Eddie Sanders RM250 powered three wheeler

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I do not know a lot of details about this bike beyond that it had the rocket fast 1982 RM250 motor and i believe the chassis started out life as a Nickolson 1982 ATC250R frame but you can see a alloy swimgarm and the lower frame rails are nothing like a Nickolson so its been heavily modded by Eddie if indeed it is a Nicksolson frame and not scratch built.

The bike was super fast and Eddie got some great results with it against Team Honda and the other fast guys of the day.

Staging for a Pomona Fairgrounds Mickey Thompson in 83, George is in white and Eddie is in yellow..random Honda rider is slack jawed looking at what he is expected to race against.



The start of the 250 pro main at the Watsonville Offroad Nationals in 1983. Team Honda's Stevie Wright is #22 and he has Dean Sundahl right behind him, George is just behind Eddie and you can see Mickey Dunlop's blue #19 helmet just behind George...and yes Mickey raced his Powroll 200x against the 250s and did very respectable.



Eddie leading George, Chris white on the Tecate and i believe behind Chris is Honda's Marty Hart.



These are the only photos i have of Eddie's RM250 up close but you can see him on it in many of the picture of big races from 1982 and 83 that ill post if you look closely.

I cant answer a lot of questions about the bike but feel free to add or comment.

[fabiodriven]

There was a thread about this bike a few years ago. I can't remember for certain but I don't think we got nearly as much history on the bike. Great job again!

[onformula1]

John, I think your dead on.

It looks like a Nickolson 1982 ATC250R frame with a few mods, you can see in these pictures how much wider the engine cradle is compared to the skinny RM250 engine.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Here are a few shots of George's 1982 Nickolson 250r frame in comparison.





If you notice in the first photo i posted up top those look like Franks triple clamps on Eddie's bike.

[onformula1]

I always thought the swing arm looked a little long for the 1982 ATC era for MX/Flat track. The rake is kicked out with the long forks.

[onformula1]

Here are a few shots of George's 1982 Nickolson 250r frame in comparison.





If you notice in the first photo i posted up top those look like Franks triple clamps on Eddie's bike.

You are correct on the triple's

[El Camexican]

You guys are like the Encyclopedia Tritannica. Please don't stop! Waiting for info on any Husky trikes and possibly the KTM with funky front suspension that was posted on here a few years back. Thanks!

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

@El Camexican - You wish is granted, check out the my Franks KTM thread for pics of the UDX fork KTM 250 or the "chopped Honda" as some people called it.

[El Camexican]

@El Camexican - You wish is granted, check out the my Franks KTM thread for pics of the UDX fork KTM 250 or the "chopped Honda" as some people called it.

Great photos, but that's not the one I'm thinking of. There was an action photo posted that had a trike which I believe was a KTM and it had what I can only describe as a front wheel on a short swing-arm with a coil shock mounted on the right side (maybe there was another on the left?) Does that sound like something you recall seeing in your epoch?

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I think i know what you mean, was it something like this?


If so i know in the really early days guys used stuff like that on ATC110s and 185s hopped up for racing but it never really caught at the pro level, least here on the west coast and i do not know of Kelvin Franks making a bike with that setup but he did do tons of one off stuff so he very well might of, perhaps on a special order.

[El Camexican]

I think i know what you mean, was it something like this?


If so i know in the really early days guys used stuff like that on ATC110s and 185s hopped up for racing but it never really caught at the pro level, least here on the west coast and i do not know of Kelvin Franks making a bike with that setup but he did do tons of one off stuff so he very well might of, perhaps on a special order.

Yes, like that, but not as clean looking and much smaller. I believe the trike was white. No need to keep looking, if I ever run into it again I'll post it, thank you!

[onformula1]

You maybe thinking about the leading link forks-
The Greeves Challenger made them famous in the 60's, my father loved them at that time.

leading link forks are still used on Sidecar racing, they are three wheelers, cousins I guess.

Italian suspension designer Valentino Ribi designed the "RIBI frontend" Roger Decoster loved that set-up and after his last 500GP race he retired and moved to the US and took over as Team Manager for Team Honda MX/SX he swayed Honda to buy the rights to the design and Showa built several versions with great success but they were deemed too expensive to mass produce and Honda didn't want their factory bikes using a frontend that was so different that a production bike. (Hard sell) The main idea was to have a front end that didn't change the wheelbase under compression and dive during braking.

I have never seen a set of RIBI's on a ATC, but I would like too. I have seen leading link forks on some Honda ATC's mostly 90's but I don't remember the manufacturers. (I think there were a few)

[atc007]

Pretty sure you're thinking of the Veronica beach race El. They had a lot more of that type stuff over seas.I should start another thread,but,,,John, just curious,,, did you race and control your bikes with the footpegs? You'll know exactly what I mean if you did.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

@atc007 - I think i know what you mean and no i more controlled the bike with my positioning on the seat since i came from a background of flat track and TT racing. Took me a few years of racing motocross bikes to unlearn that style and start using my knees and the feet to control the bike when i switched to dirt bikes.

[Joseph Farrow]

I know the bike you are talking about El Camexican. I think it was at the Veronica Beach Race. I remember seeing it in 3Wheeling magazine back in the day. It was a KTM and it did have that type of front suspension.

Here is where it all began. LOL

Dickson Design & Development (3D) Springer


John many thanks again for sharing. It really means a lot to see early ATC racing history from your perspective.