Long Live 3Wheeling Magazine

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Yes, I have one more handful left...

[hondatrikesrule22]

Alright cool, you have a dollar sent your way!

[Billy Golightly]

Yes, I am stopping by every now and then. This time of year, I travel alot; Texas, Florida, Connecticut, Arizona, Michigan, Washington, and on and on. So, unless I see a specific question, I usually let this thread run on its own. I can't believe that there has been 10,700+ hits! Dean

Ah, ok! I'm in the northern end of Florida, a little northwest of Lake City. If your ever in the area please let me know, be more then glad to buy you dinner.

This topic is without a doubt the most popular and most viewed on ever on this forum. Shows that there is still interest out there!

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Happy 4th of July to one and all. With this holiday in mind, I can remember one such "wild" Fourth weekend, back about 1982, where we traveled to the Coral Pink sand dunes, and stayed in Kanab, Utah. Small town, small stadium, freaky vistors.... I'll explain. If you look back at our report on Coral Pink, we mentioned about going there with a bunch of guys from Las Vegas. They liked, and I quote, "Young girls and old Whiskey," 'nough said? Money was no problem with these guys, they were loaded! Full-time drivers, mechanics, some flew to the dunes in their own Bell helicopter, others flew into the International Kanab airport with their private jet. Limos, motorhomes, enclosed trailers, ATCs, Odysseys, full wet bar, you name it.

After a few days of duning, it was the 4th of July, and we all went into town to see the "official" fireworks display, held at the local stadium. Randy, one of the bunch from Las Vegas, asked one of the officials if he could light off some of his fireworks after the regular show. "Yeah, no problem".... he must have thought Randy had a $29 box full of Red Devil specials. Little did he know that these guys came prepared for a serious show of their own... After the town's rather boring, small-time fireworks display had finsihed, everyone in the stadium began to file out, and head for home.

Then it happened, Randy and crew began to light-off everything they had..... and all hell broke loose. Next thing we know, those fireworks, I mean SERIOUS fireworks began to blast-off and explode everywhere! Crap was landing in the stands, lighting fires in the planters, sky rockets were screaming over your head, people couldn't figure out what in the hell was going on! So, figuring that this was another show, many began to file back into the stadium, and sit down. Traffic jam? Within a few minutes, there was a fireworks show like this town had never seen before. These guys had spent thousands of bucks on professional fireworks, which was about three times more than the Kanab Chamber of Commerce had spent on the real fireworks display, twenty-minutes earlier. Soon, the fire trucks began to dispatch, and they were told to stop! "But you told us we could light-off our own fireworks?"

So, for a few minutes back about twenty-two years ago today, an ATC group went where no other ATC group had ever gone before.... in Kanab Utah. Enjoy.

[trailboss]

hey dean!! did you ever get to test the pilot??

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Yes, I did, up at the Florance Sand Dunes, in Oregon with American Honda. Since I had driven numerous VW-powered dune buggies over the years, I was not all that impressed with the performance, and most important, the lack of someone as a passenger to enjoy the fun with you. At the time, the Pilot was $6000-7000, which again, at the time, was about what a 1600cc tube chassis buggies could be built for. I think Honda over-estimated the market on that one.

[Billy Golightly]

Dean whats your opinon the 200cc class racers that the factories and aftermarket shops did? For example the Team Green Tecate 200's, the sleeved down 250R's, the 200R Honda built. Do you think they could have made it and been successfull to the general public or where they always just destined to be works machines?

[3WW Star-oldfart]

I think the 2-stroke class was up and coming, and was very popular... right up to the fall out of the 3-wheeler market. Like the popular 125 class in motorcylce racing, the 3-wheeler 200cc class (2-stroke) could have really caught on. I really think that Honda would have built an ATC 200R like Stevie and Tommy rode, for the general public. Kawaski? Hard to say. They sure were exciting to watch race!

[Yamahammer490]

Hey Oldfart,

What was the strangest trike concept the factories every showed you? I know the Dirt Wheels made a reverse-trike by putting a quad conversion front end onto a Yamaha BW. Did the factories ever have a concept like this? Or maybe independent rear suspension?

Where were they headed before the Consumer Product Stupidity Commission pulled the plug?

[timex69]

my freind recently put himself in hospital for over a week on my blaster...but none of my freinds have ever been hurt on a 3 wheeler and they all have a big red in their familys.

just my 2 cents

[3WW Star-oldfart]

That whole idea of a backward 3-wheeler was a real crock of you know what. It was thought up by Dirt Wheel's art director, Dennis West of all people (a real 3wheeler enthusiast)..yuk, yuk. That thing was totally unrideable, and was a real joke among the people involved. It couldn't do anything right, but they did get some semi-slide shots and a jump for the cover thanks to the Wolfman. I will give Dirt Wheels a lot of credit for creating a magazine that would sell.... forget the truth, just publish a nice looking package that people will buy. They are still in business, and 3Wheeling is not. Enough said.

The strangest trike by the factory? Hmmm. I would have to think about that one for awhile. Most likely, from Kawaski. They seem to have come from outer space on some of their ideas back then. I recall when Lee Rogers was in their R&D department, he build a 250cc 3wheeler race model for the SCORE Riverside Off-Road Championships in '82 (way before the Tecate was out).At the last minute, he took the trike out of the trailer and hauled ass up to the starting line. After the first practice, we took off looking for it in the pits. It was no where to be found. Turns up, they didn't want anyone to look too close up, so they ditched it right after the race was over. It was a hand-built 3-wheeler, built by their skunkworks black options department.... Top secret, need-to-know basis, I'll have to kill you if you see it in person... that sorta thing. I talked to him months later, and he said he saw us searching around the pits and he knew we were searching for his project. Years later, that project became the backbone for the Tecate.....

[Mobular]

Quite possibly this one?

[trikerider2oo7]

cool story dean...mobular, that trike is awesome! where did you get that pic?

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Yes, I do believe that is Lee Rogers sitting on the edge of that Kawaski shop van. Ah, of course, now that you have seen it, we'll have to send the men in (green) over to pay you a visit.... Very good find!

[Billy Golightly]

Hey Dean,

Not sure if you seen the post, but a little while back I was looking around on the US patent office website and found patent papers (Including drawings) for several strange looking threewheelers that were designed by Honda. The link to that thread is here: http://3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=23751

You mentioned that you thought Honda was seriously considering producing the 200R, Is it possible that they would have went as far to go ahead and get a patent filed? When I was browsing I seen several that were marked "Retracted" which makes me wonder what they really were.