After restoration - To ride or not to ride - 1981 185S Resto Pics Now Included!!!

[thedeatons]

Okay all... this is to gauge opinion, then formulate my decision...

As some of you may have been following, I'm meticulously restoring a 1981 Honda 185S. Things are powdercoated, tank and forks are being redone my Mike himself at Vintage Motorsports. Mike will also be rebuilding the engine for me. New OEM fenders are on the way along with everything else I should need, and I have a box full of NOS Honda bolts and nuts for this thing.

The project originally started as a fixer upper, and soon became a frame off resto... Once everything is complete, it will be show quality, and I have had serious thoughts of attempting to sell the trike to a museum or collector.

This is my problem. I am torn between showing it to everyone as a piece of history and actually using it and enjoying it for years. My wife is proposing we use it and ride it with our kids, while taking care of it as best as possible.

I'd like to know what you all think I should do at this point. No matter what, the project will be finished. It's what to do at the end of the project that has me flustered. Keep in mind that I fully expect this project to turn out close to the quality of Mike's projects at Vintage, due to the amount of NOS Honda parts I am using... I'm truly trying to spare no expense. Anyway, it's not like it costs that much, these things are a drop in the bucket compared to a car project.

Any thoughts are welcome, as long as they are constructive. Thanks everyone. I will post pictures as they come. James

[trikes=fun]

TO ride ride to ride to ride have a blast while it last

[Rex Karz]

I wouldn't let the kids ride it, except for special occasions like car shows, outdoor events where there's grass, so it can be enjoyed like a piece of living art. That is of course, provide You have back up beaters that You can ride like hell.... don't worry what other people think, there's nothing wrong with having something to look at, ask Howdy! Can You imagine what it would feel like to get that first scratch? Either way, You never know when someone will come along and HAVE TO HAVE IT and give you $2500 or something like that. If it was a perfect resto, then not only will You enjoy it, but others will enjoy it by just looking at it! Don't tell anyone, I have spent many an hour just looking at my trikes. They're time machines - all I have to do is go out to the garage and I'm instantly back in 1979 !

[RideRed250R]

i believe you use it as you see fit... i love 185s's i have had 3 of them and wish i still had kept them.... (good bye ole bessy).... if you really have all this work into it.... do this... i did the same with ole bessy 83 185s.... i restored her to show quality and then decided that the love gone into the bike was worth riding and givin her TLC on her way... when i sold her finally to finace projects i got 800 for her... UNHEARD of for a 185S she had 3 scraps on the rear fender and a chipped peice of paint on the right side of the frame.... do what you think is best.,.. memories are always the road to take
adam

[firefirefire90]

I personally would do it like many honda dealers do, hang it up on the ceiling or put it in the living room "like a piece of living art". Just not as living. Beater trikes arent very expensive here in CA..but then * start tinkering...then painting...and BOOM full resto haha

[Yamahauler]

I wouldnt ride it, only at car shows where there grass like someone else said.
It doesnt take long for it to start looking like crap if you ride it.

[Troll 2]

I say use it rarely. Keep it mint, it will be a fine example for years. Get a $200 185 for riding and thrashing.............:D

[trikes=fun]

Yah i should have said ride it yourself i have learned that some people dont care about others stuff (DONT BEAT THE HELL out of it though)

[Meat-BoX]

I have had my Tecate pretty much done for 2 summers now and I am on the 2nd tank of gas. Its got allmost $5000 into her, but she needs to be riddin on occasion. I just try to stay out of the nasty stuff like rocky trails and anything that might make me crash. I couldnt imagine trying to refix my Tecate if it got smashed up. I bust the 125 M out when its time to get down and dirty.

[Huffa]

Here is what I'd do. I would ride it on occassion and I'm sure I don't have to emphasize only on terrian where it won't dent, scratch or nick anything up.

I'll assume you want to keep it as showroom nub tire & tank glare shining perfect as can be so I'd get a set of other wheels with tires in order to keep the stock ones absolutly perfect.

I'd get some clear vinyl
( http://www.mxsouth.com/factoryeffex/fac163univer.htm ) and put it on any section that can possibly get scratched. When you peel it off it (paint,plastic) would look like the day you put it on. It's not like you'd take it off though and put it on for every ride though as that would get costly and woukld'nt offer any benifit except when checking it out sitting still.

The best solution though is (like a few said ) to get another one and not ride that one at all.

I have a decent 185 right now that is most worthy of a restore as you are describing. I wish I could keep it but have too many wheelers now to deal with. It had quite an easy life as you can see. It's going on ebay Friday night. Too bad your so far away - this would be a good one for you.

[Oldshell4481]

i would ride it, taking some care while riding, but these machines are made to be ridden and can be restored more than once..

[Orangecnty250r]

I would not ride it... When I put large amounts of money and time tracking down NOS parts to make something absolutely perfect its like throwing money out the window messing the stuff up....Many of those new parts are discontinued and can never be replaced with a new one. I myself am having Mike do some stuff on the 81 R hopefully this winter.....So I cant wait to see yours.. I paid 500.00 for one of the last NOS 81 ATC 250r rear fenders on the planet....Mike said he searched his contacts all over the WORLD and came up empty..Its that kinda of thing I'm talking about...That fender can not and will not get any ride time.

I say at this point 98% percent of the three wheelers left are made to be ridden and people should have fun with them

The rest are Rare collectibles that are either all original mint or massive amounts of cash and time have gone into them finding NOS parts..Those are the ones made to look like they did on the showroom floor 20-25 years ago. Like a time capsule.

Those are the ones for people to just look at and remininsce of the good old days and enjoy!!!!

[BigGreenMachine]

I'm in the same boat as meat-box, resto-modded my 85 Tecate with about $4000 and some nice perf and rare parts. The first scratch was the hardest, all the rest are like water off a ducks back.

James

[denn]

Hey guys whats up, I think everyone on this board knows that the hardest thing about a resto, or even making your trike look nice is plastic. It is so hard to get new plastic for 3 wheelers. Any other parts you can get anywhere. There must be a million junkyards and places that have 3 wheeler parts. They are not going to be new and all nice and factory painted up, but who cares. You can sand it down and send it out to be painted. Problem solved and part is new again. Plastic takes the majority of the beating on a bike. I hve 3 tri-z's and just about all new plastic for them in all 3 colors plus that stupidity of buying the new honda 250r plastic for the 250r that I don't have. They will all be in mint condition when i am done. But the plastic I will ride with is maier, or decent factory plastic. Something that looks ok. The paint and all that can be redone, broken parts can be found. Plastic takes an act of god to get. So, what I would do is ride the crap out of it. Its yours, your hard work, your money, enjoy it. Just keep the parts that you know you can't replace off to the side(like plastic). When you are ready to hang it up, then restore it again and put the new plastic on it, then everyone can drool over it. If you spend 4 grand restoring a 3 wheeler every 10 years it just like buying a new 4 wheeler every 10 years. I am only saying this cause its my opinion and I myself am going to do just that. When my back can't take anymore then I will hang it up in the living room. Till then, I am going to ride the hell out of it no matter how much money I have spent or how pretty it is. Hope this doesn't offend anyone.

Denn

[Rasuel]

I agree with most of the people here, ride it, but be careful where and how. Whatever you do, dont let the kids ride it! I let me kid sister ride me bike and she drove the thing into my dam car, 2-4-1. No big deal for me, P.O.S. Tempo got a scratch and the bike got some silver paint on the front rack. If you do let the kids ride it (know how persuasive women can be) do it on grass in a wide open smoothe area and make sure the kids know you'll kill'em if anything happens to the bike. We all know who your favorite baby is, lil 185.

[85 250sx]

Ride it like you stole it!!!!:p :Bounce

haha just playing but seriosly i would ride it, but very rarely and be extra carefull when you do.

[Yamahauler]

I think you might as well not ride it at all if you have to worry about being extra careful on it. You wont have fun worrieing about it. get a beater and bag the hell out of it.

[thefox]

OK, remind me again, you are restoring a 185s because you had one as a kid, right? So is this the one you had or just another 185s that you are restoring?

If it is the bike you rode as a kid I could see you wanting to ride it. If it is just a 185s that is like the one you had then I say don't ride it more then around the yard occasionally. How hard was it to get all the NOS parts for it, well it is now going to be so much harder for the next person in line to get those parts.

Either way I have been looking forward to seeing those pictures! Are you also going to do a write up for Billy to put in the restorations section?

[bushwacker51]

Your restroration reminds me why I dont do a frame off resto on my 250r. If I did I wouldnt ride it I would be scared I would get it dirty or mess it up. Dont let any of theses guys kid you. Iif you ride it your gonna mess it up and get it dirty and get rock chips on the paint, it happens. But on the same not lets not forget what these vehicles where built for OFF ROADING. Just my two cents good luck in your decession. Glenn O.

[willcamach]

i wouldnt ride it if the parts were that rare and i pyt so much money into it.. just restore it ride it up and down the street at most and keep it as a conversation peice then buy yourself a trike you can ride and not worry about destroying. maybe something with more power and more of a fun factor to it than a 185

[Orangecnty250r]

No offense taken!

I think part of it also is people look at the word restoration differenty

Its one thing to break a bike down paint all the parts and put some fresh plastic on it..Is that restored ...Yes..."Restore" it and ride it

Then theres the other types of restoration... where you find all kinds of discontinued OEM parts , new old stock calipers and head pipes etc, etc, have professionals like Mike from vintage do some paint and powder work and put upwards of 5000-6000 in it....That type of restore you do a portfolio and pictures of all the New parts and just showcase the machine...I guess I just like to have some trikes I ride and some I showcase....Some of the people (Not All ) who say "ride it" probably have never spent 2-5 years looking for a new discontinued part payed top dollar for it and sunk $5000 into a machine ...Some may then think twice about Riding it... Also ever see a part powdered more than once "Yuk" and it a pain to get off...Just my opinion But I'm cool with everyone elses

[bushwacker51]

I also respect everyones opinion and thoughts on this subject. I also know if I have something so nice that I am scared to ride it for fear of getting it dirty I will lose intrest in it and end up selling it. I have this same argument over my 1965 corvette. There are the guys who wont put a part on their vete unless its oem chevrolet even run bias ply tires which to me is a saftey issue. Now me I took out the stock 327 and put in a stroked 350 (383) with a richmond six speed and took it to the drag races and had a blast racing it. But once again thats just me. Glenn O.

[denn]

I see what you mean, I have looked for parts for 4 years believe it or not. I paid $375 for a nos tri-z yellow front fender from a guy that bought it 2 months earlier for $25 dollars on ebay. Thats love. I guess everyone is different like you said. I will collect all the nos parts for years but never put them on till I am done riding the bike the way I do. Meaning, when I get older and know that i am just going to do laps around the driveway, I will do a showroom resto and put all the nos parts on. As long as you have them its what counts. I guess if you have doubles of one bike then yeah you would probally showcase one of them. I don't know. I guess its up to the person to do what makes them happy. Nobody is right or wrong here. It comes down to personal prefrence I guess. I just know that I would be to itchy to ride it even if it was showcased. I guess thats why I won't do it now.


denn

[thedeatons]

So... just to clue everyone in a little more... This 185S has no historic significance to me. I did not have one as a kid. I did buy this one from the first and only owner, in Escondido, California though. It was his wife's bike for twenty years. My vision is to take it back to him when I am finished and show him how I have restored it. I think that may bring a tear to his eye.

Some of these parts have been ridiculously hard to find, such as the front and rear fenders, headlight parts, etc. Many of my parts I have gotten through weeks of research and calling places, and I also owe some new friends at a Canadian dealership a thank you, as they have supplied me with many dealer searches for parts across Canada.

Just to whet everyone's appetite I am attaching some pictures of my recently completed rear wheels/tires. The front wheel/tire looks spectacular also, but was not shiny for this picture. You can see the freshly powdercoated wheels, the brand new NOS Honda nuts, bolts and washers (that was some money!) along with the OEM Ohtsu tires. I could not find the OEM B901 knobbies, and am impatient, so I went with the service replacement Pro Am II tires, still by Ohtsu. The hubs are fresh out of zinc plating and it shows. Originally they did not look this spectacularly yellow, simply because of plating process changes over the years and the fact that I only plated a dozen pieces instead of mass plating also makes things come out different. The axle looks the same, as do various bolts, washers and brake actuators. You can see a bit of bleeding from the plating. This is due to the hubs having a hollow spot in the middle, so they cannot get all the chemicals out before applying the yellow chromate, so you get some bleeding.... Any spots you see are dirt specs from people digging next door. Hope everyone enjoys... James

[willcamach]

as was stated before its all personal preference but talk about a bad investment. $325.00 for a piece of plastic that you know someone payed $25.00 for????? :lol: no offence but thats just stupid.:crazy: id buy 10 maier ones before paying that much. but hey more power to ya

[thedeatons]

Dude.... I don't know if we need to use the word stupid... In my opinion Maier is horrible, and is in no way a substitute for OEM Honda plastic... It's one thing if you have a beater for the farm that the teenagers ride, but if you're trying to finish off a restoration you have been working on for years, and you're making decent money in your profession, then a few hundred dollars is not a big deal... It still amazes me that more people do not buy OEM stuff.... using anything else is like throwing a JCWhitney hood on your restored '51 split window beetle.... but like you said, to each their own I guess.....

[Huffa]

Those parts look incredible :beer Once it's all done I'd like the best picture you have of it so I can send it to my scanner and make a nice gloss copy to hang in my garage.

I think I'm going to start a collection of the best of the best and yours will certainly earn that title.

One thing that bugs me though is when tires are over glossed to the degree of looking unnatural and I think yours are heading a bit in that direction. You did armour all them up I assume or is that just the way the picture took?

Your looking for as close to exact showroom replica as you can get and not even brand new atv's, bikes, trikes come with tires that shiny. Just though I'd point out that minute detail.

Oh, and as for a good pic, how about one with it in nice green lusious grass with a sky as blue as edogs 225? :lol:

[thedeatons]

Thanks for the great praise... that's just the wheels, as you can imagine the rest of the trike will be as nice.... The tires were okay looking, and I scrubbed them with Bleach-White, then scrubbed in some sticky armor all stuff, which was a mistake, because it got everywhere... I will attempt to get this off later, and just use some low gloss interior style detailer... Pictures will come as I get more done, especially once I get the parts from Mike back. I need to order the rear bearings so I can get the rear axle carrier put together.

[trikes=fun]

Please post pics of the whole trike when your finished weeeeee!!!

[trikes=fun]

And oh yea where did tou get those pro am tires need some for the stock 200s?

[thedeatons]

Believe it or not bikebandit.com... Although chaparral motorsports in San Bernadino has a better price, but higher shipping.... I believe you can type in this Honda part number. They are ~$50 each. Just in case here is the bikebandit.com part number for them in size 22x11x8 - 144452-001
James

[350Kris]

You ain't gettin' any younger and the trike ain't gettin' any more popular....RIDE IT, but don't be careless with it. We all have trikes for one reason (one real reason) -- to ride! I plan to ride all my restores. Riding provides the best memories.

[thedeatons]

I promised to post pics as things went along... Here are the exhaust pics. This is from a local So-Cal shop. They use a high temp coating that will never fade or chip, similar to Jet Hot, but this coating has a higher heat tolerance and a lower price!! I do not have the exact specs for the heat tolerance, but Kris could tell you. I am including his business card in case anyone is interested. He charged me $125 to sandblast and coat all five of these parts, which I thought was a great deal considering the outcome. FYI: I also got a quote on a pair of V-Twin headers for my father, and he said ~$150:) The service was excellent, and the turnaround time was spectacular. He even met me on a Saturday when he wasn't open, just so I could pick up the pipe. Enjoy! James

[thedeatons]

And the last few....

[350x'inNY]

Believe me..... go buy yourself a beater trike to ride. Put that one up as a museum piece or something.

I have the "Showgirl" which I think I've only really ridden at Trikefest and in a local parade in the year!~ I have a "Go-Go" 350X that I ride and not worry about. However, even the Showgirl wasn't a off frame resto by any means.

Now the "NOS" Supermodel project is more what you are talking about.... I have almost all the NOS parts to build yet another 350X. I am seriously thinking about bolting it together in the landing in the upstairs of my house! Nothing like walking up the stairs and having a NOS 350X stairing straight at you!

So don't ride it... or just at shows.

Bruce

[Orangecnty250r]

I am seriously thinking about bolting it together in the landing in the upstairs of my house! Nothing like walking up the stairs and having a NOS 350X stairing straight at you!

Bruce

You might want to bolt it together in the bathroom:naughty: ...Nothing like seeing an NOS 350x staring at you when your taking a cold shower:lol:

[freewheel3]

You might want to bolt it together in the bathroom:naughty: ...Nothing like seeing an NOS 350x staring at you when your taking a cold shower:lol:
How about the bedroom, nothing like staring at an NOS 350X thats staring at you when you're having a.........:naughty: oh, never mind, my mind is just wandering.
Anyway, back to the original point of this thread, IMO, after putting that much time & money into it, don't ride it. After all, it is a piece of history. Like some of the other members said, buy something else you can ride w/o worrying about & go out & have fun on it.