I need some help

[Mr. Clean]

The XR500 parts are all Honda. Looks like the Nicholson parts are there and the rest of what you need is first gen 200x.

Not quite sure what the contraption on the bars is for. Vacuum lines hooked to the fork bleeders and to a gauge, maybe they wanted to be able to add preload and blow fork seals.

[Jwheeler]

Very cool score. As the other guys have posted, Manbearpig and Mr.Clean are the the guys to reach out to for answers on this trike.

[atctim]

Great bike and very cool story behind the bike. I'll be watching this rebuild thread. You have a great knowledgeable support team here on 3WW.

[Joseph Farrow]

Awesome Find!
Nick made several different versions of the frame. Your's appears to be the later style that used the 200x parts.
The early version used the ATC185-200s parts.
Again Awesome Find. Thanks for Posting and Welcome to the "500 Nick Club"!

Keep us posted on the progress. Get ready for the offerst to start coming in. lol

[DohcBikes]

Yes, be sure to obtain a Honda factory service manual for a 1979 xr500, so that you have the correct specs, maintenance and rebuild info for the engine.

[Mr. Clean]

Check under the frame where the foot pegs attach. This is a notorious spot for cracks in the frame. Also check the rear motor mount bolt holes, they tend to get oblong/worn out. The frame is chromoly so if you are going to weld, I would suggest it be with a TIG welder.

[yaegerb]

Hey guys I want to thank you all so much for your help. Sorry I am late on the pictures but here are some more. So to ease everyone's thoughts yes I am going to take special care of it and I do want to restore it. The motor does kick over with some amazing compression. I am worried about where to find info and parts on this being it is so rare. Are they all honda parts from this or that type of bike? One of my pictures shows a mileage thing that looks factory is it? You guys feel free to look at the pictures and I welcome any and all advice

So now for the story behind this machine. There were two brothers and one of them was jet boat engine mechanic for the Budweiser cigarette boat back in the 80's in California. He owned this trike. I can only draeam that he got it straight from Nick Nicklson in California. Well about a year ago he passed away and the other brother kept it. Well sadly the last brother passed a few weeks ago and my father in law who is a handy man was helping clean out the property and found this trike for free! we thought it was a 350X and I was stoked just to have a 350X so I bought it off my father in law for $100. If I can find any paper work linking the original owner to Nick I will let you guys know.

If you guys want anymore pictures let me know.

So my first step is find all the electronics for it like the coil and CDI. where should I look. Should I get parts from a xr500 dirt bike?

Thank you guys so much for all your helpAttachment 231563Attachment 231564Attachment 231565Attachment 231566Attachment 231567Attachment 231568

100 bucks...lol. Here's the good news. Nick is still around if you have to have the frame repaired. I would get to know him as well. From the pics, it looks like someone dropped a good penny on everything aftermarket for that bike back in the 80's....fork bleeders, tac, speedo. I bet at one time there was some $$$$ dumped into that. Get ready to bust out the checkbook for this restore. I am subscribed.

[Jmoozy27]

Man, I have been keeping my eyes open for an aftermarket frame. I've had a an xr5 motor sitting on my bench for almost a year. You got almost the whole pickle for a bill. Dude, you have been blessed. Nice swipe...

[fabiodriven]

Congratulations on the find! There is a starting procedure for these and it goes as follows;

Choke to your discretion depending on whether or not you require it.

Ignition switch off, gently find TDC then slowly bump the motor just past that.

Ignition switch on, kick with everything you've got. Using this method you're taking advantage of the rotational mass of the crank to bump the engine over. If you try to position the engine with the ignition on it can backfire. It happened to me once and luckily it just started the engine as I slowly bumped it past TDC, literally moved the kicker about an inch and it started! One of the strangest things I've ever seen. However, had it fired the other way I could have gone for a ride or broken something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Degoragon]

Incredible find man! that is definetly a sweet trike! Hopefully you post more pics in the future as you rebuild your "Nicky" 500!

[coolpool]

My question is, we're that style of rear tire very popular back in the day? I've never seen one before and now I've them twice, OP pic and magazine. My thoughts are it's the same machine, coincidence?

[RoscoW]

Coolpool, those tires are from Sand Tires Unlimited, they are still available . I have a set I have run on a 250R but they are old and in terrible shape. Fun tire in the Michigan sand with a nice comprimise between traction and sliding sideways, really nice if you end up on hardpack ground. I would guess they would excel in a desert environment where you have everything, hardpack , rocks, sand ……etc.

Ross..


http://www.sandtiresunlimited.com/sandtire1.html

[Keepah Rolln]

Nice score!! Take your time and restore it..

[scottwelder]

thank you everyone for reading and commenting. So the way I am explaining this ATC to other people that have never herd of it, is that it is a factory race ATC. Kinda like how now days Honda helps build a factory motocross race bike? Am I correct in explaining it that way?

Does anyone know how many of these were made or how to get into touch with Nick Nickelson? Does anyone know by chance what they are worth or what one sold for recently so I know how much to insure it for?

I have started looking over the frame and everything and there are no cracks seems to be in great shape. I wanted to see where I stood with the motor so I put fresh oil in it and proceeded to kick it over. Holly freaking crap this thing has compression. I sprayed a little bit of starting fluid (because I have the rust filled tank off right now) and I verified I have spark and I even went to a motorcycle junk yard here and put a better reading coil in (and it was not cracked like mine) but I cant even get one fire out of it. I do feel a slight bit of blow back coming out of the carb so my next step is to check the timing. I am wondering about the extent of engine work that is in this thing because even with blow back I have ridiculous compression and the compression release on the head has a plug in it? So I am wondering about valve and cam work. If you guys have any tips on this let me know.

I really appreciate everyone reading and subscribing to my thread I will posy frequent updates on how the restoration is going.

[Dirtweed]

Very nice score there. I learn something new here all the time. Look forward to the build.