I pushed the old atc out and parked it next to the 400ex and took some pictures. See them at the following link:

1977 Honda ATC 90

Interesting how times have changed since then. My Dad paid $500 for the three wheeler in 1980 and me and my brother beat it to death for over 8 years before we got rid of it. I paid around $5000 for the 400ex. Prices have went up a little since then also [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Thanks for the wonderful replies.

I am new here to ATV Connection. I came here because I long to get back into the sport of ATVs and motorcycles. Not too long ago, I had a dream that I still had my old motorcycles, and I woke up actually expecting to go for a ride. It was then I realized how much I missed those days.

Although I was primarily a dirtbiker, I secretly envied the quad guys. Although very few of their ATVs could match the speed of our dirtbikes, the quads just seemed to be more fun. There was no end to what you could do on them or with them.

While I realize that there are actually much better ATVs available now, I still place quite a bit of value on those machines that we enjoyed then. Those machines took a lot of abuse, and it is a testament to their quality of build and ruggednes that you can still see so many of them being enjoyed even today.

My list of favorite top ten ATVs from yester year includes the following:

Quadsport 230 - I still lust for one.
Quadracer 250 - Still the best looking racer, next to the Tecate 4.
Quadracer 500 - Can you say "Politically Incorrect"?
Suzuki 230E - We called it the "230 Shaft", but this was a great machine.
Honda 250SX - A real worker with much more performance potential than
most people realized.
Honda TRX250 - Notice, there's no "R" at the end. The 1986 utility
ATV was equally at home working or playing. And you can't
beat its reliability.
Honda ATC250R - One look and you were hooked. The most lusted after
machine ever made.
Kawasaki Tecate 250 - The sexiest (?) machine ever made.
Yamaha Warrior 350 - It gets beat up a lot by its newer rivals, but it
still deserves a lot of respect. Glad to see it's
still around. Hope it gets some updates though.
Yamaha Banshee 350 - Like the Warrior, it's a little outdated here and
there, but when it is no longer made, many tears will
be shed.

I could go on, but I'll stop here.

When I discovered ATV Connection, I was thrilled to find a source of information where I could sort of catch up on what is happening in the ATV world nowadays. However, I also discovered that most discussions, innocent questions and sincere inquiries turn into brutal and profane arguments that are much more ignorant than they are truthful. I understand the competitive nature of ATVing, but the flaming that often occurs is not competitive at all. It's absolutely stupid and ignorant.

I love all the new hi-po quads available today. I've had the good fortune to try out a couple of them, the 400EX and the Raptor. Both were awesome to me. The 400EX seemed more fun to me, and the Raptor was just plain awesome. How much power does one need???

Hopefully I will be getting one in the not too distant future. What will I be shopping for? A Quadsport most likely, but not the shiny new yellow one in town. Rather, I think I will go look for a broken in old orange and black model sitting in someone's barn. One that remembers the good ol' days just like me.

 

I don't look back so fondly on the old days of ATV's.
I had a Tri-Moto 175 2 stroke. That monster tried to Kill me several times!! too much power for the (no) suspension. Thank Goodness for my Raptor!! My old 250R was a blast but after 16 years of being thrashed it needed constant work.

When I relive the good old days I work on the 73 CR250M Elsinore I'm restoring. Now that was a sweet ride!!

 

man this post is bringing back alot of good memories,ithink i'm gonna cry.i don't even know what to say but i still love it for the fun and the competition.i'm just fortunate enough to be able to enjoy all venues that atving has to offer.

 

Yamaha Tri-Moto 175? Wow! I absolutely forgot about that machine.

Growing up in our neck of the woods in Louisiana, Honda was the preferred choice when it came to ATVs. Suzuki came in second. Kawasaki and Yamaha were such a distant third and fourth that I honestly can't recall seeing many ATVs at that time bearing either of those names. Now, when it came to motorcycles, it was different. Suzuki and Kawasaki reigned, followed closely and equally by Honda and Yamaha.

But back to the ATVs...

Moose, I agree, not all ol' days were good ol' days with ATVs. Some old ATVs were handling and maintenance nightmares. Honda always seemed to be able to build them right though. That's why they have the reputation they have now.

Anyone recall seeing any Suzuki three wheelers? They were sort of rare, weren't they? Also, wasn't the original Tecate engine an air cooled 200cc?

Finally, how similar were the frames on the old Quadsports and Quadracers?

 

great topic, back when I got into it in 81 my father bought me the sportiest fastest machine avaliable, the atc 185s (the atc 250r came out a month later). Boy was that a fun trike, soon after everyone have traded in their 110s for 185s. It would wheelie in every gear and it was absolutley indestructable.

I remember how we thought suspension was just extra weight for wimps who couldn't handle off-road riding. We laughed our a$$es of when we saw the first suzuki quads.

It was almost to much fun to be legal.

I have a trx250r now but it is now where near as fun as my old 185s. There is something about the way the trikes steer through a berm that and tight woods that a quad can't compare. Mud riding was increadible on them too and if you got stuck you could almost pick up the bike out of the mud.

You also had to put more of your body into it. If you look at the old dirt wheels and 3 wheeling (I have a bunch from 1980 and up) you see how the guys would hang off the trikes through the turns, their bodies completely off one side, too cool.

I remember Mark Waxeldorf (???) Waxx on, Dean Sundahil, Marty Hart, Curtis Sparks and Eddie Sanders as the top guys. Those where great times.

 

I think......Im gonna....cry....sniff..sniff.

A friend of mine had an old honda 110 atc......that thing was dang fast for an old atc!!! When he rode a 250EX he fell in love and sold the atc tho. I've been atving for only a few years so....I remember when all there was was a 400EX and banshee......and the banshee was the baddest quad out.....I look now....and the banshee is still the baddest quad out....IMO

 

I agree, this is a great topic. This site needs a lounge area where all riders can sit back and talk about subjects like this!

I got into 4 wheeling back around 1983. I went over my cousins house. They had just got 2 brand new Suzuki 125 3 wheelers. I had a blast riding with them and learned quick you really have to lean in on a turn!! Since their 8 hp go cart was now collecting cob webs in the garage my Dad bought it and I now had my own off road vehicle. I can remember sitting and school, barely able to sit still thinking about getting home and riding that go cart. Then on my 13th birthday, my Dad made me the happiest boy in the world by surprising me with an LT185. I couldn't get enough og it, it occupied my thoughts every minute I was on or off of it. I learned so much about riding and dreamed about getting a quadsport 230. I can remember wearing the pages out of dirtwheels from turning the pages back and forth.

That lasted until college and work came along. I went a few years without a bike and never really missed it too much because I was getting into cars more. I spent a few years working on a 1990 Mustang GT. I proabably made 1000 1/4 mile passes on that baby. I dynoed at 322 RWHP naturally aspirated. I was very proud of it because I did almost all of the owrk on it, including porting the heads. A few quads came along heare and there but never lasted long because I sold them when I was short on money. The first was a 250X that was just plain fun to ride and very easy to wheelie. After that came an 87 Banshee. That was my first two stroke with an "oh my God" lightswitch powerband. Unfortunately it didn't last long either.

About 3 months ago I bought a 99Polars 400 sport. Lots of people find it easy to pick on Polaris and for the life of me I can't figure out why. This bike was perfect on the trails and I had tons of fun riding with my friends 400ex. The bike was easy to mod and I had great results from it. It met its demise a few weeks ago when a young guy driving very recklessly hit me head on. Thats when I made the decision to sell the Mustang and look for another sport bike. I found a perfect bike and it was perfect timing with the sale of the Mustang. I drove up to Michigan to pick up a cherry 2001 DS 650 for 4 grand. My thoughts are now preoccupied with where and when to ride it.

 

My parents never bought into the Trike thing, instead they got me a quad when they first came out. I think it was '87 when I got the Suzuki 185, that was a fun quad and we abused that quad so much. It did die eventually and then we got the King Quad, then the Quadrunner and now I got my 500i and Z400. The good old days.

Think about this, in 20 years or so we will look back and say that Z400 was a wicked bike and it was so much fun because in 20 years quads may not exsist or they might be some weird, underpowered, clean burning, government resistricted floating quad. We should really enjoy what we got and make the good old times these times.

 

Christmas of 1986, I was 11 at the time and "Santa" took me to the bike shop and bought me a Mojave 110. I was in heaven, but dad was in the dog house with mom for weeks. I even raced a few harescrambles in the adult class with it (back when you didn't have to be 16 to race full size quads). Talk about fond memories! We sold it in '90 to an older couple so their grandkids could ride it. Went quadless for 11 years, got back into it last fall and now I feel like that little kid again every time I get to ride. Now I'm riding an '86 again, but this time its an R, Honda that is [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]