1983 Honda 185S rebuild finished

[1983HondATC185S]

Hi guys, I wanted to bring you up to date on the 185S I bought on Nov.14, 2009. I posted previously under the title, "New guy, New find." I bought the trike from a neighbor a few miles up the road for $50. I just finished the rebuild last Thursday, Jan. 28. I used Rustoleum paint for everything. As for new parts, I bought: Pro Taper grips, front and rear brake levers and hand brake cables, EBC front and rear brake shoes, three new tires, front and rear axle seals, a seat cover, a UNI air filter, a Clymer manual, stainless screws for the rear fender mudguards, and some Honda stickers. I bought a used set of foot pegs in real nice shape on ebay, found a rear fender with seat to replace my rusted and falling apart seat foam and pan, along with a rear tailight assembly and grab bar from craigslist, and some various other small pieces and hardware from a motorcycle salvage yard. Even the other seat pan I bought wasn't in the best shape, so I reinforced the rusted out areas like in the dip with some sheetmetal, rivets, JB Weld, and gutter seal. A few coats of primer and black paint, and it looked way better and had the strength it needed. I only had one crack on the lower front (chain side) of my rear plastic, so I repaired it using a special welding tip on my soldering iron and some donor plastic from my craigslist fenders. They're solid as a new piece now. The most time consuming part was the cleaning/sanding/painting. Once that was done, I had the trike from a bare frame to completely built in a day and a half. It's not 100% perfect, but I built it to ride, not as a museum quality restoration. All in all, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. The engine didn't need much attention other than the obvious oil and spark plug change. I did remove and clean the carb, check valve clearance, adjust timing chain slack, check CDI magneto gap, etc. Everything else was in real good shape, so things like the axles, bearings, chain and sprockets, and pull starter got a good cleaning, greasing and reassembly. The final part of the reassmbly was to install the front and rear hand brake cables, then took it for the first ride. These things are so mid mannered! I love puttzin around on this thing!

[MonroeMike]

Nice job on fixing that up.

[trimoto55]

that went far from what you started with good job! im tryin to rebuild mine right now except im havin trouble finding a good seat!

[mreedbmwm3]

That is very impressive.

[racer....X]

looks good! it will be alot of fun now.

[1983HondATC185S]

Thanks for all the compliments, guys. I'm reliving my childhood with this thing!

[tulsamike3434]

Great job! looks great! Hope you have the time of your life on it!

say hello to the 80's for me when ya get back there lol!

[RacerRichie]

hard work pays off .........way to save another trike from the scrap yard buddy!

[rickybudz]

Nice Job, I like the tank the most!

[79fordblake]

Nice 185s. I have a 81 that I have all fixed up also. Fixin to do a few more things as money permits.
Got a new front sprocket ordered for it to slow it down a little. By late spring or early summer I should have new Aluminum wheels and GBC Gator tires on it. Cobra exhaust at some point. Might make a snorkel for it. Then I will show all my buddies that the ole three wheeler will keep up with their expensive four-wheelers.:D

[harryredtrike]

nice job on your 185s.you did a good job.now get out and enjoy it

[yammer hammer]

good job man

[Mudfever]

That is awesome! Very nice job.

That gives me more encouragement to get started on my 90. Only mines not running and had low compression last time it did ('96-ish).

Again, very nice restore and have fun. Oh, by the way, who makes those knoby tires? Thanks.

[1983HondATC185S]

Thanks guys, I've been gettin some seat time on it in the snow here the last week. I rode it for about two hours with my buddy and his quad the other day all over some snow covered back country roads near my house. It ran great the whole time. Really purrs with the fresh Amsoil 10w-30 and some fresh 93 octane Shell V-Power!

[Vealmonkey]

Glad to hear the 185s is doing so well. Drop that air pressure in your tires some, they look a little overinflated. You will get a softer ride and your tires will last longer. What's the next project???

[1983HondATC185S]

I actually did drop the pressure already. That pic was taken right after I finished putting it together. I hadn't even ridden it yet. The tires were still pretty full from when the bike shop pumped em up real good to seat the bead. I have em set around 3 psi right now. They're Cheng Shin 829's, and they call for a 7 psi operating range on the sidewall but even that seems like too much.

[ilmoakw]

Looks great!