Next Project - 87 Fat Cat

[jasong_10]

Well my next project unfortunately only has two wheels. I'm going to try to ressurect my father-in-law's 87 FatCat. I assume due to the lack of a third wheel I have to put the build thread in Bikersville?

[86T3]

Fat tire machines are honorary trikes, in my eyes at least

[coolpool]

^Roger that T3, post away jasong!

[Dirtcrasher]

Drop it here if it has fat knobbys bro!!

I doubt you'll be reprimanded...

[jasong_10]

Cool, I'll try to get some "before" pics this weekend.

[jasong_10]

Well I forgot to take pictures until after I had the tank and carb off . . . so just imagine they're there in the first set of pics, haha.

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Here's where we're at currently

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Got a good start on dissassembly this afternoon and got it cleaned up. The tank is pretty much ready to go back on and the carb is soaking as I type this. Spent some time fishing part of a shop towel out of the cylinder today, the rest of it was in the boot between the airbox and carb, not sure how that much of it made it through the carb and into the cylinder, lol.

[ATC King]

Good luck with it. Fat tire bikes are fun to ride.


I think from the cylinder up is shared with the '86-'87 200X. Don't quote me on that, but check it out. Obviously the bottom end is different with the e-start and auto clutch. Either way, a bit of a unicorn Honda engine and can be difficult finding parts for.

DC Plastics has the hook-up for the fenders, side covers, and headlight cover. https://www.dcvmx.com/xcart/product.php?productid=186733&cat=1050&page=1

Pretty good price too. They're vacuum molded copies, so the size is actually a little smaller than OEM. Not perfect, and the finish may not be as smooth as factory either, but they're an option. Haven't personally bought their Fat Cat products, but have bought other DC products.

[kiser]

Good find, those puppies are hard to snag in any shape! I need to add one to the herd if/when I can find one in decent shape and a decent price! Until then, I will live vicariously through threads like this! Thanks for posting and keep us in the loop!

[jasong_10]

Good luck with it. Fat tire bikes are fun to ride.


I think from the cylinder up is shared with the '86-'87 200X. Don't quote me on that, but check it out. Obviously the bottom end is different with the e-start and auto clutch. Either way, a bit of a unicorn Honda engine and can be difficult finding parts for.

DC Plastics has the hook-up for the fenders, side covers, and headlight cover. https://www.dcvmx.com/xcart/product.php?productid=186733&cat=1050&page=1

Pretty good price too. They're vacuum molded copies, so the size is actually a little smaller than OEM. Not perfect, and the finish may not be as smooth as factory either, but they're an option. Haven't personally bought their Fat Cat products, but have bought other DC products.

Yeah, I'll take your word for it, I've got no interest in two wheels or twist throttles, lol. Took on the project mainly because I wanted another project (enjoy the build just as much as the ride) and my father-in-law had already purchased 95% of the parts, haha. He's really excited about riding it again when I get it done, so I'm looking forward to that.

I had heard that about the top ends, only a slight difference between the cams. Hopefully shouldn't need much more for parts, he bought the ignition parts that he figures are the culprit and I personally think it was the piece of paper towel in the cylinder, haha.

The fenders he has are from DC, and he's going to grab the side covers and headlight bucket from them next. I like the quality of the DC fenders and he isn't expecting an exact OE build as it is.

[jasong_10]

Good find, those puppies are hard to snag in any shape! I need to add one to the herd if/when I can find one in decent shape and a decent price! Until then, I will live vicariously through threads like this! Thanks for posting and keep us in the loop!

Thanks, will do.

[jasong_10]

Tinkered with it a little this afternoon. Reassembled the two carb halves, just waiting for a new gasket/seal, as the one I took out of it is toast, for final assembly. Also verified the battery, starter switch, starter relay, and starter motor are all good. Next is to finish the teardown, clean up and paint what needs it, fix the rear brakes, recover the seat, and start putting it back together.

[atc300r]

Cool project. I always wanted a fatcat they are pretty cool link between atv and dirtbike.

[jasong_10]

Finished disassembly and got everything painted that's getting paint. Just pretend the overspray isn't there, I'm only taking apart what needs repair/replacement and I hate masking/paint prep, lol. Also cleaned up the rear drum and put in the new shoes. Once paint is dry re-assembly will commence.

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[atc300r]

Coming along nicely. Can't wait for ride report.

[jasong_10]

Coming along nicely. Can't wait for ride report.

Thanks, don't think I'll ride it much though, not a fan of two wheels or twist throttles, lol.

[jasong_10]

Got some more done last night. Put the wheel assemblies and bars back on, mounted the controls, and adjusted the brakes. Apparently I didn't take any pics, haha, I'll try to grab and post some tomorrow.

Here are the pics.

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Snapped a quick one of the trikes too.

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[jasong_10]

Got some time yesterday and today and made a bunch of progress. The gasket kit for the carb showed up late last week so I reassembled and installed that, along with the tank and new petcock, a new air filter, plug, coil, and cdi. Dumped some fuel in it and it fired right up. Set the idle and took it for a test ride, goes through the gears great and doesn't bog anywhere. It did confirm that I'm not a fan of two wheels or twist throttles, lol. Adjusted the handle bars as I had them way too low. Drilled the holes and hooked up the taillight in the rear fender, and mounted it late last night.

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All cosmetic work today. Mounted the front fenders, and installed and stickered the side panels. One of the headlight mount bars was bent and broken so spent some time with the father-in-law getting it where it needs to be. Got it set but ran out of time so things are just set in place for now. All that is left now is actually bolting up the headlight, installing the key switch, choke, and neutral light in the headlight shroud, hooking the throttle back up, and recovering the seat.

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[atc300r]

Looks good .Where did you get your sticker kit.

[jasong_10]

Looks good .Where did you get your sticker kit.

Off Ebay, think the seller's username is yamatopdog or something like that.

[jasong_10]

Got it all buttoned up today. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and my father-in-law wouldn't even let me bring it back here after I rode it up to show him, lol. He took it out for a ride as soon as he finished dinner. Here are the pics.

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He mentioned a '73 CT90 that needs some TLC, I told him I'd take a look at it . . .