Where and How to get a new R or X Engine
#1
03-16-2004, 02:29 AM
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Where and How to get a new R or X Engine
Alot of you guys have been lucky as well and got ahold of these engines at some point.
They are still out there and in large quanities. You just need to know where to look and above all....how to get them....legally
As for tracking them, you probally already know if any are in your local High School's Vo-Tech center or not. I am currently in talks in getting my THIRD batch over the last 6 years.
Here is what has worked for me.
As for tracking them, I usually try to converse in conversation with the "younguns" of that area. I actually sat at a Sonic Drive In 3 hours from my house almost an entire day before getting something to work with. Most guys never see them because they are in storage, so they have no idea of what you are talking about when you mention three wheeler motor.
Once I know where they are, the next step is getting there to work up a deal. NEVER ask to buy one of these engines unless the vo-tech instructors knows you...and knows you well. If he doesn't, the first thing that comes to his mind is that you are either an employee of Honda...or worse, going undercover for the Board of Education. He isn't going to put his job on the line for someone he doesn't know, so don't put him in that situation. If you do, no further talking will do any good.
What I do is find the instructor of the class that has the engines and tell him that I heard that the vo-teh had some old three wheeler engines and that I need one for MINE and would be willing to trade two brand new Briggs & Stratton 5HP engines as trade to the vo-tech. If he even acts like he might part with them at this point, the deal to some extent is sealed. If he doesn't bite at this deal, forget it and wait for the guy to retire and hit up the next instructor a few years from now....LOL...I'm waiting on two guys right now [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]
You will want to look at the engines before making any deals. I have seen some that have had the center case cracked from underneath by a hammer blow. I saw this on 3 engines in the same shop a while back. This was done intentionally. Not neccesarily a bad thing considering that the instructor of this shop didn't know about it and threw those 3 in with the deal for nothing!! 4 350X engines for $600 [The cost of 2 Briggs 5HP engines]
I have seen several vo-tech's stash of these engines that I did not get. There seems to be twice the number of 350X engines versus 250R engines. Also, I have never found any 200X engines at these.
ALL of the engines that I have gotten over the years all came from the Shreveport warehouse owned by Honda. They were dismantled there and the vo-techs were on hand that Saturday afternoon to pick them up. I have spoken to one instructor who had just started teahing there and he gave me great details on how it all went down.
He said that there were maybe a hundred different schools there waiting for what Honda would donate.
He said that Honda employees were taking 250R and 350X threewheelrs,still in the crate, with a forklift out of the warehouse and into the parking lot. Here, there were several other guys who were taking the trikes apart. The frames were cut in half with a torch and thrown into the back of dumptrucks....the wheels were thrown in one big pile for the schools to take to build trailers with I guess.
The engines were unbolted from the frames, but the wiring was simply cut. He said that even the drivechains were cut into with the torch.
One thing that I have always noticed with my 350X engines is the decompression cable always being cut...LOL
I guess these guys were in a real hurry.
He said that when everything was finished, Honda employees took the final say in how many engines and tires the schools could have. He said they distributed them equally and when all was done, they had a representative from that school sign an agreement that basically said that if the school ever found the engines to of no further educational value, they were to bust the engine case and send the portion of the centercase with the EIN on it and send it back to Honda. The vo-tech could then throw away the rest of the engine.
I bring this up guys, not only because alot of guys know where they came from and asking how to get them, but also due to the fact that the "career teaher" era is about over with. The longtime instructors of these schools are the ones who have "protected" these engines for all these years. What about the next guy? The 25 year old ollege grat who has never rode an ATV and wants to "clean house" and start with a clean slate at his new profession. These engines may find their way into the dumpster. Hopefully, some of the 15 year olds like the ones on this site hides them until late evening and come back for them after school....LOL
I may be going overboard here, but it could happen. Find those ATC engines. Put them in your trike. Put them on your mantle. Put them in a time capsule....LOL
Just don't let them sit collecting dust[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
They are still out there and in large quanities. You just need to know where to look and above all....how to get them....legally
As for tracking them, you probally already know if any are in your local High School's Vo-Tech center or not. I am currently in talks in getting my THIRD batch over the last 6 years.
Here is what has worked for me.
As for tracking them, I usually try to converse in conversation with the "younguns" of that area. I actually sat at a Sonic Drive In 3 hours from my house almost an entire day before getting something to work with. Most guys never see them because they are in storage, so they have no idea of what you are talking about when you mention three wheeler motor.
Once I know where they are, the next step is getting there to work up a deal. NEVER ask to buy one of these engines unless the vo-tech instructors knows you...and knows you well. If he doesn't, the first thing that comes to his mind is that you are either an employee of Honda...or worse, going undercover for the Board of Education. He isn't going to put his job on the line for someone he doesn't know, so don't put him in that situation. If you do, no further talking will do any good.
What I do is find the instructor of the class that has the engines and tell him that I heard that the vo-teh had some old three wheeler engines and that I need one for MINE and would be willing to trade two brand new Briggs & Stratton 5HP engines as trade to the vo-tech. If he even acts like he might part with them at this point, the deal to some extent is sealed. If he doesn't bite at this deal, forget it and wait for the guy to retire and hit up the next instructor a few years from now....LOL...I'm waiting on two guys right now [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]
You will want to look at the engines before making any deals. I have seen some that have had the center case cracked from underneath by a hammer blow. I saw this on 3 engines in the same shop a while back. This was done intentionally. Not neccesarily a bad thing considering that the instructor of this shop didn't know about it and threw those 3 in with the deal for nothing!! 4 350X engines for $600 [The cost of 2 Briggs 5HP engines]
I have seen several vo-tech's stash of these engines that I did not get. There seems to be twice the number of 350X engines versus 250R engines. Also, I have never found any 200X engines at these.
ALL of the engines that I have gotten over the years all came from the Shreveport warehouse owned by Honda. They were dismantled there and the vo-techs were on hand that Saturday afternoon to pick them up. I have spoken to one instructor who had just started teahing there and he gave me great details on how it all went down.
He said that there were maybe a hundred different schools there waiting for what Honda would donate.
He said that Honda employees were taking 250R and 350X threewheelrs,still in the crate, with a forklift out of the warehouse and into the parking lot. Here, there were several other guys who were taking the trikes apart. The frames were cut in half with a torch and thrown into the back of dumptrucks....the wheels were thrown in one big pile for the schools to take to build trailers with I guess.
The engines were unbolted from the frames, but the wiring was simply cut. He said that even the drivechains were cut into with the torch.
One thing that I have always noticed with my 350X engines is the decompression cable always being cut...LOL
I guess these guys were in a real hurry.
He said that when everything was finished, Honda employees took the final say in how many engines and tires the schools could have. He said they distributed them equally and when all was done, they had a representative from that school sign an agreement that basically said that if the school ever found the engines to of no further educational value, they were to bust the engine case and send the portion of the centercase with the EIN on it and send it back to Honda. The vo-tech could then throw away the rest of the engine.
I bring this up guys, not only because alot of guys know where they came from and asking how to get them, but also due to the fact that the "career teaher" era is about over with. The longtime instructors of these schools are the ones who have "protected" these engines for all these years. What about the next guy? The 25 year old ollege grat who has never rode an ATV and wants to "clean house" and start with a clean slate at his new profession. These engines may find their way into the dumpster. Hopefully, some of the 15 year olds like the ones on this site hides them until late evening and come back for them after school....LOL
I may be going overboard here, but it could happen. Find those ATC engines. Put them in your trike. Put them on your mantle. Put them in a time capsule....LOL
Just don't let them sit collecting dust[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
#2
03-16-2004, 03:07 AM
Extreme Pro Rider
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,418
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Where and How to get a new R or X Engine
Hey Knowsalot..........not only are you the three wheeler MAN!!!!!!!!!!! but you are windy as hell...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
#3
03-16-2004, 03:29 AM
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#4
03-16-2004, 03:31 AM
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#5
03-16-2004, 03:41 AM
Extreme Pro Rider
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,418
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#6
03-16-2004, 03:58 AM
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Where and How to get a new R or X Engine
I have a friend who owns a small engine shop down town. That's where I got the Briggs motors to trade with. I got them for $25 over his cost.
The 350X tiller wasn't that far fetched of a joke.
I have one of those old walk behind tractors that was made by Sears in the early 1950s that I have been retrofitting a ATC200 engine on. They were equipped with Briggs 3HP engines. I Still have quite a bit of engineering left on it though. I am having to design another jackshaft to get the gearing right. I can't rightly use a middle buster at 50mph!! Although, it would be of some use for the local water department since their DitchWitch seems to be broken down all the time[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
How about a 250R chainsaw?? Kind of like the big ones that take two people to operate at the competitions. Only this one would take an additonal 3rd person to shift the gears and operate the clutch..................
OK..........I need sleep.
Tomorrow
The 350X tiller wasn't that far fetched of a joke.
I have one of those old walk behind tractors that was made by Sears in the early 1950s that I have been retrofitting a ATC200 engine on. They were equipped with Briggs 3HP engines. I Still have quite a bit of engineering left on it though. I am having to design another jackshaft to get the gearing right. I can't rightly use a middle buster at 50mph!! Although, it would be of some use for the local water department since their DitchWitch seems to be broken down all the time[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
How about a 250R chainsaw?? Kind of like the big ones that take two people to operate at the competitions. Only this one would take an additonal 3rd person to shift the gears and operate the clutch..................
OK..........I need sleep.
Tomorrow
#7
03-16-2004, 09:21 PM
Trending Topics
#8
03-16-2004, 11:40 PM
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ATVC Correspondent
Performance Mods and Project Quads
1
07-30-2015 09:39 AM
KimSJoh
Polaris Ask an Expert! In fond memory of Old Polaris Tech.
14
07-18-2015 07:20 PM
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)