next basket case project. 82 185s

[Jim mac]

found it on offer up. basically a motor that turns over forks and a frame. went to look at it, some genius welded the hub to the axle on one side and welded the wheels to the hubs on both sides since they weren't honda rims. guy thru in a tank and handlebars. All for the crazy price of $40. probably should have left it there but the drive over took almost 30 minutes so I wanted to have something to show for the drive over.
Only reason to buy a pile of junk like this is because I have a few parts in the shed. its the only way to put it together without being 3x underwater on how much $$$ someone would have to spend.
parts on hand,
Axle and carrier
pull start
cdi assembly
carb
air filter box
hubs
rims
really nice seat pan
rear plastics (probably 110) but can make it work.
coil, and most wiring plus headlight.
misc bag of nuts and bolts.
head pipe and muffler
this ijust the ticket to be able to finally put all these spare parts ive been saving all these years. jim

[ATC King]

Those AMS tires ride good. I think they're radials.

They're pretty crappy for traction in mud, but do OK in most other conditions. Those have a little wear on them, but still some life left. I'd be nice if they were still available.

264651

[350for350]

Although I prefer the 1983 over the ones with no suspension, I love the 185 models. They are overlooked and can usually be bought for a reasonable price compared to the 200's.

[Jim mac]

my last 185s is a 81, paid 60 bucks for it about 6 months ago. put over a hour ride on it last Saturday. jim

[ATC King]

The 185S is a great machine. I like the styling of the 200S more, but not being able to easily remove the fenders to clean or work on it is what gives the 185 a leg up.

Those damn 185S seat pans though, but you already have one. The Hi-Flite Desert seats are still available for the 185S. If there's a have-to-have item for those, that's it. http://hi-flite-usa.com/product-category/atv-quad-3-wheeler-seat-foam-seat-cover-combos/honda/atc-185s/

[Jim mac]

my pan doesn't have any foam, might be a nice option. I'm thinking of ordering new plastics for 81, and using the old stuff on this 82. ive already went and titled the 81 so I dont mind spending a few bucks to make it nice. jim

[Jim mac]

went and ordered a harness off ebay for the trike last night. that should allow me to at least start the thing and see if the motor even runs. after that it's time to start swapping messed up parts for good parts. Migjt even order new plastics for my 81 and use the old plastics on the 82. jim

[ATC King]

New harness?

I know the one I bought from ps2fixer was an excellent choice. No fudging with old stuff and it fit great. That's on my 200S framed 185S mutt that I built the short adapter harness for and switched it to a full DC system with a capacitor and reg/rec.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy new Maier 185S fenders. Most of the OEM ones are starting to have cracks at the ridges on either side of the rear center 'Honda' name. Once that starts, it's best to put a brace under them. They're all just old at this point and being a one piece rear fender, have all kinds of flexing going on without a whole lot of support.

I like some fairly decent old ones though, too rough to leave alone, but good enough to spray paint for a custom look.

[Jim mac]

sorry, new to me, used harness with the cdi. ive got spare coils and plug wires. so it should be plug and play. jim

[BarnBoy]

Basket cases are all I seem to pick up haha. Check your frame right under the footpegs in that little cavity there. I bet its rusted through. Ive got a 185, 200, and 200ES now, all in various stages of basketcased-ness. Plan is to one day take the half decent frame from one, motor from the other, rear end from another and so on, making a cool rider/mud bogger. Maybe a couple inch lift, 30's, etc. Too many cool ideas, not enough time. Following to see what you do with it.

[Jim mac]

gotta remember, im in arizona, not much rust issues with vintage junk. my 66 chevelle basket case even has solid floors and quarters. jim

[BarnBoy]

gotta remember, im in arizona, not much rust issues with vintage junk. my 66 chevelle basket case even has solid floors and quarters. jim

Honestly, I havent seen a hardtail frame that wasn't rusted in that area. I would check. The steel is pretty thin, doesent take much...a bunch of junk hiding in there that can trap moisture would do it. Depending on if its lived there its whole life or not, I'd still check.

[Jim mac]

definetly zero rust issues. just bolted on the handlebars, new carb i bought for the 81, bolted on the exhaust, new petcock, fuel line, new throttle cable.
going to get it running then attack the rear axle.
front forks looks a little bent, ive got another set without the brake boss and a plain front axle. probably change it later too. the rear fender is off a old 110atc, I can move the rear bracket to the front, and fab a latch for the rear. jim

[Jim mac]

swapped the CDI assembly off a old motor in the shed, hooked up the harness and used coil. new plug and it fired right up! smokes so bad all the bugs in the yard dropped out of the sky. my 81 smoked bad for abday. hopefully it starts to clear up. probably hasn't run in years. rode it out of the back yard. I have enough parts to make it a rider, but the smoke is making me have second thoughts. I do see oil splattering around the head pipe. I'm missing the ring seal. feels like its got great compression. The china carb might have the floats a bit high, it seems to want to spit fuel when starting. jim

[Jim mac]

it still starts but still spitting oil out the exhaust, found out the plug i stuck in it was very short, so I filled the cylinder with marvel mystery oil, found a correct plug, will fire it off
later this week. also digging around the shed, found a correct air box for it.
Side note, saw the recoil kits on ebay for 14 bucks decided to put my spare recoil back together. pull the center rotor part after I get my new dogs and springs to oil it, theres no main spring under there. jim

[ATC King]

No joke, I had a 185 with stock exhaust (baffle removed?) that would blow actual smoke rings at idle on a windless day. It was from the 80's though, so doctors may have still been endorsing cigarettes.

[Tri-Z 250]

My YZ426f will blow rings on a cold start in cooler weather....30’

[jasong_10]

No joke, I had a 185 with stock exhaust (baffle removed?) that would blow actual smoke rings at idle on a windless day. It was from the 80's though, so doctors may have still been endorsing cigarettes.

Not that I want anybody's trike to smoke, but smoke rings would be cool, lol

[Jim mac]

little progress. the original motor blew oil out the exhaust, so I pulled it and stuck a 200cc mystery motor i had in the shed. it came with a bunch of stuff from a yard sale. loosely stuck it in and after a few pulls it started right up!. no smoke even! and it's a upshift motor so a 85? jim

[Jim mac]

little progress. the original motor blew oil out the exhaust, so I pulled it and stuck a 200cc mystery motor i had in the shed. it came with a bunch of stuff from a yard sale. loosely stuck it in and after a few pulls it started right up!. no smoke even! and it's a upshift motor so a 85? jim

[Jim mac]

got the rear axle swapped, found its missing the upper carrier bolts, found a pair and got them installed. next up is to cut the old axle between the welded on hub and sprocket to get the sprocket installed. brake perches, cables air filter and tires will be here later this week. putting the new tires on the registered 185 and putting tje used tires on the 82. jim

[Jim mac]

replaced front and rear brake cables, added a grab bar, reset timing, bolted on the headlight, no switch installed yet. right now to shut it off, injust ground the black wire, Its the wrong tank, but I do have a newer (big gas cap) 185 or 200s tank that fits right but haven't installed a petcock yet. Bussed it down the street, runs great!. need to order a seat cover and pick up some foam. Probably have $175 bucks into it, plus all my parts I had on hand. might be worth 300 bucks on a good day. thought about selling it, but I know I can't replace it for 300 bucks, so I'll make room and keep it as a spare. jim

[Jim mac]

found a light/kill switch and got it installed and wired. headlights work, kill switch works. had some hunter green spray paint, painted the front and rear fender green. Ugly as sin. Ill grab a can of red paint and filler primer when I get the chance and make it red again.
time to order a seat cover.
Next up, might as well get it inspected so I can get it titled, cant ride on public lands without plates and papers. jim

[Jim mac]

had the day off, picked up some fusion red paint and painted the rear plastics and front fender, fixed a okay seat pan and swapped the foam off a toasted pan, got a seat cover ordered. swapped the dented tank to a clean undented tank from a ??? took it to motor vehicle, 2 hours and 92 dollars later ive got a title, perm plate and a ohv sticker. jim

[Jim mac]

threw my good seat pan on for the pic, its getting the repaired pan when the cover comes in. Probably just order the hi flite kit for the good pan and put it on the new fiberglass fender. jim

[Jim mac]

seat cover came in today, I didn't realize I had the sides too wide to fit the fender. had to trim it back down. the pan was patched with fiberglass (my worst pan) so I just screwed the cover from the outside in. not the most professional look but it works.
This seat is going to end up on the beater 185s. along with okay set of plastics, lights front brakes. then I'm going to turn the 85 200s frame into the stripper trike since I don't have any plastics or seat for it. jim

[patriot1]

Good Work Jim! Looks good! I enjoy seeing progress!

[Jim mac]

it's getting crazy with these trikes, found a 200 with electric start for almost cheap, just dont have room for any more trikes in my yard. I just about posted my 84 110 fir sale, I thought why not just stick with the 185s trikes. but I've had the 110 for over 10 years, it's got a title and runs really good. jim