The US90 is the three wheeler that started it all! Honda's R&D came up with the US90 at the request for a product that dealers could sell in the motorcycle off season. Little did they know that their "All Terrain Cycle" would be the beginning of long heritage of off road single rider vehicles and a rich history of off road enjoyment.
The Honda 90cc three wheeler went through a dramatic evolution changing constantly from its debut until it's final model in 1978. The first generation ATC was actually introduced as the US90, a moniker that only lasted four years before the motorcycle company dropped the US for it's more official model designation of ATC.
The US90 was an incredible little machine heralded as the do-all offload vehicle. It's first design all though simple was incredible feature rich. From its onset it was designed to be a completely portable machine. A design that allowed for almost complete dis-assembly permitted the US90 to be taken apart and fit into the trunk of a car. Folding handle bars, multi-piece axles, simple single piece wheel and hub units, every trick in the book was used to make the little trike come apart and fit into tight spaces.
Most notable of the US90 was it's chevron patterned rear, and ribbed front flotation style tires. These three almost spongy soft tires made up for the lack of suspension but almost posed some challenges for the rider.
After the first four years of production Honda deemed it beneficial to rename the US90 to utilize it's product code of ATC. 1974 was the first year the 90 was known as the ATC90 and thus the tradition of all of Honda's three wheeled ATVs to be recognized as ATC, or "All Terrain Cycles". Also new for 1974 were three new nobbie style tires attached on separate three lug axle hubs. Missing from the 90s feature set was the ability for near complete dis-assembly. As handy as packing the US90 in the trunk was, it also posed some troubling problems that directed Honda away from the design.
General ATC90 Specifications
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