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Thread: best racing trike?

  1. #1
    ATCcountryboy is offline At The Back Of The Pack Arm chair racerFirst time rider
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    best racing trike?

    I've already have a big red 250 and now im looking for something to race around and do jumps with. What trike should I get?
    1. 1986 bigred 250(the huntin' rig)
    2. 1985 bigred 250(the workhorse)

    4 wheels? Sounds to safe.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    Lilly PA
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    I myself am a Tecate guy but you cant beat the availability of 250R parts, stock or aftermarket! I like the way the Tri-Zs look but have heard the dont have enough to keep up with the others. Just what I heard and read, I have never rode a Z before.
    Just sit back and chillaxx

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Abrams, Wisconsin
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    a 200x is an option also, not as much power as the 2 strokes or 350x, but probably a cheaper option if you just want something kinda sporty
    86 tri z - might be nearly done throwing money at it! (good thing, the hondas are getting jealous!)
    86 250sx - old reliable
    83 atc 70-new project for me and the boy
    another 82 110
    a bunch of golf carts for the wife and kids
    -gone but not forgotten-
    82? 110 - why did i sell it??
    84 225dx - meh, it was a pile

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Right now? TPC 450 hands down. If your really looking for the BEST race trike TODAY and best money spent...all the way. Now compaired to a full resto and the big 3(250R Honda,250 Tecate,250 Tri-Z). I exclude the Tigers and Cagiva only because if you could have one...I doubt it would be raced just because of replacement value.
    So that being said, my point: Each of the 3 have their own setbacks. The R having the least of them except if your long in the legs(some feel crampted). The Kawi has electrical and isn't known for the best rear suspension. The Z is LARGE in size and the motor needs attention if you want it's top potential. What each machine lacks is parts availablity and rebuild cost. Example $400-1000+ for a race breed trike: motor: $300-1200+ Frame: $75-250+blast/paint/powder Suspension:$65-1000+ Trires: $100-1200 rims/rubber Plasic: $0-500+ Carb:$40-300+filter/oversized Pipe: $100-300
    Yes you could spend $2300-4000 and grab a race trike ready to run already setup. Any top to bottom full on resto with All the race goodies is going to run $4000+(unless you can do ALL the labor yourself then maybe $3000). REMEMBER You will still be riding a 20+ yr old machine with time on the frame and wear parts(but maybe your the vintage type and that apeals to you). You will end up spending more on shipping than the parts you need in the future, because there not down the road at a local shop. If you could do a cheaper TPC around $6500 I think you'd be far ahead of the pack.
    The 200X is an option...but no more than a B class machine...It just doesn't have enough motor. I run one and to me it's harder to go faster on the X to the Z...homie

  5. #5
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    Couldn't say that any better!!!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    Oakley, California
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    honda 250r all the way baby...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    East Greenville, Pennsylvania
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    I myself am a Tecate man. Live and die 2 stroke. 250r parts are more readily available but I haven't had trouble with my 85 Tecate I'm rebuilding. I got it as a frame and in pieces and she runs and only thing missing is the kill switch. Parts total cost me $300. Up to you really.
    1985 Kawasaki Tecate 250 with kx 500cc motor
    1985 Honda ATC 70 custom built with lifan 125cc
    1985 Honda ATC 70 custom powder coat slight mods
    1985 Honda 250sx
    Yamaha zinger 90cc 2 stroke
    1985 Honda 250sx custom green and black build
    1985 Honda 200x

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    lindenwold new jersey
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    i'd look at this a few ways...
    1st your young, not thats bad but if your asking what kind of "racin' trike" to get . you've been on a bigred anything else? i mean really rode and not for a few minutes in the pits....
    2nd take warning a 250r or a T-3 is in no way like a bigred. if you don't know how to ride or are just overconfident they'll bite you in the arse fast and hard. they will also cost you more to maintain if your idiot rider.
    3rd think 200X. their plentiful and are a good all-around sports trike... can you jump them?? you bet..... can you race them??? you bet. as far as them being nothing more than a class b machine i tend to argue that point, outdoors yes they'll take a beating..... but indoors it's a riders race and if i remember right didn't a 200x sweep one of the weekends a few years back at summit indoors..... karl i think was the rider.....
    it may not be what you want but the 200x is perfect for getting some good training seat time on and not blow alot cash
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  9. #9
    rodeofan5656's Avatar
    rodeofan5656 is offline Girlfriend wishes I'd last longer than 8 seconds Arm chair racerAt the back of the pack
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    Quote Originally Posted by leviblue View Post
    i'd look at this a few ways...
    1st your young, not thats bad but if your asking what kind of "racin' trike" to get . you've been on a bigred anything else? i mean really rode and not for a few minutes in the pits....
    2nd take warning a 250r or a T-3 is in no way like a bigred. if you don't know how to ride or are just overconfident they'll bite you in the arse fast and hard. they will also cost you more to maintain if your idiot rider.
    3rd think 200X. their plentiful and are a good all-around sports trike... can you jump them?? you bet..... can you race them??? you bet. as far as them being nothing more than a class b machine i tend to argue that point, outdoors yes they'll take a beating..... but indoors it's a riders race and if i remember right didn't a 200x sweep one of the weekends a few years back at summit indoors..... karl i think was the rider.....
    it may not be what you want but the 200x is perfect for getting some good training seat time on and not blow alot cash
    he makes a very good point. one trike will almost always ride and handle different than the next. the only thing with three wheels that i rode before my 200x was some yamaha 225 thing. even the 200x was way different from the yamaha. i pretty much went straight from 4x4 quads to my 200x, and its takin alotta gettin used to. with the little experience i have on these things, id say go for the 200x, then work your way up to a 2stroke or 350x



    1986 Honda ATC200X
    2005 Yamaha Road Star 1700
    ToyHauler- 1998 Ram 3500 5.9L Turbo Diesel

  10. #10
    rodeofan5656's Avatar
    rodeofan5656 is offline Girlfriend wishes I'd last longer than 8 seconds Arm chair racerAt the back of the pack
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    and to add to the 200x stuff, look for an '86 (or even an '87 if you have that kinda luck). the '86-'87s are 6spd instead of 5, theyre supposedly more reliable and better built. when i traded my project truck for the 86 i have now, i test-rode the guys 84 that he restored. for some reason he took really good care of the 84, and the 86 was just his "screw around" bike that he didnt maintain as well but i still liked the way the 86 rode more than the 84......... but enuf with my experiences. it all comes down to what YOU want. if you think you have the balls enuf to get a 250r for your first sport trike, let us know how it goes! maybe we'll be wrong and youll ride it great. but its not advisable. check out a 200x first tho..



    1986 Honda ATC200X
    2005 Yamaha Road Star 1700
    ToyHauler- 1998 Ram 3500 5.9L Turbo Diesel

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Chesterfield, Virginia
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    When your dealing with 30 year old machines and your on a budget, what is available in your area will be a key part of your choice. With that being said if you find for example a cheap 250R that "runs" by definition and you take it out and beat it to death your going to have problems and it will cost you alot more in the long run to put the thing back together especially if you don't have the means or the tools to do the work yourself. Another question is do you have any dirt bike experience (meaning 2-Stroke race bike) because if you have the idea that a race bred trike is just a sportier looking faster Big Red, your in four a rude and possibly painful awakening, you need to master the art of the clutch (not just being able to take off without stalling) and until then you are either going to be slow or spending alot of time straightening your grab bar. So if you really don't have any 2-Stroke experience I would suggest a 200X it would give you a chance to learn the fundamental of the clutch and provide you with adequate suspension to play around a bit until you get the hang of things and then move up to an R, T or Z it would probably be alot more fun for you and also make you a better rider when you do make the step.

    I don't know how old you are or how much experience you have on bikes/trikes (experience defiantly overrides age)... my son started riding (dirt bikes) at 5, he's now 14 and he can ride anything in the garage that he can touch the ground on (Sportster Included) and has even taken a few laps on RM250's and my ATK's (with the help of some milk crates) so don't get me wrong and think I'm saying your not ready, I'm just saying that if your honest with yourself about your ability when you choose your next ride you will enjoy what you choose a lot more...
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  12. #12
    jsmay's Avatar
    jsmay is offline Just Too Addicted Arm chair racerJust too addicted
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    i'd go 200x, 250r's are killer but man 200x's run great. cam/carb/pipe/swap out the sprockets and you'll kick some butt. And you can start out slow(money wise). I have a 200x and its pretty mild built..and it rips!
    200x race parts needed

  13. #13
    ATCcountryboy is offline At The Back Of The Pack Arm chair racerFirst time rider
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    Ive had dirt bikes before, and I've ridden l lots of other things minibikes, quads ect. Im not going to be hard riding I just wanted something sportier than the big red. Something that I could cruz the trails with and mabey do some small jumps...nothing major.
    By the way I'm 14 but I baby my trikes, my dad thinks I'm crazy because I'm attentive to every little detail on my trike.
    1. 1986 bigred 250(the huntin' rig)
    2. 1985 bigred 250(the workhorse)

    4 wheels? Sounds to safe.

  14. #14
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    Jul 2010
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    ontario
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    Ive had dirt bikes before, and I've ridden l lots of other things minibikes, quads ect. Im not going to be hard riding I just wanted something sportier than the big red. Something that I could cruz the trails with and mabey do some small jumps...nothing major.
    By the way I'm 14 but I baby my trikes, my dad thinks I'm crazy because I'm attentive to every little detail on my trike.
    I am alittle like you. I started off riding a br and then had the same question. trust me start off small with a 200x then in a few years work your way up to a 250 or 350.
    Last edited by hillbilly 200x; 12-21-2011 at 01:05 PM. Reason: stupit computer logged me out
    HONDA WITH A WING AND A PRAYER
    1984 110 project
    1984 125 parts bike
    1983 honda 200x
    19 85x2honda 200x
    1985 honda 250sx
    1985 honda 250es
    polaris p3 should be a parts bike ***gas tank wanted**

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by 84t3 View Post
    I like the way the Tri-Zs look but have heard the dont have enough to keep up with the others.
    LOL! See you on the track!

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