Pics of my atc 500r project

[prohemi500]

I guess its because I have always ridden and been a big fan of the 2 stroke 500cc MX'ers and the fact that Honda supposedly built a couple of these things for their factory racers to test, I have always wondered what it would be like to ride an atc with a 500 in the frame rails!! The biggest hurdle in my mind was how to make it look like it was an original machine built this way from Honda, and that included keeping the stock airbox! After all, the cradle of the 250r was not exactly the best place to wedge a 500cc motor. There was one thing that I could not overcome in my mind, and that was how to get a forward kicking kickstarter on the big motor. I asked a good friend of mine Terry Underwood, who is nothing short of a genius, to build this bike for me since I did not have time to tackle the project myself not to mention I could not come up with a durable kick design for starting. (Terry has built things like a twin cylinder fourtrax 250r, an all aluminum version of the honda pilot chassis with a twin cylinder rotax motor that was featured in dirt wheels magazine in the early 90's, and also a V-8 250r!! Yes, he machined a block that houses 8 250r cylinders and uses a common crank!! so my project would be a cakewalk for him!) :naughty:

I was hesitant to show pics of the atc because it is fresh out of the shop in raw form, but I plan on a complete restoration that will ultimately make it look showroom fresh and I will be sure to post pics when it is done! The only problem is that I don't want to quit riding it!! I do have a couple of more things to do to it, including making the kick lever fit exactly in the factory fender cutout and fabricating a cover to hide the external kick mechanism. I can say that the conversion was a complete success as the bike really rides like it still has a 250cc engine, but only 2 of them! The handling, durability, and sheer power is just awesome!! The kickstarter works like a champ, and this is a 1985 500 motor that does not have the compression bleed off slot in the top of the cylinder to aid in kick effort. If I would have used a later model engine, the starting would be even easier! It is still only a 2-3 kick starting procedure which is no different than a 500 bike and yes, you can actually get the plug out of it as quick as you can a standard 250r!! Overall, I think it looks just like it would have if we could buy this from Honda. Well, maybe the kick mechanism might be integrated in the cases, but let me know what you think.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0273.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0274.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0276.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0277.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0278.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii275/prohemi500/100_0279.jpg

[jeffatc250r]

Fantastic, that kick assy is the cats ass!!! I want it for mine!!!!!!!!

[83ATC185S]

very cool looks real nice

[200x Basket]

nice. if that front pipe mount is on a water pump bolt you will need to move it. teh vibs will break something for sure.

the OEM look is the only way to go

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d124/LuvNStarGazn/3wheeler/500rhill.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d124/LuvNStarGazn/3wheeler/st7.jpg

[prohemi500]

Yes, it is and it was used for mock up purposes and it will be moved to the frame rail, but I just had to get it out of the shop to ride it!!

[Tri-Z Pilot]

that kicker mechanism is rather trick, never thought about doing it that way. is that a cr500 pipe modded to fit the atc frame? how much bending or work was needed to get the pipe to fit?
anyway awesome machine!:w00t:

[fabiodriven]

Very nice. That's a work of art for sure-

[edog]

My hats off to you!!!!!


I can see it finished and man is it going to be nice!!!!!!

I was thinking about something like that kick starter mech for my GPX build.


Could you have something made up to cover that kicker gear?

That would be the icing on the cake.

[prohemi500]

Yes Edog, I am going to have a cover made that hopefully will appear to be part of the engine case, or as close as I can get to it anyway. I will do this just before pulling the motor back out to start the resto process.

[Billy Golightly]

I've always wondered how hard it'd be to build an external assembly to change the direction of the kicker...Awesome idea and implementation, very nice! Movin it to the mad scientists lair for ya.

[atctim]

Great thinking on the forward kick mechanism. Super idea! Now - how do I get you to build me a front kick mechanism for my 500?

[prohemi500]

Thanks Billy! Tim, I can give you the phone number of the man that can make it happen if ya like!

[200x Basket]

Thanks Billy! Tim, I can give you the phone number of the man that can make it happen if ya like!
i would like that number

[tri-Z ripper]

AAAA+++++ plus build on that one my friend looks really good all of you from basket to to billy to tim to all of you have done top notch work on all of your 500 conversion man i thought it was the shi* to ride brapps 450 350X but i belive the 500R would top that hell a zilla holds nothing to that bad arse machine!! :woot:

[Dirtcrasher]

I love it..... Everyone else said the rest of my thoughts, I'll add - FANTASTIC!!

Everyone that builds a 500R is brave and creative in my book. It usually involves a flip fender for the kicker.

Everyone wants a forward kicker but that takes a bit of time, $$ and engineering. GREAT STUFF HEMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This setup will keep just a few guys awake tonite :lol:

[HondaHarry]

that forward kick setup is awesome! great work. thats one of those things many of us have day dreamed about but never went beyond that. lol hats off to ya for pulling it off. HH

[fabiodriven]

Seeing this thing has got me thinking about my 500. I almost had it together, but then it kinda ended up on the back burner. I was almost thinking of ditching it, but this post actually got the wind back in my sails. Still won't be for a little bit (got a few projects), but at least now I know I don't wanna sell it.

[prohemi500]

I was worried about the mechanism holding up because of the obvious extreme pressure on it, but it does not flex, bind or feel any different than the standard rear kick thanks to the large ball bearing system it uses. I am glad that I chose the forward kicker because I did have the option of sticking to the rear kick, but when I get the cover built and a slightly modified kicker arm that matches my plastic, it should have a nice OEM look.

[Jason Hall]

Thats a very slick guy that did the kicker mod. One thing to think about Is the posabilty of changing the gear ratio to make the mighty 500 kick easier. Kinda like changing you sprocket size. Thats a nice build right their.

[Red Rider]

The forward kickstarter is a very trick problem solver. It looks like a cover for the mechanism is a must, unless you want crud inside the bearings. Good looking build, keep us updated.

[prohemi500]

It actually uses a sealed bearing, so no debris can damage it. The only parts that are exposed are the two gears that mesh, only a minimal amount of damage could be expected from debris on the gears (as long as nothing major was in there) and it would take a long time since they spin relatively slow and only turn a 1/4 to 1/2 revolution. A cover is definitely in the works though.

As far as changing the gear ratio of the kicker we chose to leave it a standard 1 to 1 because if I geared it to spin the motor over easier, then the motor would not turn over as quickly without increasing kickstarter speed and if you geared it the other way to spin the motor more quickly, it will become too hard to kick period! So basically the shorter kicker of the 250r does not provide the same amount of leverage as the longer bike kicker, but it is still very manageable.

[jeffatc250r]

If you dont mind me asking, what are the gears from? are they tranny gears, and how is the one that is on the motor attached? is it welded to a stock 500 kicker knuckle?

[3Razors]

Very creaive work/idea! I've seen alot of CR500 builds in 3 wheelers, but your the first one I've heard of tackling a custom forward kickstarter. Way to think out of the box..Hopefully it will holdup to regular riding.

[Louis Mielke]

That forward kicker is the BOMB! Very awesome! Welcome to the 500 club! lol

[tecat-z]

Awesome build, and pure genius on the kick mechanism.:naughty: I can already see that bike fully restored and pounding on unsupecting prey!!! Any yes, the oem look will be very slick! Hats off.

[Bigbore]

Nice idea on the kicker.:beer

I think that may have solved the problem that I've had for the '83 480 CR. If you made 2, can you post some close up photos?

[Orangecnty250r]

Wow I missed this thread ...super build!!!!!!

[200x newby]

awsome build but would like to see some pics of the underside of the frame!

[Tri-Z Pilot]

im interested in the details on the pipe, i though you had to get a custom handmade jobby for the conversion. that is an atc frame right?

[Bad Karma]

Sweet! Nice job on the kicker! I need to get going on my conversion, yours is good inspiration. :D

[prohemi500]

We made two lower frame rails that located the engine where we wanted and we were able to modify a CR 500 pipe to fit rather well. I will try and get some pics of the lower frame posted tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the comments.

[jason 32]

so how is it to start it ? stock is a pain in the @##, i cant imagine that little kicker,and kicking it backwards

[250rs-neva-die]

looks nice dude, how many mods did you have to do to the motor mounts? i have wanted to do build one of those for a few years now? havent been able to find much info or trike fanatics until now to ask ?'s and what not. get back to me if you could thanks

[prohemi500]

To get the motor to sit like we wanted we used portions of a CR 500 cradle and set the engine a little higher than some others I've seen, and while everyone has a personal opinion on how things should be, our main goals were to have perfect sprocket ailgnment, not have too much forward angle of the cylinder, and not to have the motor sit too low in the frame rails. I also wanted to be able to work around the top-end of the engine if need be. I am going to start a new thread with some updated pics and a nice little trick part that aids in starting

[reuab1]

Hey Prohemi500,
The trike looks awsome!!! Thanks for all the info. I've been thinking about building something like this for a long, long time now. I've seen alot of builds like this and this is by far the best ever..!!!! You should go into business with the guy that help you out with the frame and start modifying/building them for other people! I know I would be one of your customers! I'll be looking forward to more pics! Thanks!

[Russell 350X]

That looks slick, loving the foward kick! Do you have any mods in the motor?

[Autophysn]

Agreed, That is way f#$kn' cool:drool:
Mucho props Bro!:beer

[prohemi500]

I've been lazy the last couple of weeks and have not posted any more pics, but it wont be long now because I have some more info for you. The ATC kicked fine, and yes, it was slightly harder to kick than the bike version, but not much worse! Just to aid in starting, I have installed a compression release. Dont laugh yet, it is a very trick little piece that you can hardly see, and it works great!! The bike now kicks with a little less pressure than a standard 250R and greatly reduced stress on the kicking mechanism (and my leg)!! The kicker has been modified as well to fit the plastic and to answer the question on engine mods, it is a stock 85 motor, but I would like to put some V-force reeds, a 41.5mm taper bore keihin carb, and do some port work on the cylinder. i am trying to get everything ironed out before I take the motor back out for mods as well as powdercoating the frame, etc. I will get some more pics soon!

[brapp]

lokin sweet dude

[jeffatc250r]

Any new progress or pics??

[trikerooster]

Nice 500!! I have been looking to buy a 500 trike. The sound and performance of a 500 is amazing!! That must have been a tight fit!!

[Tecate250]

Is there a step by step thread to build one? I have a 1985 frame and 2 500 motors comming soon.

[volfan537240]

Is there a step by step thread to build one? I have a 1985 frame and 2 500 motors comming soon.

That would be nice :naughty: