New member from Houston

[TexasCurt]

Howdy! New member from Houston, TX here. As a kid my grandpa gave me a 86 ATC 125 that was stolen a couple years later (or maybe my mom made him give it away... never have gotten the full story on that!).

Fast forward to now.... I'm turning 40 and decided to find some old ATC's to work on (midlife crisis?). I want to find a bike exactly like the one I rode as a kid. In the meantime I found a 1980 185 that I traded some other stuff for. It's gonna be a fun project and I look forward to learning from you guys.

If anyone else has a 1980 185 please PM me. I'm looking for advice on restoring to original condition and I know this was a one-year-only model.

I attached the photo from the Craigslist listing where I found it. I'll post more pics later.

Thanks!

[TexasCurt]

Plastics and tank were replaced with aftermarket and frame painted red instead of the original orange.






Headlight appears original, there is no wiring harness.








There are no hand brakes and front drum is not connected.






Couple pics of the motor







I'm assuming the trunk is original





Also assuming seat pan is original





There is no air box, and a new air filter. Is this model supposed to have an air box?

[dman10]

Yes, you should have a air box, and your trunk is original. Not sure what you meant the frame was painted red instead of orange?
It's always nice to see a new member from Texas, doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of us.
I owned one for awhile, nice powerful little machine. I get you a link to some old Honda brochures with your machine so you can see it brand new and how it looks.

[dman10]

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/Brochures/ATCsite/
Here you go, same machine give or take from 81-83

[Aulbaugh]

welcome to the site. Like dman said it is nice to see some Texas members. Your 185 looks good! What caused that hole in the plastic?

[TexasCurt]

Thanks guys.

@dman10 The ATC185 was a one-year only bike in 1980 and is different from the 185s that you usually see. They were painted an orange/red color.

@Hondatcs no idea about the hole. The guy said it was like that when he got it a year ago.

[dman10]

That's a 200 frame. I've owned all three, 185, 185s, 200 that's definitely a 200


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[TexasCurt]

Interesting. The frame has been painted so I can't see the data plate. What are the differences? This very well could be a pieced-together bike. I was going off what the seller told me, plus the fact it's got the round headlight.

[dman10]

You can run the vin it'll tell you, it may have gotten full of paint though, I'll bet it's a complete 200, you'd be surprised how many people are wrong about what they own. Look at the brochures, I believe the early 200 had the round headlights.


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[TexasCurt]

Thanks.... I'll hunt for the VIN and engine ID. I didn't see any round headlight photos on 200's in the brochures or google searches.

[dman10]

Your right, no round headlight, little rusty with the 200, been awhile.


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[dman10]

That's what I get for opening my mouth, that could be a 185. Now I feel like an idiot, but I'd still run the vin, it could still be a 200 with the wrong headlight.


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