today i picked up a 185 from my uncle that needs some work. lots of work. anaywase i was wondering if anyone could tell me what year it might be so i can start buying parts. the tag is gone. the feature that stands out most in my mind is the removable fender with the latch in the center back. from the quick look over the engine and most of the parts look very similar to my 200s. i'm thinking that its an 83 model, or mabey an 82. if anyone can help me i would appreciate it. i'll try to get the frame number tommorw if i havnt gotten a for sure response yet.

 

if it has front suspension i believe it is an 83

 

any pics?

 

Go to 3wheelerworld.com, they have posted pictures of the original brocures from most years. You might be able to tell or narrow it down from there.

 

Look for my thread involving engine and frame numbers if you get the nuber.

Quick referencing.......

The latch on the center rear rules out an '80 185

The headlight switch is on top of the headlight on the '81 185S

The headlight switch is integrated with the kill switch on the '82 185S

And like Hookshow has already stated, the 1983 185S had front suspension

 

thanks for the info, i found the remains of the sticker caked in mud on the front fender. the last time we had the threewheeler out it had to be towed home through some of the steepest trails around, with no brakes or chain. now i have some more questions. i need some info on chain, sprockets, rear bearings, brakes, fork boots, seat, and many other small pieces. mostly i need some prices, where to buy, and all that good stuff. i would like to be able to buy all the parts at one place. should rocky mountain atv have everything? i have a question about the rear sporcket. dose the piece with those rubber dampeners on it come off the sprocket or will that get trashed? also will the new sprocket have those dampeners on it or will it bolt solid? what about the chain guard. the outer piece of it is somewhere in the trees at elkcity Idaho, and the rest of it is fairly hammered too. is half of it an effective stick stopper, or should i save my self time by not putting it back on? any advice? i got the 3wheeler not running, and some of the wires were ripped out of the headlight, but i twisted them back together and the thing fired on the third pull after sittin better than 3/4 of a year. i'll try to get some pics of the project up soon, but no promises when that will be. this machine might take the prize for most neglected. it started life as my uncles highschool toy, then it turned to the farm workhorse. as you might be able to imagine, it has a lot of farm fixes on it too. thats bent nails for bolts and twine for everything else. thanks for any advice.

 

DennisKirk should be the one stop for everything you listed. RMA doesn't have alot of trike parts at all.

You mentioned forkboots. I assume that it is an '83 model then. What I find odd is that you mentioned sprocket dampers. The only dampers on the '83 rear sprocket are the small ones about the size of a quarter where a mounting bolt goes through. The new sprocket you buy will come with these dampers.

The 1981-1982 models had the 4 large rubber dampers. These sprockets will not bolt onto a '83 axle, but the entire '81-'82 axle will fit into the 1983 axle housing. If this is the case, you have an option over at DK to buy a "bolt-on" sprocket that eliminates the rubber dampers all together.

In my opinion, that outer chain guard does more harm than good. They trap water and debris if anything else and causes more havoc than if you did run an outer chain guard. I would just leave it off. The chain isn't going to be anymore subceptible to sticks than any sport trike or sport quad.......which also doesnt use an enclosed chain drive.

DK sells eonomy brake shoes for the rear for $10 and the rear bearings and seals will set you back around $20

Good Luck and keep us posted!

 

the bearings were dead long enough that the axle was riding on the piece of tube that went between the bearings, and it wore grooves all over in the piece of tube. i dont think that this will cause any probs, but what is that tube for? jsut a spacer i'm assuming. the inner race on the left side was discenegrated, a few of the bearings were still stuck inside the housing, and the outer race was about 2/3 there. the right bearing wasnt totaly gone yet, but it was about to go. it was a job getting the old bearings out, but i got them. one thing amaszes me is the chain. we set it flat on the floor, and the chain would bend sideways and make a half circle. something about that makes me think that its probably the origional chain. the sprockets were kinda sad too. all the teath on the back were folded almost all the way over. well, hopefully i'll have it back up and running in a few weeks.

 

The grooves on the bearing spacer isn't going to hurt a thing unless some of the material on one of the ends has been rubbed down significantly.

The tube is as you said, a spacer. It keeps the bearings' inner races from flexing and giving way.

 

i was looking at parts at partsfish, and it shows an O-ring that goes between the dust seal and the bearing. whats the purpos of this and do i need to get a new one? also, whats the stock sprocket combo? right now it has 10/42 i belive, and i'm thinking that it was probably geard down jsut a little bit for riding in idaho. what are the factory sporckets? any comments on what type i should get for replacments? i'm leaning toward cheap, but i also want to get it fixed right so it lasts. i'm going to try to get some pics up today.