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View Full Version : three wheeler to quad conversions



cnemo
01-19-2003, 01:25 AM
I have a 250 Tacate that I would like to convert to a 4 wheeler....does anyone make a conversion kit or have the knowledge to steer me through the process?

Jonathan
01-19-2003, 01:38 AM
No one makes the kits anymore. They made a Tecate 4, selling your trike and buying one of those would be a good idea. Those kits were never all that great from what I've heard since a trike's frame geometry is designed for one front wheel. Just wordering, what year is your Tecate?

cnemo
01-19-2003, 11:01 AM
My title says 1985 and the manual sayes its a KXT250-B1, what's wierd is that it has red plastic and a front radiator. All the p[ictures I've seen show green plastic.

ATCRYDER
01-19-2003, 11:25 AM
No, Dont, and Do Not is all I will say here.

skippy
01-19-2003, 11:32 AM
they made them in red too... just werent as popular... cause werent kawa green!

3WheelHouston
01-20-2003, 01:45 AM
Yeah man sell your trike and go for a Tecate 4. I'm sure there will be someone on here interested in buying it from you. But if you stick around long enough, and learn to ride it right, you may just want to become one of us three wheeler freaks. ;) You'll find that they are much more fun and rewarding to ride than a quad.

Howdy
01-20-2003, 09:37 AM
Some where I seen the kits are being made again. For the record I don't like it, but they are ( or were ) being made again. The kits listed for about $1400 to $1600 . But I don't know if they have or had a kit for the Kawasaki's. I only seen them for the Honda 3 Wheelers.

Lets look at it from a economics point of view:

Based on the middle value of your Tecate ( You can figure this on any 3 Wheeler for that matter ):
If you figured the value of your Tecate ( Depending on the condition/Year/ model ) it would be $400 to $1900 as it is.
Let's use a middle figure of $1150.00
Add the cost of a quad Kit $1500.00 ( middle again )
You would have the equivalent of $2650 in your Retrofit Quad. Down the road if or when you decide to sell the machine you won't be able to even come close to recouping your money. I have seen machines like this sell on Ebay ( which normally brings in the most money of any place ) and I estimate on a Good day it may bring $1600.00. ( I have seen them sell for under $900 also ) You would be out $1050 to $1550 or so of value/investment. Sound fair? Not only will you be out in the long run But you also have donated all your hard work to convert the 3 Wheeler to a 4 Wheeler. Would you go to your job and work hard then tell the boss/owner "I worked this week/month for nothing/zip/nada". I wouldn't go to my job and do this ( I am there for the paycheck ).


Now if you sold the Tecate for $1150 ( same as above )
Then Took the $1500 you were going to spend on the Quad Kit you would have $2650 to buy a quad with.

$2650 will buy a Nice quad on Ebay or else where for that matter. Say you find one ( Tecate 4 wheeler, or other make ) for $2200 and buy it. The $2650.00 minus the $2200 Purchase price come to having $450 left over for buying other things ( for it, you, the wife/girl friend ). But that isn't all!! Your not only saving $450 but also your buying a machine that was built to be a 4 wheeler with a Improved motor design ( Tecate4's have a counter balancer ) thus you will have better resale value. If you decide in a Year or to sell it you are more likely to get your money back and possibly more than if you tried selling a converted trike. Not only that but you probably would also make a Trike enthusiast Very Happy because you Saved a Trike from being Bastardized ( sorry it's the only word I could think of ) into a quad.

Now I can't and won't tell you what to do ( or not to do ). It's your money spend it how you see fit.

To me it makes more sense in selling the 3 Wheeler and buying a Factory 4 Wheeler ( if you want a 4 wheeler ). You will be money ahead no matter how you look at it.

That is my 2 Cents for what it is worth.

Thanks
Howdy
"Triker For Life"

skippy
01-20-2003, 12:15 PM
'nough said howdy.... id like to see the t3 for sale... id be intersted...

ATC crazy
01-20-2003, 12:40 PM
Why would anyone want to take a good 3wheeler and convert it into a 4wheeler, why, why, why... :( :(

4cylinders
01-20-2003, 11:58 PM
okay, just a few words on this. hi-performance atv (bill sargent) made kits to convert just about anything, but last time I called for a price, he wasn't making them any more. we put one on a 250es about 5 years ago. it worked pretty good. okay, I don't really like 1 cylinders, so I built my own atv's. 8) one is a 200x trike, the other is a 200x with a 88 250r front end, both have 77 cb750 engines. stop by and I'll let you ride them both, then you can decide. ;)

freaksfix
01-22-2003, 12:27 AM
Coming from ATC350X converted quad owner, dont do it. Dont get me wrong I love my quad but I bought it allready done, there is no way I would convert a trike. I hardly ever even ride it (I ride one of my 2 ATCR's) I just bought it due to my love of ATC's and it still has the heart.

Here is a pic of what the kit kinda looks like, minus the ski's and the front plastic (the kit comes with UGLY lt500 front fenders).

dgrallying
02-08-2003, 09:12 AM
Have a look at this:

http://www.dgrallying.com/quads

Tecate performance
02-12-2003, 12:44 AM
kawasaki labeled their trikes A1 and A2 for the 84 and 85 year, respectively. and B1 and B2 for the 86 and 87 years. so you might have a transition year model around the 85/86 switchover or you have a 86 manual for your 85.