper jetting is sufficient for most people. A bigger carb, cam (with heavier springs) and a sligtly higher compression piston will give you enough power to get the rest of the performance through simple gearing changes. If that's not enough, get a 350x or 250R. :p

Sorry for the long post.

[New2ATC]

well said man.. well said

[jenndnn3]

Thank you Dammit I could not have said that better myself. My favorite Thing I find is CUT WIRES :rolleyes: :mad: :confused:

[Pistonhead]

Like I said I am the world's greatest pack rat of anything. I've got a collection of vintage and 80's pin up girls, I've got 3 old tractors, old farm stuff, and I've had an old Monarch Peninsular coal/wood cookstove and oven thats in a million or more pieces in my shop for over a year. Everyone says its a hunk of junk, but when I actually talked to a real vintage stove guy, he said it would cost me about 4 grand to get it PROPERLY restored and by that I mean no barbeque paint, but that brings its value up to over 12 grand, and thats good because I scored the thing for free.

[bigredhead]

I'm as determined as humanly possible. Hell i'll replace every darn part on that bike if i have to . but mark my words my SX will run as good as the day it was built and better once i'm done.... as many years as that will take !! LOL..

[rman]

this is how i fixed the problem;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/bluevette/DSCN0787.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/bluevette/DSCN0788.jpg

woops got it a little dirty but it is only about 2 1/2 months old i know it has an extra wheel but it is still alot of fun and no fear of it not running. 6 months of warranty also :w00t:

[Dammit!]

Looks like the dog is giving you a run for your money. :)

[bigredhead]

is that an american eskimo... or a smaoyed ? hard to tell with the blurr !

[yater]

A 200x will be every bit as reliable as any other honda trike IF well taken care of. I've had an '84 and an '86 and both were 100% reliable. The '86 was MUCH easier to start (1st kick all the time) but both always ran great.

[rman]

is that an american eskimo... or a smaoyed ? hard to tell with the blurr !she is an american eskimo spitz she loves running with the fourwheeler

[rman]

Looks like the dog is giving you a run for your money. :)lol, she can run pretty good for having such short legs

[chris200x]

what do dogs and four wheelers have to do with 200x's? I have tore down, inspected and replaced just about everything on the x still to no avail. I'm thinking it has something to do with the wiring harness. Does anyone know if they are still available or has anyone bought a new one lately? I've been looking on ebay but the trouble with that is if you buy a used one you can end up worse off than you started.

[bigredhead]

A multi-meter is your best friend in this case !!!!

Remove the plastics, get a case of beer, remove the headlight to expose the wires and start tracing !!!

[rman]

what do dogs and four wheelers have to do with 200x's? I have tore down, inspected and replaced just about everything on the x still to no avail. I'm thinking it has something to do with the wiring harness. Does anyone know if they are still available or has anyone bought a new one lately? I've been looking on ebay but the trouble with that is if you buy a used one you can end up worse off than you started.read my original post to your thread

[chris200x]

Yo, r man I think what your trying to tell me is trade in my trike for a dog!!! He would definitly be more reliable lol! No, I caught your drift drop it (the wheeler) and get me something more reliable right. Well I meet this guy huffa on these boards and were gonna hook up this weekend and figure this thing out then I'm gonna put an add in the paper and sell it with the money i make from it and some good ole' gov. tax money I'm gonna look for something else. Don't get me wrong I too enjoy working on them but I've spent $1400 on her so far I'm only gonna loose money now. Sorry I don't have any before pics but she looks half decent :TrikesOwn

[rman]

No, I caught your drift drop it (the wheeler) and get me something more reliable right. :TrikesOwn
no i wouldnt drop it . but i know what you are goingthrough i use to own 2 250r's but they are so much fun you just can't part with them dont give up you will eventually get it where you want it :beer

[chris200x]

thise is what she looks like now, she is very clean a tom of new parts on the what do you think she is worth? honestly.

[rman]

looks clean running 100% i would say 800.00 - 900.00 dollars thats about what they sell for on ebay for this year 200x it is nice though and i would hang on to it :D

[galaxie_hick]

All the bad rap for the 200x, but I had to give mine some credit. The poor tird was so worn out it had almost no compression and smoked worse than any two stroke but would start everytime and never foweld a plug in the two years I rode it. The only reason I got rid of her is I need something bigger to push my big butt around. This is one rider that gives a ton of respect to that little machine.

[Mr. Sandman]

Dammit pretty much summed it up. But you also have to remember that every 200X out there is close to, if not more than, 20+ years old.

why are our trikes refered to as bikes???
Well I'm guilty there, but it's kind of like back in the 80's (and even today) when all brands of three wheelers were called ATC's even though only a Honda is a real ATC...or calling tissues Kleenex, only Kleenex are Kleenex....

[AZ250R]

why are our trikes refered to as bikes ??? they ain't bikes.
Try tell'n that to a 6'7" 300lb Hells Angel that's sit'n on his 3 wheeled chopper BIKE!!! :rolleyes: