Bringing the 87 Big Red back from the dead

[sleeplessknight]

I was always told they never sold any of the 87's to the public in the usa....most were cut up and some given to fire dept's and police dept's..... thanks for the story

I always thought that too, in fact all of these years I thought this one was an 86. My Father bought it Brand new and I'm pretty sure it was late in 86 that he bought it because I remember plowing snow with it not long after he bought it. When he dropped it off after digging it out of his barn I said that it was an 86 and he said No, it's an 87 and sure enough the sticker on the frame says 1987 Atc 250es. It even still has the sticker on the back that says Russ Majors Honda Trucksville Pa.

[sleeplessknight]

congrats . great story and hope u have a son to pass it along to. i love my 87. had 2 in my life . once when i was a kid and one i found a year ago .

Yes I do have a son to pass it on to, he just graduated from High school last year.

[muthey]

shoot I'm glad you got it running I just took a pic today of the wire you were talking about so you could try and find the other end but I see you found it on your own but here is the pic for you anyways.

[sleeplessknight]

Thanks anyway, I do appreciate it. I just have a few more little things to do to it. Since it's been sitting for about 15 years I am going to change the oil and the oil in the rear. When it fired up I only let it run for just a few seconds because I hadn't done that yet. After that I need to adjust the carb and get everything back together. I ordered new tires for the rear since they were dry rotted so bad they wouldn't even hold air long enough to move it. As soon as That is all done I'll post some pics. I hope to have it rideable by the weekend.

[undertaker]

Glad you got it going. I once worked on one for someone who did not disclose that he had swappped some of the electrical connectors around. It had no spark and took some time to diagnose.

[sleeplessknight]

Well, It's not over yet. The electrical problems are solved. Now I have (I think) A Carburetor issue. First the tank. The tank was rusted, and bad. I put a little gas in it and swished it around then dumped it into a small container and let it set over night. The gas evaporated and there was about 1/8" of red, almost like clay in the bottom of the container. Unfortunatly The engine had run for a short time before I realized this. I did have a fuel filter in place but I still think some of this gunk got in. Anyway I let the tank sit over night with cider vinegar in it and that got all of the gunk out of the tank and a lot of the rust. I put it all back together and fired it up. It ran good with the choke on but when I took the choke off it died. I started it up again, got it to stay running without the choke. It was idling good. I hit the throttle and it died again, then I couldn't get it to start again with or without the choke. So, do you think it's flooding or not getting enough gas? Carbs are not my specialty. My father in law rebuilt it for me and he said it was in bad shape and wasn't sure if it would work right. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sleeplessknight]

Here's a couple of pics. The float is stuck in the carb so I have to clean it out again.
Did have it running for a few minutes though. I think I'm getting closer.

[effort=results]

put applecider vinegar in the tank for two days. powerwasher with baking soda to clean it out. then wd 40 to not let it flash rust before u get gas in it. hope u dont need to kreem it. so do u still have the plow for it?

[sleeplessknight]

put applecider vinegar in the tank for two days. powerwasher with baking soda to clean it out. then wd 40 to not let it flash rust before u get gas in it. hope u dont need to kreem it. so do u still have the plow for it?

Yes, I do have the plow. It was sitting in a patch of weeds behind my sister's house,lol. I just dug it out today in fact. Need to sand it down and paint it but it isn't in bad shape considering it sat outside for 15 years. Will get a few pics on when it's done.

[auto5man]

Great to see you bringing the old girl back to life! Sounds like you are close. I was intimidated by carb rebuilding too, but got the rebuild kit for my 125 and it wasn't so bad.

[sleeplessknight]

Ugh!!Carburetors! Ok so now the float is sticking in the other direction and not letting fuel in. I did learn some interesting info about this trike. Apparently 15 years ago when my father stuck it in his barn the trike had been at my sister's house. Her husband wrecked it into their pond! I mean completely submerged. and they never told him! They just told him it quit running. I am shocked that it runs at all.

[Bren_downe]

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...ebuild-Tutoral

This should help with your carb issues. Nice looking ride!

[sleeplessknight]

Got it running today. Took it for a short test ride and all seems ok. It doesn't run flawlessly, but it's close.

[Jmoozy27]

You will most likely have to play with the fuel mixture screw to tweak it. Check your plug and see what color it giving. Rich or lean, I would start at factory setting and go from there. The older machines kinda have there own setting and it's up to you to find it. Nice bike and good story.

[Brandon Olivier]

Great story! Do you have any updated pictures?