picking up a 1985 bigred

[three_wheelin45]

as the title says... Im taking leave for the holidays and will be home for about 15 days. So I decided to pick me up a new toy as a Christmas gift to myself. talked the guy down to $800 not to bad of a looking bike and claims to be all functional. Always wanted a bigred just a matter of finding a decent one with a decent price because every three wheeler around where I live is "rare". enough of my story let the pictures talk. What do you guys think? and whats some common problems to look for.

[tri again]

search key is working like a dream.

When I go look at an es or sx?
Check rear axel gear oil..17mm? I think a plug wrench almost fits.
Timing chain slap or upper head clickity clack.
Rock the whole trike side to side and see if the swing arm bearings are loose or not.
Gas tank rust...let's see what else...
so you say it might run ok?
nice and easy, try to hit all 5 gears.
To get to reverse, ..well the guy should tell you how.
a button down on the left handbrake, pull back, step down on the shifter and backwards you go.
toe up on the shifter to getback to neutral.
1 through 5 all up, neutral all the way down.

If no estart, no big deal if it starts with 1/2 kick. No slip when kicking either or spooling down whir noise when shut off too.

usually the 30 dollar starter dies before the starter reduction gears go bad.

I simply cannot live without a couple of those, at Least.

Good luck.
and surely someone else will chime in on other stuff to look for...OH!
I looked at 2 that were run in the sanddunes.
underengine pan and frames were rusted from seasalt.
If the silly things would leak a little oil, they would've saved themselves.

People don't generally put nice tires on them if they're terminal.
Delightful and addictive...you'll want a couple more.

If it really is a good one, I sure hope it's still avail when you get there.
I've been know to offer an extra 50 or 100$ over asking price if it is what they say it is.

Hopefully everyone else is spending money on presents and can't buy that one out from under you.
I've even had guys call me and say someone else offered more than I did.
Got a few that way too.

[effort=results]

Looks good .nice tires and u could sell the right side cover for a crazy price. Amazing it has it. Keep your eye on seals on the swingarm . 85 had some issues and honda made revisions on later models. Thanks for your service

[three_wheelin45]

thanks for the input fellas, he says its been barn kept most of its life. said its only been used for ridding his kids around and hunting/riding the farm. lol I know how the Hondas handlebar reverse works as well. with the gear pattern. it also has a plastic tank he put on not to long ago. I will be giving him a call later on and getting the run down on the machine. I do a lot of hunting as to why I Want it, also something I can ride my nephew around on . my 200x dosent like to put around, its also in the process of being rebuilt. bout a year and a half ago I came to my sense and relized how my I had torn up my 200x. Wish I wouldn't have but young and dumb, well im still young but with a little more knowledge . I will keep this post updated with any extra information, id be heartbroken if he sold out from under me though!

[honda4h]

check for oil leaks around the oil bolt a have 2- 250big red's that have stripped threads. but i only payed 100 for one and 200 for the other it sucked finding out that after seeing oil on the floor and going to change the oil and the bolt just falls out. other then that all of the above is good advice to look out for

[tri again]

It's also always nice if the shifter is not loose on the splines (or welded).
They are such cool machines, they always worth fixing no matter what the problem is.

[three_wheelin45]

holy yes... a welded gear shifter is my biggest pet peeve. pisses me off, every one around my part is rednecks with a welding machine that think they can fix anything with a tack. didn't get to ride my 200x the first 3 months I had it because some goob tried to welder the shifter then put jb weld on it after it re broke. was a pain in a half to get it off!

[408Fairmont]

My big red has the shifter welded too, people lol


Looks like a nice trike though.

[dougspcs]

My big red has the shifter welded too, people lol


Looks like a nice trike though.

Those things always loosen with regular riding, once loose a good stomp and their stripped!

A 10mm wrench would have save all that!! I make is a regular part of my trike servicing to check and tighten them and none of trikes have their shifters welded or ever will!

[three_wheelin45]

yea he says hes rode it prolly 10 hours since he baught it. hes about 400lbs says it dosent haul him like he thought it would. Sunday morning we will know what im working with. Aint been home in 5 months, Just ready to hang out and ride

[three_wheelin45]

Picked it up, needs a new seat about it. Runs like a dream, I show up and he says "I haven't cranked it in a day or two let's see how it runs." He hits the button doesn't start. He said "well its a little cold let's choke it" he choked it and hit the button fired right up. The headlight bulb was burned out but I replaced it. Oil looks brand new. It's fully functional great bike. She's like a big Cadillac. I will post some pictures up later. I didn't touch a computer one time while I was home is to why I didn't post anything. Great buy though for sure and a great time I had at home.

[three_wheelin45]

idk how to flip the pictures but theres the ones I have of it. Have a video as well

[MojaveRider]

I recognize this trike, it was for sale in Waller for a while. Just how big was this guy? I'm over 350 and my Big Reds don't seem to have a problem...

How is the trunk? The ad said custom AL trunk, but I wasn't sure it would be any nicer than the OE plastic one.

[JasonB]

thats a damn good looking big red with those tires! i like it, nice find

[three_wheelin45]

its actually a stainless trunk and its actually realy nice and tons of room. Wish I could of snapped more pictures before I left. yea it was out of waller, the way it ran and drove I couldn't pass it up. Hes a pretty big boy, he said it had the power just bottomed out on lil stuff, guess he didn't know about adjusting the shocks? thanks for the compliment as well! I do like them tires also they grip very well, it just idles through puddles