TatTooL23
10-18-2010, 12:24 AM
--UPDATE-- PICS ON THIRD PAGE!
__________________________________________________ _________________
Ok this is a long story, but a good one. It doesn't have an end yet...but hopefully it will have one in my favor.
I figured that this was the MOST appropriate place for a story like this. Im sure many others can relate. This is what 3 wheelers are about. Enjoy!
When i first started riding 3 wheelers 12+ years ago i had a 1987 Honda 200X. I loved it, it was unbreakable and tons of fun. This one piece of machinery cemented me into the 3 wheeler world and into a complete Honda fan forever! I had no clue what i had at the time as in rarity. I drove it nearly daily with all my friends. I wrecked it, i jumped it, i rolled it, i worked on it, and i loved it. But as always when your young i got over it and sold it for i think $400. I have since got back into riding with all the same friends. We all have a huge love for 3 wheelers. Now we have real lives and real jobs and have got back into riding trikes. This time around i found, and bought a 1986 Honda 350X in excellent condition and have done all the same with it. Rode it, wrecked it (very lightly), worked on it and built it with better aftermarket things. I figured i needed something with more power then a 200X now because i have a 2005 Honda TRX 450R, so i could not ride a 200X after having that. Also my friends that i ride with have a 1985 Honda 250R, a 1986 Yamaha Tri-Z, and a 1985 Honda 350X.
So as i have again become completely addicted to riding, i have been feeling the need to find another 1987 200X because of having one in the beginning and what it did to me and for me and how it forever changed me and because of its extreme rarity at this point. I hate myself for getting rid of the one i had. I have read that there were only 3,500 of them produced. So now, 23 years later, i would honestly guess that there might only be less then 1,000 left in "good" condition that aren't totally molested and made of many ATC parts and pieces.
A few months ago i saw a listing on Craigslist for an '87 Honda 200X. When i read it it turned out that it was in my home town that i grew up in! I immediately emailed about it. I got a response that was very odd and shady. I was told i could not know much info about it because he thought i was to harm him or rob him if i knew where he lived. This making me really think how odd that was because how could the guy expect to sell this to anyone if he was afraid to divulge any info about where he lived. I emailed him more and he said he knew who my parents were and that i could come and look at it. I tried to set it up several times and got no response or a very quick iffy response. I was never able to meet up with the guy and then his email was no longer a valid working email. After all this i thought for sure it was a fake listing and had no credibility and so i left it alone and have been looking for an '87 ever since. After a month or so my friend, who still lives there, said he saw an all white 200X. He is sort of known through our group of friends as embellishing things sometimes to make stories and situations a bit more interesting (as we all do at times lol). ( he will be reading this sometime tomorrow so im sure i will hear about it, not to mention any names but sorry Chris) So i didn't really think it was true and thought maybe it was just an '85 or '86 with aftermarket fenders. Weeks go by and he keeps telling me he sees it again and again. When i am around i go and look at each spot as quick as i can only to find no sign of this rare white ATC "ghost."
So now brings us to today. 3 of us decide to go riding and try to find an old dump not too far away from a lot of the trails we normally ride. We ride and ride and finally find the spot. It ended up to be a pretty crappy place to ride so we parked at the top of a hill climb to share our disgust and shoot the sh*t. As we did, we heard some other riders coming close and noticeably at least one 4-stoke. As we stood there we saw them through some small openings in the trees and they were riding into the dump where we were. First rolls out a newer Yamaha Raptor 660, then a 2003 Yamaha Blaster, and then the pinnacle of my day, when i witnessed the "ghost!" Out rolls an original 1987 Honda 200X. My friend Chris immediately yells, "There it is, I told you i saw it!" LOL. His reaction and mine, were honestly like seeing a yeti. I motioned them over and sure enough, it was REAL! Original plastic all the way around not cracked or stitched, an original METAL gas tank with not a single dent, red swingarm, tool box, ignition with key, and even the rubber pad where the kick start touches to the plastic. As they pull up, i tried to remain calm and said, "wow, an '87, i used to have one of those." The guy riding the Raptor quickly asks, "wanna buy it?" !!!!!!!! After instantly noticing all the attributes I am trying to contain myself to releasing any of this info to the riders. I respond with, "Yes actually i do." It turns out it was his 200X, he was letting his friend ride it, and he was riding his brothers raptor. He said he loved the raptor and wants of those so he wants to MAYBE sell the 200X to get money to put toward a raptor or something else. I told him i was seriously interested and it turns out he lives about a quarter mile above my parents which is where i keep my toys and where i ride around. He also stated how he bought it from the guy that posted it on Craigslist. The listing i read months before was real, but this kid ended up getting it.... So i swallowed down most of my excitement and rode around with everyone. This is where the TRUE torture began. As we rode around i watched his friend that was riding the 200X wheelie it over, flood it, kick on it, pop-start it and rev the piss out of it. Then the guy that owned it rode it and tried a hill climb where he sunk it in the sand and fell off it. Luckily it stayed put and did not roll down the hill. He picked himself up and left it there on hill. So his friend had to go up and wiggle it around and come back down the hill. I literally cringed as i witnessed all of this. I also watched him nose-dive the raptor so hard he flew forward of the pegs and ran his foot over with the peg and tire, LOL. I told him again, if you r serious about selling it i will buy it and to give me the first chance to buy it. We rode for a few more hours and then parted ways. I want it in the worst way and puke a little in my mouth when i think about what could happen to this diamond in the rough. Right there in my home town on all the same trails i have ridden for years. I have to own this 3 wheeler. I sit here thinking about the 200X wondering when they will seize it or blow it up and wreck it and bend/crack the frame, or dent the gas tank...
So this is where the story ends for now and hopefully i will be able to update you ALL with a story of success when i do become the owner. As a fellow 3 wheeler enthusiast, I hope for the best for the trike and for its LONG life that i would guarantee it if i could own it. I want it to be completely original and would intend to restore it to that because it really isnt far off at all. As i stated, I witnessed a "ghost" while riding today and i need to own it....
For those of you who stuck through this story of desperation and passion, i thank you and i encourage you to reply with some positive comments to hopefully show others it is a story worth reading through. thank you.
Ryan
__________________________________________________ _________________
Ok this is a long story, but a good one. It doesn't have an end yet...but hopefully it will have one in my favor.
I figured that this was the MOST appropriate place for a story like this. Im sure many others can relate. This is what 3 wheelers are about. Enjoy!
When i first started riding 3 wheelers 12+ years ago i had a 1987 Honda 200X. I loved it, it was unbreakable and tons of fun. This one piece of machinery cemented me into the 3 wheeler world and into a complete Honda fan forever! I had no clue what i had at the time as in rarity. I drove it nearly daily with all my friends. I wrecked it, i jumped it, i rolled it, i worked on it, and i loved it. But as always when your young i got over it and sold it for i think $400. I have since got back into riding with all the same friends. We all have a huge love for 3 wheelers. Now we have real lives and real jobs and have got back into riding trikes. This time around i found, and bought a 1986 Honda 350X in excellent condition and have done all the same with it. Rode it, wrecked it (very lightly), worked on it and built it with better aftermarket things. I figured i needed something with more power then a 200X now because i have a 2005 Honda TRX 450R, so i could not ride a 200X after having that. Also my friends that i ride with have a 1985 Honda 250R, a 1986 Yamaha Tri-Z, and a 1985 Honda 350X.
So as i have again become completely addicted to riding, i have been feeling the need to find another 1987 200X because of having one in the beginning and what it did to me and for me and how it forever changed me and because of its extreme rarity at this point. I hate myself for getting rid of the one i had. I have read that there were only 3,500 of them produced. So now, 23 years later, i would honestly guess that there might only be less then 1,000 left in "good" condition that aren't totally molested and made of many ATC parts and pieces.
A few months ago i saw a listing on Craigslist for an '87 Honda 200X. When i read it it turned out that it was in my home town that i grew up in! I immediately emailed about it. I got a response that was very odd and shady. I was told i could not know much info about it because he thought i was to harm him or rob him if i knew where he lived. This making me really think how odd that was because how could the guy expect to sell this to anyone if he was afraid to divulge any info about where he lived. I emailed him more and he said he knew who my parents were and that i could come and look at it. I tried to set it up several times and got no response or a very quick iffy response. I was never able to meet up with the guy and then his email was no longer a valid working email. After all this i thought for sure it was a fake listing and had no credibility and so i left it alone and have been looking for an '87 ever since. After a month or so my friend, who still lives there, said he saw an all white 200X. He is sort of known through our group of friends as embellishing things sometimes to make stories and situations a bit more interesting (as we all do at times lol). ( he will be reading this sometime tomorrow so im sure i will hear about it, not to mention any names but sorry Chris) So i didn't really think it was true and thought maybe it was just an '85 or '86 with aftermarket fenders. Weeks go by and he keeps telling me he sees it again and again. When i am around i go and look at each spot as quick as i can only to find no sign of this rare white ATC "ghost."
So now brings us to today. 3 of us decide to go riding and try to find an old dump not too far away from a lot of the trails we normally ride. We ride and ride and finally find the spot. It ended up to be a pretty crappy place to ride so we parked at the top of a hill climb to share our disgust and shoot the sh*t. As we did, we heard some other riders coming close and noticeably at least one 4-stoke. As we stood there we saw them through some small openings in the trees and they were riding into the dump where we were. First rolls out a newer Yamaha Raptor 660, then a 2003 Yamaha Blaster, and then the pinnacle of my day, when i witnessed the "ghost!" Out rolls an original 1987 Honda 200X. My friend Chris immediately yells, "There it is, I told you i saw it!" LOL. His reaction and mine, were honestly like seeing a yeti. I motioned them over and sure enough, it was REAL! Original plastic all the way around not cracked or stitched, an original METAL gas tank with not a single dent, red swingarm, tool box, ignition with key, and even the rubber pad where the kick start touches to the plastic. As they pull up, i tried to remain calm and said, "wow, an '87, i used to have one of those." The guy riding the Raptor quickly asks, "wanna buy it?" !!!!!!!! After instantly noticing all the attributes I am trying to contain myself to releasing any of this info to the riders. I respond with, "Yes actually i do." It turns out it was his 200X, he was letting his friend ride it, and he was riding his brothers raptor. He said he loved the raptor and wants of those so he wants to MAYBE sell the 200X to get money to put toward a raptor or something else. I told him i was seriously interested and it turns out he lives about a quarter mile above my parents which is where i keep my toys and where i ride around. He also stated how he bought it from the guy that posted it on Craigslist. The listing i read months before was real, but this kid ended up getting it.... So i swallowed down most of my excitement and rode around with everyone. This is where the TRUE torture began. As we rode around i watched his friend that was riding the 200X wheelie it over, flood it, kick on it, pop-start it and rev the piss out of it. Then the guy that owned it rode it and tried a hill climb where he sunk it in the sand and fell off it. Luckily it stayed put and did not roll down the hill. He picked himself up and left it there on hill. So his friend had to go up and wiggle it around and come back down the hill. I literally cringed as i witnessed all of this. I also watched him nose-dive the raptor so hard he flew forward of the pegs and ran his foot over with the peg and tire, LOL. I told him again, if you r serious about selling it i will buy it and to give me the first chance to buy it. We rode for a few more hours and then parted ways. I want it in the worst way and puke a little in my mouth when i think about what could happen to this diamond in the rough. Right there in my home town on all the same trails i have ridden for years. I have to own this 3 wheeler. I sit here thinking about the 200X wondering when they will seize it or blow it up and wreck it and bend/crack the frame, or dent the gas tank...
So this is where the story ends for now and hopefully i will be able to update you ALL with a story of success when i do become the owner. As a fellow 3 wheeler enthusiast, I hope for the best for the trike and for its LONG life that i would guarantee it if i could own it. I want it to be completely original and would intend to restore it to that because it really isnt far off at all. As i stated, I witnessed a "ghost" while riding today and i need to own it....
For those of you who stuck through this story of desperation and passion, i thank you and i encourage you to reply with some positive comments to hopefully show others it is a story worth reading through. thank you.
Ryan