The holy grail of Trike shootouts - ATV news R vs Z vs T3.

[Wickedfinger]

Denn mailed me this photocopy of an original ATV News shootout between the '86 R, Z, T3 - I think everybody should make their own conclusions as to whats top dog. I don't have a good scanner so I used my Canon A40 camera to transfer and alot of LView Pro2 editing to make the article legible. Sorry for the so so quality.

[CHAINSAW]

why didnt you just post a link to the ones that have been on the net forever? This is old news

[Darius1502]

Chainsaw,

I have not ever seen an ATV News Shootout on the web. I have seen the 3 & 4 wheel action shootout though.

Wickedfinger...thanks so much for the hard work. You did a great job and am sure I can speak for the whole board in saying, "thank you"!!

[ATC crazy]

Thats awesome Wicked...

250R=87.5mph...WOW :shock:

[Darius1502]

Its actually 67 mph...I have a hard copy of the article. Still very very fast!

[Wickedfinger]

Hey CHAINSAW .... why don't you post a link to this article if you think its on the web somewhere ......

[KASEY]

compression is horsepower!!!!!

kawasaki 9.2 to1
honda 8.0 to1
yamaha 7.7 to1

if they were all 9.2 with the same carb i wonder how close they would be??

[Wickedfinger]

.... I thought the article brought up a good point that I never thought about before - How different the bores and strokes were on the three individual motors. All 250ccs, yet its how they displace that number that helped give the engines their different characteristics.

[Darius1502]

Also interesting is how the order in ATV News was:

1) Tri Z
2) ATC 250R
3) Tecate 3


But in Dirt Wheels the order was:

1) ATC 250R
2) Tecate 3
3) Tri Z

If you look at the detail of the ATV New test and the track times you can see they did a quality test. Of the shootouts I have seen in Dirt Wheels alot them were done in Glamis. I am sure at the dunes the Tecate feels much faster, however on the track the Tri Z still had fastest times (of all 3) according to the test.

I think you can't go wrong with any. It goes to show you how good three wheelers were getting in 86'. There was not clear cut winner all were equal quality machines. Its a shame history turned out as it did.

[Jeb]

Well, I'm glad the Z won...

But you've got to wonder about the people who wrote an article that claims the 85 Tecate had better front forks than the 86! :shock: Also, they CLAIM that the 86 Tecate was almost a step backwards over the 85! Unbelievable! There is no comparison. I say this as an owner & rider of 84/85 & 86 KXTs. In the Immortal words of Dirt Bike Magazine, August 86 "It's [the 1986 Tecate] lower, faster and handles so well, it makes it year-old brother look like motorized wagon by comparison." From experience, I agree. I was very dissappointed by their thoughts on the Tecate. I almost get the impression they were scared of it. It had tons of good info and I thought the article was well done overall. Very enjoyable reading indeed. Cheers to the Z!

[TimSr]

This is why I start so many of my posts with "I dont much care what the magazines say, because in the real world...." And Im sorry but Dirt Wheels is biased towards Honda that they could have used the 110, and theyd still swear it was the clear winner. They are all great trikes, NONE of them are slow, and there are a lot more standards by which to judge one, than simply asking "whats the top speed?". They all have their strengths. They all have their weakensses (in comparison to each other). If a person can pick out which one is best suited for a specific situation, rather than simply proclaiming one of them "the best", then I can respect that they know what they are talking about instead of being someone who just reads too much and rides too little.

[Curtis-Tecate3]

Jeb, I didnt want to chime in as I am obviously a Tecate guy but I also disagree with the comparison posted here. If what they reported is true then there was something wrong with the Tecate that they tested. Take your hands off of the bars at 10 mph and the bars dance back & forth? Headshake and a Giant tank slapper that almost sent their supposed "Pro rider" off the track at the end of the straight. C'Mon guys. I do agree with the assesment on the suspension with the forks being soft and the swingarm short, at least for my weight... But some of the other stuff just doesnt sound correct like the front brakes etc.

Curtis.

[250R4Ever]

notice on all the speeds it says THEORETICAL speed at redline which means planned or worked out in the mind, NOT from experience. :!: :!: :!:

[Tecate performance]

its funny to read different magazines that test the same bikes, in this case the 86 top guns, and see how their comments about some bikes are totally different. it still happens to this day between magazines. i guess it depends on the test riders preferences and how well the test bikes are prepped going into it by the factory. regardless the honda comes out on top in either magazines, which it deserves. but the comments on the 86 tecate's forks sound like they didn't have enough oil in them or equal oil heights.

[Wickedfinger]

... again guys, I prefaced this with "I DIDN'T" post this to start any debates .... I simply said make your own conclusions. All I wanted to do was post an old magazine article that I found really interesting. The only real validity that I would give to any magazine shoot-out is the fact that most of the time they use a panel of riders, not just one, to come up with their results. Then again, usually only one guy writes the article - which can lead to bias I guess. Oh and Tim, come on, the articles proclamation that the Z is the overall winner had to put just a little smile on your face - I thought you would get the biggest kick of them all over it. 8)