Man im so glad im a boomer got to experience these ATC, XR's, Toyota straight axles 4x4's in real time. At 64 I still ride an ATC, XR600 (When I can start it )and have 2 Landcruisers.
I'm right there with you, we had lots of Dunes here places to ride in North Florida. My first 4 x 4 truck was a 1981 Toyota straight axle what's 36 in Super Swampers on it call my dad bought it for me in 1985. The bed of that truck scene my 1984 250R air cooled, then 1986 250R and also 1986 350X that I picked up practically brand new with a blown engine. A guy had bought the 350X brand new had it for 2 weeks drove it into a lake hydrolocked it literally broke the camshaft, I picked that bike up for $400 we sent the cylinder head off to power roll took 3 months😂 back then you didn't have internet everything was in a magazine and phone call when we got done with that 350 exit was fast! those sure were good days ... now I have a 2008 XR650L, 2013 Jeep yes with straight axle
@@randymagnum143 why would you put a boat anchor under the hood, with lock differentials 36 Super Swampers the 22R motor did just fine we had a famous mud hole here in Jacksonville called the peanut butter hole I've done circles around Chevrolets. 22R🏆
My buddy had one, bought it used. Very first time he jumped in it we were in a gravel parking lot in front of all our friends. He revvs the piss out of it and dropped the clutch. Well it hit the powerband and spit every rock out from under the tires, then immediately hooked up on the soft ground underneath and did a complete backflip and tossed him 10 feet off the back. Luckily it stalled out when it flipped upside down. We laughed so hard and Luckily it only scraped up the handlebars
I spent many wonderful winters in Chicago riding a 200x and a 250 Odyssey. I even got a newspaper article about doing a donut around every single tree in our local park. Good times!
Zündapp would like a word with you about the history of offroad three wheeled vehicles. As well as their presence in the 1930s (also BMW), after WW2 they appeared as the Dnepr and the Ural, and Urals are still in production, with CV joints on the back axle these days. The three wheeled ATV is just a combination in permanent form with symmetrical layout, superior to a combination in some ways, inferior in others. Before 4 wheel ATVs, Welsh hill farmers used to use trials combos, with the sidecar able to carry the sheepdogs or hay bales. The weaknesses of the three wheel ATV are the triple track making rock avoidance harder, and the limited tilt angle. The combo has two tracks, but of course completely different tilt angles in the different directions.
back in the early 70s, after riding flat track for a number of years I got on my first 3 wheeler. All though I wasn't going very fast by two wheeler standards I went into a turn and the thing started to tip over. Being the motorcycle rider that I was I put my foot down, bad idea! The back wheel ran up my right leg and pinned me down and there I stayed. After squirming around a while my friends showed up and lifted it off of me and I haven't ridden one since. I'm not really afraid of them I just like motorcycle better.
back in the late '60s and early '70s there was so many dangerous things out there. 72 I flipped a 24 horsepower Alouette snowmobile three times sliding it on ice till the ice ended and I was sideways. I ended up racing 2-stroke go karts 2 stroke Kawasaki 500 triples and so many other dangerous things. but I'm still here LOL
I still have my 86 250r that I got brand new and yes they were (are) very fast and had tons of power , I had a few times when I'd be in 3rd gear and punch it and it would instantly flip right over , you definitely had to learn how to ride it and give it some respect !! I'm so glad I got to ride mine when I was young and every once in a while I'll get it out and ride it around , I'm 58 now so I don't go full bore on it , these days it would take to long to heal up lol, I enjoyed watching this video , I also have my 1979 rm125 that was a screamer back then too , that's also been alot of fun , both of them warped me on the ground several times , but hey , if ya wanna play hard sometimes ya gotta pay lol
I would LOVE to have a 350X. I spent a good amount of time in the seventies blasting around on ATC 70s and 90s. In the eighties, I bought a 185S. Had an absolute ball with that bike. Then I got to ride my Brother's 350X out on the Oregon sand dunes. Holy cow, what a torque-monster that thing was compared to my puny 185! Spent a whole weekend chasing my Brother and his buddy (who were both on 250Rs) up and down the dunes and beaches. I thought the 350 was pretty fast in it's own right...but it was a garden tractor compared to the 250Rs! Boy, I miss those days....
I was a Honda technician for over 30 years, starting in the mid 1970's. It was a wonderful time to be alive and experience the technical advancements that rolled out every year. I still play at age 64 on my Honda CRF 100 on a track behind my shop. Sometimes old friend's show up, and we have what I like to call the denture nationals.
Yup, they were fast and fun. I had a 1985 250R and rode in the dunes in Butter Cup east of El Centro in the years when it was like the wild west. The hill to climb was called Oldsmobile hill; for some reason.
My family went to Buttercup every Easter from the time I was 7 until I was 14 (1982-1989). I have pictures of me riding a Honda ATC 110 at the sand dunes in 1982. I remember going to competition hill and at night they would burn Volkswagen engine blocks because they are magnesium I guess. It would light up the whole sand dune with a bright white light! There was so many 3-wheelers, dirt bikes, sand rails and Jeeps with giant paddle tires. It was definitely a spectacle that I will never forget! Oh, the good ol' days!
Back around 1981 I raced my GSX750ET in New Zealand. At that time the New Zealand Honda distributor Blue Wing Honda had a race team and for fun they converted 2 ATC bikes. One had the old CB400 four cylinder engine transplanted and the other had the early single cam CB750 4 cylinder engine in it. watching these pit bikes being ridden up and down the pit lane was a hoot!
My neighbor had one. I think a pro link one. That thing flew. I knew it was the kind of fast that would always be fast. This was in the mid 90’s. Before all the crazy quads and side by sides we have now. He was a skinny little farm kid and that Honda three wheeler was faster than any bike we ever had. Edit- wasn’t there a kit you could put on to make it a quad?
Yeah there was a kit. There were multiple kits. I recall as a teen in the 80's having a copy of Dirt Wheels mag that showed 3 kits, one for the Honda, one for the Yammies and another for the Kawasakis to convert from 3 wheeler to 4 wheeler.
We had everything from a 50? Or maybe a 70 to a 90, 110 and a 185. Then a few quads, one that I still have. My buddy at a 250R. He could ride that on two wheels full blast. Bit him one day when he hit a rock or rut or something with one wheel. He was picking gravel out of his skin for a while. We flipped, rolled and tumbled on them without so much as a scar to show for it. We lived out in the country of western North Dakota, so there was no limit to the areas to ride. Never rode the 250R, but that 185 was the workhorse that every farm needed. We pulled stuff that was delegated to the garden tractor originally, just a lot faster.
Grew up with an 85' 200X ATC, it was a blast. Naturally a few of us including myself got hurt on it a few times but it was a blast. Glad it was part of my upbringing!
I been riding since '73 and these machines were dangerous. I flipped one going up a hill. I went to the hospital just some bruises. Fun times I must say.
A major early advertisement for the Honda ATC was in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever when James Bond went to an Area 51 like place near Las Vegas, went through a hangar where they were fakimg the moon landing stole a moon buggy, was chased by security on ATCs and stole one to eacape.
As little kids in the 70’s, we had really cool neighbors, he and his wife had no kids but their nephew would stay with them during the summer and they had an ATC90 first generation with the ballon tires. We road that thing all summer back when people weren’t sue happy. We had 2 1963 honda trail 55’s that also that got road hard all day. I’m now 60 and my brother is 55 and we both have Yamaha YXZ 1000’s. Still living like those kids we once were.
I had a customer bring in a Yamaha Tri-Moto 350 three wheeler once for a tune up. Talk about a wheelie pulling beast. Best suspension on a three wheeler I've ever rode. I also used to have and old Honda ATC with the solid front fork, except it had a 550-4 engine. Another wheelie machine.
Also, I disagree on your thumb throttle point. I don't think they are any more "exhausting" than a twist. It's just what you're used to. Thumb throttle works better on machines that require a lot of turning lock on the handlebars. Don't need that on dirtbikes, as lean takes care of most of the turning. On quads/three-wheelers, tight turns made it difficult to use a twist in a smooth and consistent way.
A few of my friends are honda trike cult members. Ive rode one of their 250s, way better than i expected. Pulled pretty hard and took the bumps quite well. It added up for me.
Well I started my Motorcycle Apprenticeship in 1980’s in my local Honda Shop and we sold a lot of ATC’s to farmers about the district in New Zealand and the most we sold in one week was 15 new ATC250 farm trike models. We also sold a few ATC 250 R models over the years approximately two per year and I got to ride them a lot. I also rebuilt one of the very first ATC90’s sold in New Zealand, with fibreglass mudguards the original colour was orange, and a steel pressed frame. We all felt the ATC185 was the ideal size. I do remember seeing paperwork for a 1987 ATC 250 R model but can’t remember if any came to NZ because of the stupid USA ban on Trikes. Now more people are killed and seriously injured riding fourwheelers as they think they are safe! But Trikes just like three legged barstools are far safer and more stable and uneven ground. Keep up the great videos
I bought one new in 81 for $1700. Fast, but had a real overheating problem in the desert around Palm Springs. The fat front tire blocked air from cooling the engine. The partial solution was to drill a bunch of 2" holes in the front fender. Topped out at about 70 mph and climbed sand dunes like nobody's business. These also had a problem with the rear axles bending.
Not only do I remember those, I used to sell those. Absolutely deadly. Unride-able for most people. Sold quite well, as I recall. But zero repeat customers.
I really enjoyed the video, thank you! Growing up from the age of 7 I started riding 3-wheelers. Honda ATC 110, 185S, 200S, 200X, 250SX, 250R and the 350X. I've ridden all of them! I put the most miles on the 200X and it was also the last 3-wheeler I'll ever ride. I was riding it on May 21st 2000 and I blacked out from dehydration while I was going 40-50 MPH. When I blacked out I veered off the trail and hit a tree head on! The front tire hit the trunk and then my head hit the trunk and it broke 4 vertebrae in my neck, one of which pinched my spinal cord leaving me paralyzed from the chest down. I also broke 3 ribs on my left side and punctured my lung in 3 places. Yeah, that was a rough day! And it's been a rough going on 25 years of quadriplegia. I would climb on any of my 3-wheelers and go for a ride right now if I could! I really hate when people say "those things were so dangerous!" You just have to know how to ride them. Oh, and don't let yourself get dehydrated! LOL! Thanks again for the great video!
Wow, thanks for sharing and you seem like your love of life wasn't damaged at all, I can take a lesson from you good sir, thanks for showing me how to be a real stand up guy in this shitty world, correction, sometimes shitty world, salute
My wife and I still have an 85 and an 86 250R. Both have FMF pipes, Boysen reeds, and CR 250 head gaskets. A little more go for something that was already pretty fast. Super freakin’ fun.
We're extremely fortunate to have an atv racing scene here in the pacific northwest that hosts a 3 wheeler class. I race a highly modified 84 200x. With the alleged 87 250r (if someone knows more than I do please chime in) they were virtually unchanged from the 86 model, except for the plastics, graphics, and tires. They began production and even made it to one of hondas distribution warehouses when the ban hit. They were all disassembled and frames up and scrapped with supervision from the cpsc. The only parts that have ever been confirmed to have been for an 87 are some engine cases and a set of factory white plastics. All parts that were identical to previous years, forks, swingarms, shocks, were saved and sold.
I have a 2nd gen 83 250r and it’s a blast. Would love to have a 3rd gen but never found a deal on one and now they have skyrocketed in value. Also have a 200x, 250sx, Tri-Zinger and a atc70 I’m currently building. Almost had a free 350x 10yrs ago but it got snatched out from under me. Trikes are so much more fun to ride than quads but you have to respect them and learn the body English necessary to ride competently.
My neighbor had a 83 I believe boy we had some fun with that thing. We are from south Florida we used to play in the dirt and mud on the edge of the Everglades
My uncle had the 250R, '82 I think. That bike really needed the peg cage setup that quads use. The back of my leg can attest too that fact. The bike did rip.
Any thing worth doing, especially at a high level, can have risks. Riding, driving, sports, even hobbies will have health or even other risks. Risk comes with accomplishment inherently in most cases, as far as I can tell. Messing with new, boundry-pushing tech isn't for a child anyway unless along with a parent maybe.
The best ad was the center fold that had a silhouette of the bike and the caption "Wanna see what the other guys want to build in 1986?". Then you opened it up to read "The 1985 Honda ATC250R". Look up a picture of the '86 Kawasaki and '86 Yamaha.
Lifelong cyclist, drz400 all winter, random sport bike all summer at 52 years young. I guess this brought back a repressed memory, kid up the street had no supervision one weekend and two atvs, one a two speed moped and the other, a red 3 Wheeler. Was doing fine untill on a very slight turn on neighborhood paved roads, that one back wheel had a mind of its own. I got to know that moped pretty good that weekend
Great video. I never got the chance to ride a three wheeler but when those 250s came out I wanted to so bad. That 85 was amazing, plus it looked just like the other Honda CRs which that year might have been some of the best looking dirt bikes ever made.
Before the bans,there were hire businesses here,NZ, that let you race on tracks,one of the best was petone forshore,Wellington, gravel,jumps burns,they had governors on them,we soon got round that by taking our own screw drivers,alot of fun had by all.
“Forget about the banshee” Excuse me sir, have you ridden a banshee? Those things are mental, like coming from a half decent rider that owns a race motored drz 50+hp and a 2nd gen superduke, banshees are no joke.
Can remember being up in the old coal mines Poconos Pennsylvania, on a blaster, buddy had a creampuff 400ex when they first came out. We were literally lost looking for a road from atop a mountain of shale. Just then I shit you not a 12 year old boy comes up on a tricked out banshee, showed us where the town was, and how to ride a quad in coal County
The last of the air cooled 250cc Honda engines were actually pretty wicked. With some simple tuning mods, they could be plenty dangerous. Most of my buddies at the time, wanted no part of it. I was the only one that continued riding one, long after others bowed out from fear. Water cooling is great if you can keep it in the system. Air cooled set ups are more reliable.
Honda didn't like putting out many 2 strokes at that time. That's why my father bought 2 of those 250's we had for 20yrs to use as work horses and have so much fun in the snow and mud. We had to rebuild the top ends many times. And the carbs were high maintenance as they aged. But I never had so much fun on any quad or dirtbike. The CR500 and XR500 were just pure insane and scared me to death as a kid.
I still live in those good old days, i drive an '85 k1500 GMC short bed and always have a big red 200 in the back when im going to have some fun, the only thing new i rock is a glock and knights armament;)
I've owned three of them at different times, amongst other 2, 3, and 4-wheeled bikes. The first was an 83' air cooled one. It was alright, still fast. But the other two were an 85', and an 86'. The two later ones were the most fun bikes I think I've ever owned. Or ridden for that matter. I would love to have another one that's in decent shape. For reference I've owned and ridden quite a few race designed two strokes (motorcycles and ATV's) that were quicker, but there weren't any that were as fun to ride fast !
I had a ATC 250R I put a lot of money in speed parts, I was forced to bail off at 70 mph on a frozen lake one time, I slid for over a quarter mile, as soon as i realized I wasn't going to get hurt, it was the most enjoyable accident I ever been in, witness who heard me laughing thought I was crazy🤪
G'day from Australia, hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day, Sadly in the early 1980s l lost a very good friend in a three wheeler roll over and l have kept away from them ever since, even the four wheeler have taken many lives in Australia, roll over protection is a must have, cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
Late 80's to 90's I was a dirt bike guy, (XR250R) so I never owned one of these three wheelers. A high school confederate got one of these things for himself though; an '86, I think. All of my friends bought either three or four-wheelers with the exception of one 200 FatCat. In general we raised all sorts of hell. At the time, I thought the CR250r should have been a CR500r instead. I don't think that anymore.
Back in the early 80s I knew someone who had a Honda three-wheeler. I was used to riding motorcycles for years even then. But when he let me try to ride it one day, I could not get that three-wheeler to steer where I wanted it to go and that guy would not tell me the secret, he was too busy laughing at me. So I got on my '81 Suzuki GS1100E and left. Ha Ha!! There must be some secret for steering those. I only tried for a few minutes, should have been more persistent but I kind of didn't care much at the same time.
Man I hope to ride one again someday. The more time moves on, the more three wheelers rot away until they can't be saved. So stupid they were outlawed when all you need to do is learn to weight shift. Ironic that the land of the free lets their government ban so much.
Yup yup i had 86 Cr250 trike awesome fun 🇦🇺... felt better going sideways than it did going forward ... great video man ❤🙏 as a ride up you have to be the swinger as if on a sidecar and never back off similar to sprint cars when they doughnut them 360 in order to stay on the wheels ... they will Highside you to the moon otherwise😮
I raced them for Bennett Honda NSW Australia. We had speedway races ( flat track) & Moto Cross. The 250R was a great machine. But we were supplied a 450 R for a few of us to factory race🤦♂️🤣😳. You want loose try that one out 🤣 seriously crazy bike. They also produced a 4 stroke racer based on the XR 200. That bike was a great machine.
They were fun, I rode them a lot, but for me, they never beat a good 2-smoke dirt bike. They got banned because some politicians saw a chance to get on TV and sound "concerned for the children". Were they dangerous, you bet, that's why you wear a helmet and don't drive like an idiot. You don't hand a machine gun to a five-year-old. Great video!
I could ride an infinite wheel on my 85, through all six gears as a 14 year old. I sold it for $600 in 89. 😂 Hindsight is always 20/20 but $600 was a lot of $ to put towards a car at the time.
In my day i had 2 atc 250r and one atv 250r and i could take the atc 250r more places you cant think of going on the atv 250r and not to long ago i had a 350x atc that was mod out and it was a boss off road
I remember when they got outlawed, to be honest I dint disagree, flat out dangerous man, the 85 250R is/ was a rocket...know a guy that has one show room condition and no one can ride it to its potential....no one...
i feel i just watched a video about three wheelers and remember commenting it had a 'bart vibe'... did you do as Honda's competitor did in the past an buy out the rights to a very similar video? hehhehe... don't sweat it, i'm a bart , too.
I never understood why nobody built an offroad 3 wheeler with two wheels at the front and one wheel at the back. Would be more stable than 2 wheels at the back, and lighter than a 4 wheeler. Could even have 3 wheel traction. Much like a canam but smaller and offroad oriented.
MY brother lost his best friend to a 4 wheeler into a tree accident. Stopping on the scene has my brother giving CPR into a chest of broken ribs & mush. But here's the truth ; We were consenting adults, period. Driving recklessly anywhere can take your life & we never needed the government to dictate a helmet or seatbelts in the car. Let us ride & stop w/ all the BS rules, let us live/die in our own ways. Yes these were dangerous but so are many things...... peace
I still have a 200x ,a 250R,& a 350x and still ride them like I stole them and I'm 68 years old !
You're a lucky one, that's the spirit!
Gray hair don't care. 😊
👌 awesome. Keep riding brother.
Sweet!
The point is go fast and lean....it's not a 4 wheeler it's not a dirtbike....it's a sternum snaping Hella fun toy lol
Man im so glad im a boomer got to experience these ATC, XR's, Toyota straight axles 4x4's in real time. At 64 I still ride an ATC, XR600 (When I can start it )and have 2 Landcruisers.
Time is running out 😬
@@Group_Anonymous Enjoy it while you can!
I'm right there with you, we had lots of Dunes here places to ride in North Florida. My first 4 x 4 truck was a 1981 Toyota straight axle what's 36 in Super Swampers on it call my dad bought it for me in 1985. The bed of that truck scene my 1984 250R air cooled, then 1986 250R and also 1986 350X that I picked up practically brand new with a blown engine. A guy had bought the 350X brand new had it for 2 weeks drove it into a lake hydrolocked it literally broke the camshaft, I picked that bike up for $400 we sent the cylinder head off to power roll took 3 months😂 back then you didn't have internet everything was in a magazine and phone call when we got done with that 350 exit was fast! those sure were good days ... now I have a 2008 XR650L, 2013 Jeep yes with straight axle
Every Toyota can be improved with a small block Chevy.
@@randymagnum143 why would you put a boat anchor under the hood, with lock differentials 36 Super Swampers the 22R motor did just fine we had a famous mud hole here in Jacksonville called the peanut butter hole I've done circles around Chevrolets. 22R🏆
My buddy had one, bought it used. Very first time he jumped in it we were in a gravel parking lot in front of all our friends. He revvs the piss out of it and dropped the clutch. Well it hit the powerband and spit every rock out from under the tires, then immediately hooked up on the soft ground underneath and did a complete backflip and tossed him 10 feet off the back. Luckily it stalled out when it flipped upside down. We laughed so hard and Luckily it only scraped up the handlebars
Had a 350X in the late 80's Loved it.
I spent many wonderful winters in Chicago riding a 200x and a 250 Odyssey. I even got a newspaper article about doing a donut around every single tree in our local park. Good times!
😂😂 👊 🇬🇧
Zündapp would like a word with you about the history of offroad three wheeled vehicles. As well as their presence in the 1930s (also BMW), after WW2 they appeared as the Dnepr and the Ural, and Urals are still in production, with CV joints on the back axle these days.
The three wheeled ATV is just a combination in permanent form with symmetrical layout, superior to a combination in some ways, inferior in others. Before 4 wheel ATVs, Welsh hill farmers used to use trials combos, with the sidecar able to carry the sheepdogs or hay bales.
The weaknesses of the three wheel ATV are the triple track making rock avoidance harder, and the limited tilt angle. The combo has two tracks, but of course completely different tilt angles in the different directions.
If you changed the car for a platform you had a very handy utility vehicle.
back in the early 70s, after riding flat track for a number of years I got on my first 3 wheeler. All though I wasn't going very fast by two wheeler standards I went into a turn and the thing started to tip over. Being the motorcycle rider that I was I put my foot down, bad idea! The back wheel ran up my right leg and pinned me down and there I stayed. After squirming around a while my friends showed up and lifted it off of me and I haven't ridden one since. I'm not really afraid of them I just like motorcycle better.
Oh shit the put your feet down phenomenon, yeah those nets saved a lot of us dirt bikes kids a lot of hospital time
back in the late '60s and early '70s there was so many dangerous things out there. 72 I flipped a 24 horsepower Alouette snowmobile three times sliding it on ice till the ice ended and I was sideways. I ended up racing 2-stroke go karts 2 stroke Kawasaki 500 triples and so many other dangerous things. but I'm still here LOL
No more dangerous than the average college student having a conversation via text message while walking in an urban environment.
Lol
Or doing anything at all, it amazing we made it out gentlemen, here's to us.....lol
Ok old man
INSANE indeed. I think anyone who has ridden one will agree.
My first crash as a 10 year kid on a rental Honda in France on holliday, still proud
I still have my 86 250r that I got brand new and yes they were (are) very fast and had tons of power , I had a few times when I'd be in 3rd gear and punch it and it would instantly flip right over , you definitely had to learn how to ride it and give it some respect !! I'm so glad I got to ride mine when I was young and every once in a while I'll get it out and ride it around , I'm 58 now so I don't go full bore on it , these days it would take to long to heal up lol, I enjoyed watching this video , I also have my 1979 rm125 that was a screamer back then too , that's also been alot of fun , both of them warped me on the ground several times , but hey , if ya wanna play hard sometimes ya gotta pay lol
I would LOVE to have a 350X. I spent a good amount of time in the seventies blasting around on ATC 70s and 90s. In the eighties, I bought a 185S. Had an absolute ball with that bike. Then I got to ride my Brother's 350X out on the Oregon sand dunes. Holy cow, what a torque-monster that thing was compared to my puny 185! Spent a whole weekend chasing my Brother and his buddy (who were both on 250Rs) up and down the dunes and beaches. I thought the 350 was pretty fast in it's own right...but it was a garden tractor compared to the 250Rs! Boy, I miss those days....
I was a Honda technician for over 30 years, starting in the mid 1970's. It was a wonderful time to be alive and experience the technical advancements that rolled out every year.
I still play at age 64 on my Honda CRF 100 on a track behind my shop. Sometimes old friend's show up, and we have what I like to call the denture nationals.
My buddy had one in the 80's and rode the crap out of it and wheelies was a must every time he got on it!
I have a 82 ATC 250R It has a 300 kit on it and still scares me!!
Yup, they were fast and fun. I had a 1985 250R and rode in the dunes in Butter Cup east of El Centro in the years when it was like the wild west. The hill to climb was called Oldsmobile hill; for some reason.
My family went to Buttercup every Easter from the time I was 7 until I was 14 (1982-1989). I have pictures of me riding a Honda ATC 110 at the sand dunes in 1982. I remember going to competition hill and at night they would burn Volkswagen engine blocks because they are magnesium I guess. It would light up the whole sand dune with a bright white light! There was so many 3-wheelers, dirt bikes, sand rails and Jeeps with giant paddle tires. It was definitely a spectacle that I will never forget! Oh, the good ol' days!
we had a big red on our dairy back in the day and I lusted after one of the ATC250R's
We also had a big red. I rode a buddies 250r and was happy to go back to that big red. That 250 powerband scared me too much.
Back around 1981 I raced my GSX750ET in New Zealand. At that time the New Zealand Honda distributor Blue Wing Honda had a race team and for fun they converted 2 ATC bikes. One had the old CB400 four cylinder engine transplanted and the other had the early single cam CB750 4 cylinder engine in it. watching these pit bikes being ridden up and down the pit lane was a hoot!
My neighbor had one. I think a pro link one. That thing flew. I knew it was the kind of fast that would always be fast. This was in the mid 90’s. Before all the crazy quads and side by sides we have now. He was a skinny little farm kid and that Honda three wheeler was faster than any bike we ever had.
Edit- wasn’t there a kit you could put on to make it a quad?
Yeah there was a kit. There were multiple kits. I recall as a teen in the 80's having a copy of Dirt Wheels mag that showed 3 kits, one for the Honda, one for the Yammies and another for the Kawasakis to convert from 3 wheeler to 4 wheeler.
We had everything from a 50? Or maybe a 70 to a 90, 110 and a 185. Then a few quads, one that I still have. My buddy at a 250R. He could ride that on two wheels full blast. Bit him one day when he hit a rock or rut or something with one wheel. He was picking gravel out of his skin for a while. We flipped, rolled and tumbled on them without so much as a scar to show for it. We lived out in the country of western North Dakota, so there was no limit to the areas to ride. Never rode the 250R, but that 185 was the workhorse that every farm needed. We pulled stuff that was delegated to the garden tractor originally, just a lot faster.
Grew up with an 85' 200X ATC, it was a blast. Naturally a few of us including myself got hurt on it a few times but it was a blast. Glad it was part of my upbringing!
I’m old enough to remember all of these in dirt wheels magazines.
Hell I miss magazines!!
I been riding since '73 and these machines were dangerous. I flipped one going up a hill. I went to the hospital just some bruises. Fun times I must say.
Some of the best times I remember was riding my 250SX and 200X
A major early advertisement for the Honda ATC was in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever when James Bond went to an Area 51 like place near Las Vegas, went through a hangar where they were fakimg the moon landing stole a moon buggy, was chased by security on ATCs and stole one to eacape.
I liked my 1981 atc 185s Honda. Handy to pull a small trailer around the property. And fun to bicycle it when fooling around.
As little kids in the 70’s, we had really cool neighbors, he and his wife had no kids but their nephew would stay with them during the summer and they had an ATC90 first generation with the ballon tires. We road that thing all summer back when people weren’t sue happy. We had 2 1963 honda trail 55’s that also that got road hard all day. I’m now 60 and my brother is 55 and we both have Yamaha YXZ 1000’s. Still living like those kids we once were.
I had a customer bring in a Yamaha Tri-Moto 350 three wheeler once for a tune up. Talk about a wheelie pulling beast. Best suspension on a three wheeler I've ever rode. I also used to have and old Honda ATC with the solid front fork, except it had a 550-4 engine. Another wheelie machine.
Loved rippin on those old 2 stroke 3 wheelers, Honda 250r and kawi tecate!!!
My best friend had an 84 250R....What a beast. I always rode YZ 250s.......Good times.
Also, I disagree on your thumb throttle point. I don't think they are any more "exhausting" than a twist. It's just what you're used to. Thumb throttle works better on machines that require a lot of turning lock on the handlebars. Don't need that on dirtbikes, as lean takes care of most of the turning. On quads/three-wheelers, tight turns made it difficult to use a twist in a smooth and consistent way.
A few of my friends are honda trike cult members. Ive rode one of their 250s, way better than i expected.
Pulled pretty hard and took the bumps quite well. It added up for me.
Well I started my Motorcycle Apprenticeship in 1980’s in my local Honda Shop and we sold a lot of ATC’s to farmers about the district in New Zealand and the most we sold in one week was 15 new ATC250 farm trike models.
We also sold a few ATC 250 R models over the years approximately two per year and I got to ride them a lot.
I also rebuilt one of the very first ATC90’s sold in New Zealand, with fibreglass mudguards the original colour was orange, and a steel pressed frame.
We all felt the ATC185 was the ideal size.
I do remember seeing paperwork for a 1987 ATC 250 R model but can’t remember if any came to NZ because of the stupid USA ban on Trikes.
Now more people are killed and seriously injured riding fourwheelers as they think they are safe!
But Trikes just like three legged barstools are far safer and more stable and uneven ground.
Keep up the great videos
I had one as a kid. Crashed that thing so many times, crazy that they thought it was a good idea.
But did you die?
@@VenomRoadRacing Not every time
I bought one new in 81 for $1700. Fast, but had a real overheating problem in the desert around Palm Springs. The fat front tire blocked air from cooling the engine. The partial solution was to drill a bunch of 2" holes in the front fender. Topped out at about 70 mph and climbed sand dunes like nobody's business. These also had a problem with the rear axles bending.
Not only do I remember those, I used to sell those. Absolutely deadly. Unride-able for most people. Sold quite well, as I recall. But zero repeat customers.
Became wheelchair customers.
I really enjoyed the video, thank you! Growing up from the age of 7 I started riding 3-wheelers. Honda ATC 110, 185S, 200S, 200X, 250SX, 250R and the 350X. I've ridden all of them! I put the most miles on the 200X and it was also the last 3-wheeler I'll ever ride. I was riding it on May 21st 2000 and I blacked out from dehydration while I was going 40-50 MPH. When I blacked out I veered off the trail and hit a tree head on! The front tire hit the trunk and then my head hit the trunk and it broke 4 vertebrae in my neck, one of which pinched my spinal cord leaving me paralyzed from the chest down. I also broke 3 ribs on my left side and punctured my lung in 3 places. Yeah, that was a rough day! And it's been a rough going on 25 years of quadriplegia. I would climb on any of my 3-wheelers and go for a ride right now if I could! I really hate when people say "those things were so dangerous!" You just have to know how to ride them. Oh, and don't let yourself get dehydrated! LOL! Thanks again for the great video!
Wow, thanks for sharing and you seem like your love of life wasn't damaged at all, I can take a lesson from you good sir, thanks for showing me how to be a real stand up guy in this shitty world, correction, sometimes shitty world, salute
My wife and I still have an 85 and an 86 250R. Both have FMF pipes, Boysen reeds, and CR 250 head gaskets. A little more go for something that was already pretty fast. Super freakin’ fun.
We're extremely fortunate to have an atv racing scene here in the pacific northwest that hosts a 3 wheeler class. I race a highly modified 84 200x.
With the alleged 87 250r (if someone knows more than I do please chime in) they were virtually unchanged from the 86 model, except for the plastics, graphics, and tires. They began production and even made it to one of hondas distribution warehouses when the ban hit. They were all disassembled and frames up and scrapped with supervision from the cpsc. The only parts that have ever been confirmed to have been for an 87 are some engine cases and a set of factory white plastics. All parts that were identical to previous years, forks, swingarms, shocks, were saved and sold.
I have a 2nd gen 83 250r and it’s a blast. Would love to have a 3rd gen but never found a deal on one and now they have skyrocketed in value. Also have a 200x, 250sx, Tri-Zinger and a atc70 I’m currently building. Almost had a free 350x 10yrs ago but it got snatched out from under me. Trikes are so much more fun to ride than quads but you have to respect them and learn the body English necessary to ride competently.
My neighbor had a 83 I believe boy we had some fun with that thing. We are from south Florida we used to play in the dirt and mud on the edge of the Everglades
My uncle had the 250R, '82 I think. That bike really needed the peg cage setup that quads use. The back of my leg can attest too that fact. The bike did rip.
Any thing worth doing, especially at a high level, can have risks. Riding, driving, sports, even hobbies will have health or even other risks. Risk comes with accomplishment inherently in most cases, as far as I can tell. Messing with new, boundry-pushing tech isn't for a child anyway unless along with a parent maybe.
My cousin had a 200x and that thing was a blast. Fast and handled. So much fun.
I had a 200s with the automatic clutch. Good machine! Friend of mine had a 250R that was a death machine!
Here in Au 3 wheelers were everywhere then just disappeared overnight.
I had an 85 and raced it on dirt and ice. They were truly insane and it was a big mistake to sell it back then for peanuts
it’s crazy how much people will pay for just a 250r sales brochure
God damn Karens have taken out of all the fun of being a kid. How did I ever survive childhood without them.
The best ad was the center fold that had a silhouette of the bike and the caption "Wanna see what the other guys want to build in 1986?". Then you opened it up to read "The 1985 Honda ATC250R". Look up a picture of the '86 Kawasaki and '86 Yamaha.
They were a blast,.
my friend was nearly killed broke some bones
Lifelong cyclist, drz400 all winter, random sport bike all summer at 52 years young. I guess this brought back a repressed memory, kid up the street had no supervision one weekend and two atvs, one a two speed moped and the other, a red 3 Wheeler. Was doing fine untill on a very slight turn on neighborhood paved roads, that one back wheel had a mind of its own. I got to know that moped pretty good that weekend
Great video. I never got the chance to ride a three wheeler but when those 250s came out I wanted to so bad. That 85 was amazing, plus it looked just like the other Honda CRs which that year might have been some of the best looking dirt bikes ever made.
I rode a Honda70 heaps when I was a kid.
Great little fun things.
A definite skill to ride one quickly
I learned to ride on a Honda 3-wheeler w/ balloon tires. Thing was deadly, but if you can master it, it's very rewarding.
Had a 86 250R and loved that thrill...
Used to ride one in the mid 80’s, so much fun.
i have a stock 83 air cooled and an 86 bb 310 thats a fkn rocket im 45 i survived the 80s , these are my trophys.
Never road one i was too young, but i did see them in action.
I want one.
Before the bans,there were hire businesses here,NZ, that let you race on tracks,one of the best was petone forshore,Wellington, gravel,jumps burns,they had governors on them,we soon got round that by taking our own screw drivers,alot of fun had by all.
“Forget about the banshee”
Excuse me sir, have you ridden a banshee? Those things are mental, like coming from a half decent rider that owns a race motored drz 50+hp and a 2nd gen superduke, banshees are no joke.
Can remember being up in the old coal mines Poconos Pennsylvania, on a blaster, buddy had a creampuff 400ex when they first came out. We were literally lost looking for a road from atop a mountain of shale. Just then I shit you not a 12 year old boy comes up on a tricked out banshee, showed us where the town was, and how to ride a quad in coal County
The last of the air cooled 250cc Honda engines were actually pretty wicked. With some simple tuning mods, they could be plenty dangerous.
Most of my buddies at the time, wanted no part of it. I was the only one that continued riding one, long after others bowed out from fear.
Water cooling is great if you can keep it in the system. Air cooled set ups are more reliable.
I've been riding an '85 250R for the last 27 years. I got nine lives 😅
Also have an '82 185s and an '84 200s. Used to have a 350x too.
I wanna go out on a limb and say that the super cub that got turned into the first trail cub was the seed that grew into dirt bikes
Honda didn't like putting out many 2 strokes at that time. That's why my father bought 2 of those 250's we had for 20yrs to use as work horses and have so much fun in the snow and mud. We had to rebuild the top ends many times. And the carbs were high maintenance as they aged. But I never had so much fun on any quad or dirtbike. The CR500 and XR500 were just pure insane and scared me to death as a kid.
I still live in those good old days, i drive an '85 k1500 GMC short bed and always have a big red 200 in the back when im going to have some fun, the only thing new i rock is a glock and knights armament;)
I've owned three of them at different times, amongst other 2, 3, and 4-wheeled bikes. The first was an 83' air cooled one. It was alright, still fast. But the other two were an 85', and an 86'. The two later ones were the most fun bikes I think I've ever owned. Or ridden for that matter. I would love to have another one that's in decent shape.
For reference I've owned and ridden quite a few race designed two strokes (motorcycles and ATV's) that were quicker, but there weren't any that were as fun to ride fast !
I always thought it would be a blast to swap out the 250R's 248cc 2 stroke for the 497cc 2 stroke off a CR-500.
I had a ATC 250R I put a lot of money in speed parts, I was forced to bail off at 70 mph on a frozen lake one time, I slid for over a quarter mile, as soon as i realized I wasn't going to get hurt, it was the most enjoyable accident I ever been in, witness who heard me laughing thought I was crazy🤪
Friend just gave me a 82 250r ATC. Cant wait. It looks nice next to my 82 GN400. Videos coming soon but GN videos are up ❤
The bigger they were the easier they were to ride.
You had to get the rear tires spinning and you could turn them anywhere. I loved them.
These and Rupp snowmobiles. The good old days.
Babe wake up, Bart uploaded
G'day from Australia, hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day, Sadly in the early 1980s l lost a very good friend in a three wheeler roll over and l have kept away from them ever since, even the four wheeler have taken many lives in Australia, roll over protection is a must have, cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
I had both a 250R and 350X in the 90s, sold each for $500 a piece in perfect working order around '97... sad times.
Ah, the ol' leg eating ball crusher driving you straight ahead into the blackberry filled ravine when you really just wanted to turn
A friend has an 86. He "plans" to put it in a glass case in his living room.
Boooooooo 🍅
@@r0b3rt_959 Also my response.
Love the old footage, i really do think the 80s and early 90s were the best years and since 2000 been a gradual decline in overall enjoyment of life.
Late 80's to 90's I was a dirt bike guy, (XR250R) so I never owned one of these three wheelers.
A high school confederate got one of these things for himself though; an '86, I think. All of my friends bought either three or four-wheelers with the exception of one 200 FatCat. In general we raised all sorts of hell.
At the time, I thought the CR250r should have been a CR500r instead.
I don't think that anymore.
Back in the early 80s I knew someone who had a Honda three-wheeler. I was used to riding motorcycles for years even then. But when he let me try to ride it one day, I could not get that three-wheeler to steer where I wanted it to go and that guy would not tell me the secret, he was too busy laughing at me. So I got on my '81 Suzuki GS1100E and left. Ha Ha!! There must be some secret for steering those. I only tried for a few minutes, should have been more persistent but I kind of didn't care much at the same time.
Man I hope to ride one again someday. The more time moves on, the more three wheelers rot away until they can't be saved. So stupid they were outlawed when all you need to do is learn to weight shift. Ironic that the land of the free lets their government ban so much.
Yup yup i had 86 Cr250 trike awesome fun 🇦🇺... felt better going sideways than it did going forward ... great video man ❤🙏 as a ride up you have to be the swinger as if on a sidecar and never back off similar to sprint cars when they doughnut them 360 in order to stay on the wheels ... they will Highside you to the moon otherwise😮
I raced them for Bennett Honda NSW Australia. We had speedway races ( flat track) & Moto Cross. The 250R was a great machine. But we were supplied a 450 R for a few of us to factory race🤦♂️🤣😳. You want loose try that one out 🤣 seriously crazy bike. They also produced a 4 stroke racer based on the XR 200. That bike was a great machine.
They were fun, I rode them a lot, but for me, they never beat a good 2-smoke dirt bike.
They got banned because some politicians saw a chance to get on TV and sound "concerned for the children". Were they dangerous, you bet, that's why you wear a helmet and don't drive like an idiot. You don't hand a machine gun to a five-year-old.
Great video!
both my roommates have 3 wheelers and its 2024 lol. They love them to death.
my son crashed his 90, brock is jaw and other serious injuries. Very bad neck injury.
I could ride an infinite wheel on my 85, through all six gears as a 14 year old. I sold it for $600 in 89. 😂 Hindsight is always 20/20 but $600 was a lot of $ to put towards a car at the time.
As a kid I had 125 m I only wrecked mine 😂😂😂when I hit the front breaks to soon. Other than that I had 0 problems riding it
In my day i had 2 atc 250r and one atv 250r and i could take the atc 250r more places you cant think of going on the atv 250r and not to long ago i had a 350x atc that was mod out and it was a boss off road
it feels like a quad that desperately wants to be a motocross bike
I rode a big red tipped over instant ly
I remember when they got outlawed, to be honest I dint disagree, flat out dangerous man, the 85 250R is/ was a rocket...know a guy that has one show room condition and no one can ride it to its potential....no one...
i feel i just watched a video about three wheelers and remember commenting it had a 'bart vibe'... did you do as Honda's competitor did in the past an buy out the rights to a very similar video? hehhehe... don't sweat it, i'm a bart , too.
I want my 1985 Honda atc 110 back.
to show how good the 85 and newer 250r is, just look at the resale value...
I rode one, it was fun.
I never understood why nobody built an offroad 3 wheeler with two wheels at the front and one wheel at the back. Would be more stable than 2 wheels at the back, and lighter than a 4 wheeler. Could even have 3 wheel traction. Much like a canam but smaller and offroad oriented.
MY brother lost his best friend to a 4 wheeler into a tree accident. Stopping on the scene has my brother giving CPR into a chest
of broken ribs & mush. But here's the truth ; We were consenting adults, period. Driving recklessly anywhere can take your life &
we never needed the government to dictate a helmet or seatbelts in the car. Let us ride & stop w/ all the BS rules, let us live/die
in our own ways. Yes these were dangerous but so are many things...... peace