1982 Honda ATC 185S Resurrection

[Big G]

Coming together nicely Flynes. By the way, glad to see Vancouver Island (B.C.) isn't the only place that gets ed with rain almost year round!

[FLynes]

Very nice find! My seatpan looks like your old one. I'm thinking of trying the fiberglass cheap@ss route. Lol. There's a guy on YouTube by the way that recovered his seat on an old ktm dirtbike. Total spent was like $15-20. He takes you step by step and it looks pretty easy. Especially if you have the tools already. Looked like a staple gun, vinyl from wallyworld, scissors and some redneck ingenuity. His finished product didn't look bad at all, and like you said with your ocd you'd probably make it look sweet. I just went and got bondo,primer,paint and some sandpaper. Gonna start my tank tomorrow.
Oh and whatever you do, don't line your tank with a liner to prevent rust, the guy before me did that and I am having to peel chunks out with needlenose and carb cleaner.

If anything, I'm going to try Evaporust on the inside of the tank....I've had good luck with it. Not sure I'm brave enough to try reupholstering the seat myself, but we'll see, LOL!

[FLynes]

Coming together nicely Flynes. By the way, glad to see Vancouver Island (B.C.) isn't the only place that gets ed with rain almost year round!

San Angelo is the butt hole of Texas; we get darn-near zero rain!

[sstark82]

Used to live in Odessa, know the feeling.

[FLynes]

What's really sad is that San Angelo used to have 3 nice big lakes with really decent sized bass; now we're down to 1 lake....the other two are literally dry. On a positive side, it makes for good riding trails!

[jb2wheels]

When you sprayed the Duplicolor Silver, did it spatter a bit? One of the things I found, and it only does it with this color, is that when it dries, I have to wipe away the spatter dust...it's weird, but it doesn't affect the final finish.

The wheel paint does - I think it's supposed to give a little texture.
Then engine paint does not. Goes on very smooth. Easy to use.

[Badbmwbrad]

That's a nice way to remember your uncle. Rehabilitating an old object is as much about preserving good memories as it is about restoring the object itself.

...I have a soft spot for things that have been neglected and need to be fixed. Since my uncle, who passed away in 2004, had a 1982 ATC 185S, I thought this would be a great way to feel like he was still around.

[sstark82]

What's really sad is that San Angelo used to have 3 nice big lakes with really decent sized bass; now we're down to 1 lake....the other two are literally dry. On a positive side, it makes for good riding trails!

I know the feeling, used to go to Lake Champion near Colorado City just east of you and now there is just a bunch of weeds,mesquite and dirt. Down here in the swampy southeast side of the state we have water everywhere right now. You should come play in the mud

[FLynes]

I know the feeling, used to go to Lake Champion near Colorado City just east of you and now there is just a bunch of weeds,mesquite and dirt. Down here in the swampy southeast side of the state we have water everywhere right now. You should come play in the mud

After all the work I've done to make it look new again?????? LOL!!! Well, that IS what pressure washers are for, right?

[sstark82]

After all the work I've done to make it look new again?????? LOL!!! Well, that IS what pressure washers are for, right?

that's right!

[Direwolf95]

I love this thread, I just got the same trike yesterday and this is a great reference guide to help me restore mine; thank you.
P.S. Keep this thread alive! haha, all the great 185s minds are using this as their think tank.

[sstark82]

Here you go Flynes. I am going to try and post a link to my thread showing some work I did today. http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...-Pics-and-Mods
I probably screwed the link up trying to do it with my phone. let me know what you think!

[FLynes]

Nope, you didn't screw it up, link works! I'll be following yours and using ideas for mine too.

I sanded and repainted the recoil cover, but I didn't have enough Duplicolor Black to do the job, so I hit it with the Cast Aluminum....oh well.
I did manage to find a site that has a ton of repro decals for our trikes, ATC Heaven....the guy is in Australia......no one in the US cares enough to do this too?????

[sstark82]

ATC heaven, ok I will check it out. I can find ATC 70 stickers everywhere. Guess we picked the hardest ones to find stickers on.

[sstark82]

I heard a new trick today from a guy who has been working on these little gems for years and he told me to get rid of rust in a tank, all you have to do is drain it, put white Vinegar in it and let it sit overnight. He said the acid in the Vinegar will take the rust out. May have to do it a few times but hey, Vinegar is cheap.