What could go wrong? 3 wheeler content

So on a random craigslist search through the atv/utv section i stumbled across many 3 wheelers for pretty cheap. I have ridden 3 wheelers in the past but they were the older 125's and 185's that had rigid suspension. But then I came across a ATC 250 SX (not sure on the year yet but has to be 85-87). I had an old set of power tools that I was looking to pawn off so just for fun I asked if he would trade, and surprisingly said yes. So yesterday the 3 wheeler ended up in my garage

as it sits it starts easy and runs well though all the gears, in this picture you can see the ugly, not-made-for-this-bike,ghetto tank that is crappily held on but is functional.

luckily for me he had an original tank for it, but unluckily the inside of the tank is rusted to crap. I have had good luck cleaning tanks and doing tank liners before so I will try to do that for this one. Picture with the original tank:

so like i said it runs really well. the things that it needs are neck bearings (it feels like there is nothing in there), the rear brakes adjusted or replaced, rebuild front forks, the choke cable re-worked, and the reverse cable is broke but thats low on the list of things to do as its not critical to me.

time to get good at falling over

Turn it into this:

I had a 125 ATC as a kid and rolled it a few times. I always like the 250 SX more than the 350 that followed.

As I got bigger I want a Quadzilla.

I had an ATC 110 then a 200S when I was in my early teens. I managed to not die.

I found myself underneath an upside down Big Red on a few occasions during my youth. I fully support this!

There's still an '86 Moto 4 at my folk's that I occasionally torment the cattle with. There's a Blaster sans engine in my back yard, engine is in pieces in a Rubbermaid in the garage.

2002maniac wrote: Turn it into this: Yamaha pictured, but Honda had the "Fat Cat" which was the same idea.

I was thinking if i get tired of rolling it I could do this:

Grew up on an ATC 110 (rolled many times), then upgraded to a 200x when I got my third job (there was a Hodaka Ace 100, Yamaha DT125, and a Honda XR125 in between). Nice score!

But more importantly: That thing has REVERSE!?!

So, all these stories of people rolling these things, yet not a one of you is dead. Were they really that bad? (I was a city kid, we had mini bikes).

mndsm wrote: So, all these stories of people rolling these things, yet not a one of you is dead. Were they really that bad? (I was a city kid, we had mini bikes).

Yes they were. I lost count of how many handlebars we had to replace on our ATC from rollovers. Still alive, but probably shouldn't be.

Just make sure your health insurance is top notch and life insurance is up to date.

Unless that tank has rust holes THROUGH it the best way to de-rust is via electrolysis.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-From-A-Motorcycle-Gas-Ta/

I have used both the Kreem tank liner and the electrolysis method and electrolysis is so easy and effective there is no reason to Kreem unless the tank has rust pinholes.

I did the electrolysis on a rusty 1974 Honda CT90 (Trail 90) and have never had any problems since.

The Hoff wrote:

mndsm wrote: So, all these stories of people rolling these things, yet not a one of you is dead. Were they really that bad? (I was a city kid, we had mini bikes).

Yes they were. I lost count of how many handlebars we had to replace on our ATC from rollovers. Still alive, but probably shouldn't be.

You and me both man. I've rolled em, ditched em, landed on em, broke my cousin's collar bone, broke my girlfriends ankle... My brother sent one down a ravine...

Once I was climbing this god awful steep hill that had a rock "shelf" (is the best way to describe it) almost at the top. The front wheel went over just fine, but those back wheels just hit it and spun. and spun and spun and spun until they caught (and boy did they catch).

The wheeler flipped backwards with me still on it. When it landed on me the first time I was able to bail and get clear to the side. the bike hit funny and bounced back on top of me (still rolling down the hill). I'm not sure what happened after that but I woke up lying on my back on top of an upside down three wheeler. the exhaust was burning through my sleeve and cooking my arm (got two second degree burns from that one). My leg was hurt pretty bad, and my bike was a mess but I was able to ride it home (very slow).

One summer my arms were so tore up that my parents took the bike away (I was wearing long sleeves. It was at the dinner table that my dad stopped and pulled a sleeve up. you should have seen the looks on their faces).

But I always got back on the bike...

I rode a honda 85, then a 125 before getting a fatcat. The 3 wheelers were a blast but my dad eventually ended up with 250 suzuki and the width of the 3 wheeler made it a pain too keep up. Didnt ride my first 4 wheeler until i was 19.

mndsm wrote: So, all these stories of people rolling these things, yet not a one of you is dead. Were they really that bad? (I was a city kid, we had mini bikes).

My sister got a pretty serious head injury from rolling one years ago. She recovered, but was having seizures for a time.

i had a suzuki alt125 when i was younger, never rolled it and took it off some sweet jumps. now i have a yamaha 225dx - way faster than the suzuki. have yet to roll it either, i'm pretty good at controlling it on 2 wheels.

Hungary Bill wrote: Grew up on an ATC 110 (rolled many times), then upgraded to a 200x when I got my third job (there was a Hodaka Ace 100, Yamaha DT125, and a Honda XR125 in between). Nice score! But more importantly: That thing has REVERSE!?!

yea and from my understanding (may be wrong) but with how the reverse works on it i think it would have 5 reverse gears!

smokindav wrote: Unless that tank has rust holes THROUGH it the best way to de-rust is via electrolysis. http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-From-A-Motorcycle-Gas-Ta/ I have used both the Kreem tank liner and the electrolysis method and electrolysis is so easy and effective there is no reason to Kreem unless the tank has rust pinholes. I did the electrolysis on a rusty 1974 Honda CT90 (Trail 90) and have never had any problems since.

we have done a homemade electrolysis tank to clean my roommates 350 vortec heads so we may try that out, and i like doing the coating even after cleaning cuz its reasonably cheap and you NEVER have to worry about rust again. I used Red-Kote on my last motorcycles tank and it turned out awesome.

I only remember rolling mine once, and it was in soft sand, so no harm was done except for a bent brake lever. But I was a pretty cautious kid.

well after much time on the googlez trying to figure out how I have a 250sx with a front disc brake (only ever came with drum), from what I can tell the front end of my bike appears to be from a 250r since the headlight fairing, fender, disc brake, and blue shock boots (250sx's had black boots, not necessarily a give away but helps confirm my thoughts) are all from a 250r and not a 250sx.

I dont know if there is any benifit from this besides the disk brake but the 250r's were the hot rod model so im sure they arent any worse

I got neck bearings ordered, started working on cleaning the original tank, man that thing is bad . Got the non-OEM tank mounted on the frame as well as i could to where it'll be ride-able. Also tried messing with the rear drum brake, tried to adjust it in and found it was already all the way adjusted in... so gonna try to clock the arm back further to see if I can get anything to grab in it.

hoping to get the neck bearings and rear brake done before the end of the month so I can start riding it in May.

edizzle89 wrote:

Hungary Bill wrote: Grew up on an ATC 110 (rolled many times), then upgraded to a 200x when I got my third job (there was a Hodaka Ace 100, Yamaha DT125, and a Honda XR125 in between). Nice score! But more importantly: That thing has REVERSE!?!

yea and from my understanding (may be wrong) but with how the reverse works on it i think it would have 5 reverse gears!

First off:

Secondly:

In reply to Hungary Bill:

sorry only one reverse gear.

Nice score. I spent some time on these before switching to quads, and now dirt bikes. The ATC 250r is on my bucket list of machines to buy and restore some day, the 250sx is my second favorite.

doc_speeder wrote: Nice score. I spent some time on these before switching to quads, and now dirt bikes. The ATC 250r is on my bucket list of machines to buy and restore some day, the 250sx is my second favorite.

ive never ridden a 250r but the 250sx has some decent get-up-and-go to it and everyone says the 250r is quicker, so i dont know if i would want to go any faster the the SX will do

also found that the kill switch is wired backwards? went to start it last night and would just crank and crank, pulled the plug and no spark, tried a different but known good plug and no spark, decided to mess with the kill switch while cranking as I have had them be kinda touchy in the past and accidentally bumped it over to 'kill' and then i got spark...

so 'on' is off and 'off' is on... i guess it will help keep thieves from hoping on and riding it away.

Also found the headlight doesnt work, not sure if its wiring or the bulb, needs further investigation.

I had a 200x When I was 13. So much fun. So much sideways. The trick to not rolling it is to hang off the side in full oversteer. I like this.

well i got bored yesterday and still waiting for parts to show up so i decided to build a new rear bar since the stock one was mangled

i wanted something simple and cheap so if/when it gets beat up its easy/cheap to replace, i also wanted it to stuck a little further out so that if i end up looping out it would help keep it from rolling back onto me. My initial attempt of just using angle iron didnt work as planned but i think it lead to an idea that will actually make it stronger

here is just the angle iron as of right now

and the red lines are where I will add flat stock to add a little triangulation to it which should help beef it up.