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Thread: tri-z or 250r?

  1. #1
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    Sep 2005
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    tri-z or 250r?

    Good evening everyone. Well now that the money is starting to roll in i'm going to buy me a 2 stroke trike. What would be the better all around woods trike? I'm looking for either a tri-z or a 250r. I need something that has enough bottom end grunt to make up rocky, steep, washed out hills. But i'd also like enough top end for occasional drags at the sand pits and big feilds in my woods. I've been debating this for the last two months. Also, in our local wantad there are probably a good 5 250r's a week and maybe 1 or 2 tri-z's a month if your lucky. So i'm leaning more towards the 250r. thanks

    -Josh

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Hampton, Virginia, C.S.A.
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    how about get both if the money is rolling in lol well anyway ive seen tri-z's and 250r's in action and they are both crazy fast....id say the the 250r has an advantage...more parts are avalible and easy to find....and nothing is more reliable then a honda
    current rides
    82' ATC110
    85' ATC310R
    85' ATC250R
    85' ATC250ES
    16' brute force 750

  3. #3
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    Sep 2005
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    Kalkaska, MI
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    The TRI-Z is the only way to go. first the weight in lower for a better CG and second do you realy want to copy all those other 250RRRRR. once you TRI-Z it you woouldn't go back.....

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Aromas, CA
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    Get the Tri-z man. I go riding on trails I made on my property. There is a sandy washed out section I have, I can bog it down and the Tri-z's low end grunt will still pull it through the nastiest of ruts. I think it has a great powerband for hills.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
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    NY
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    i have both the 85 tri-z and an 85 250r if i had to chose i would pick my 86 350x. i love that bike better then the rest.it isnt the fastest but it has plenty of power. i have never had a problem with it the z blew up twice and the r i have only had for a few months. but if you are in the market for a 2 stroke i would go with the r. parts are easily found and if you dont get an 86 tri-z you only have the 5 speed. dont get me wrong i love my Z's and would probably sell the r before any of my Z's. but to give you an honest answer, i did. good luck in your quest lol

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by mike from long island
    i have both the 85 tri-z and an 85 250r if i had to chose i would pick my 86 350x. i love that bike better then the rest.it isnt the fastest but it has plenty of power. i have never had a problem with it the z blew up twice and the r i have only had for a few months. but if you are in the market for a 2 stroke i would go with the r. parts are easily found and if you dont get an 86 tri-z you only have the 5 speed. dont get me wrong i love my Z's and would probably sell the r before any of my Z's. but to give you an honest answer, i did. good luck in your quest lol

    This first sentence made me laugh.

    Great post. You gotta be careful of trike partisanship when asking for opinions like that. Most of the time people are just going to recommend whatever they own because nothing could ever be better for any reason than the one they have. Just human nature though I think.

    My two cents, if a 2-stroke is really what you want, you gotta look at the pros and cons of each. The R is definitely easier to get parts for and has decent aftermarket support. The 85-86 R has a good speed advantage over the 85 Z but not so much the 86 Z. Stock the Z has more low end and in that sense will be more trail friendly. The Z is an INCREDIBLY comfortable trike. The layout is excellent. The R is a little cramped in comparison but not enough to be a problem for most people. The R probably has the best suspension ever put on a trike and can be easily tuned to suit whatever your riding type/style is.

    Personally, if I could only have one 2-stroke trike, it would be an R. Fortunately I can own multiple trikes now. I have a '86 Z now that I'm very anxious to restore. Haven't ridden one in years.

    Good luck! Both are awesome trikes so I'm sure you'll love whichever one you end up with.

  7. #7
    Hornetpowerspor's Avatar
    Hornetpowerspor is offline At The Back Of The Pack Arm chair racerAt the back of the pack
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dammit!
    This first sentence made me laugh.

    Great post. You gotta be careful of trike partisanship when asking for opinions like that. Most of the time people are just going to recommend whatever they own because nothing could ever be better for any reason than the one they have. Just human nature though I think.

    My two cents, if a 2-stroke is really what you want, you gotta look at the pros and cons of each. The R is definitely easier to get parts for and has decent aftermarket support. The 85-86 R has a good speed advantage over the 85 Z but not so much the 86 Z. Stock the Z has more low end and in that sense will be more trail friendly. The Z is an INCREDIBLY comfortable trike. The layout is excellent. The R is a little cramped in comparison but not enough to be a problem for most people. The R probably has the best suspension ever put on a trike and can be easily tuned to suit whatever your riding type/style is.

    Personally, if I could only have one 2-stroke trike, it would be an R. Fortunately I can own multiple trikes now. I have a '86 Z now that I'm very anxious to restore. Haven't ridden one in years.

    Good luck! Both are awesome trikes so I'm sure you'll love whichever one you end up with.
    Well said!!!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Rancho Cucamonga, Ca
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    Due to being very reliable and lots of parts being available I would get the honda. For technical trail work though, I would also reccomend a 350x as Mike did. A 350 x is the ultimate trail bike.
    own:
    1986 250R- ported polished, carb mods, Esr atc-5 pipe and silencer

    1986 250R- mild porting, carb mods (Clean!)

    1985 350X- all stock (super clean!!)

    1985 350x- desert project in the works

    1986 250sx- Mostly stock

    1985 200x- (pretty clean mostly stock)

    1985 Yamaha tri zinger 60

  9. #9
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    Sep 2005
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    Massachusetts
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    Yeah I wouldn't mind having a nice big old four stroke. So maybe ill look around for a 350x as well.

  10. #10
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    I would also say 250R, just because you can always get just about anything for it.

  11. #11
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    Aug 2005
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    GA
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    The 250R really is the best 2-stroke 3 wheeler (ok the best 3 wheeler period) ever produced IMO. It simply does everything well. However, the Tri-Z would be the more friendly trail bike and is very controllable. For me, the mere fact that ATC250R parts are all over the place is reason enough to get it. The exception would be if I found an excellent '86 Tri-Z, those are quite fast and the coolest looking 3-wheeler EVER imo.
    '03 CR250R Pro Circuit Works pipe, Uni filter, etc

    Previous trikes: '85 ATC350X, '85 ATC250ES Big Red

  12. #12
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    Sep 2005
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    canoga park
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    350x hondas the way to go

  13. #13
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    May 2002
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    Southeastern Wisconsin
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    I keep hearing the parts excuse for not getting a Tri-Z but I've fixed up and sold 2 of them in the last 2 years and have had no problem getting parts. 86 Tri-Z is my vote, great suspension, great power and a comfortable ride. Also with the 86 you basically get the same forks as 250Rs. The The 350x is a great motor but not in the same park for suspension.
    '02 Honda 416ex - A seasoned blend of 11 herbs and spices
    '04 Honda Recon - The yard machine and snow plow
    '88 Honda CR250R - Another chapter in my torrid all terrain affair

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by OldSchoolin86
    I keep hearing the parts excuse for not getting a Tri-Z but I've fixed up and sold 2 of them in the last 2 years and have had no problem getting parts. 86 Tri-Z is my vote, great suspension, great power and a comfortable ride. Also with the 86 you basically get the same forks as 250Rs. The The 350x is a great motor but not in the same park for suspension.
    Is the '86 Tri-Z different in any way other than an extra gear in the gearbox? I mean, does it have better shocks or anything?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by RedRider_AK
    Is the '86 Tri-Z different in any way other than an extra gear in the gearbox? I mean, does it have better shocks or anything?
    Extra gear, bigger intake and 4mm bigger front forks just to point out the main things. Also they did change the swinger and linkage a tad bit too.
    '02 Honda 416ex - A seasoned blend of 11 herbs and spices
    '04 Honda Recon - The yard machine and snow plow
    '88 Honda CR250R - Another chapter in my torrid all terrain affair

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