I do not know how many three wheel Honda Big Reds are still out there in operation, but they are sure hard to come by. Here in SW Michigan, a number of farmers have these machines. They love them and use them in the orchards, but will not part with them. I am located in fruit country, with a lot of apple orchards, vineyards, cherries, and so on. Also, the hunters love them as well. Anyway, here is my question. I found a 1986 Honda Big Red ATC250ES in used and abused condition, which may be for sale. It needs some missing and fixing parts, but the engine is sound and smokeless. Seat is torn, brake handles need replacing, flat tire, plastic cracked, etc., but the frame is straight and true. I am out of touch with these machines on value, but what would one in this condition be worth? Believe it or not, I found a MINT 1984 Honda Big Red (no reverse gear for that year), but again the farmer will not part with it. Our Michigan Upper Peninsula hunting camp is looking for a BIG RED as a spare ATV, and being handy with bikes, this would be an easy one for me to repair. This is a perfect bike for the swamps and firelane trails for deer season in the U.P., so all you out there....what is the used and abused 1986 worth? Your help is really appreciated, KECH

 

hey bro i got one that had flat tire's fairly baddly cracked plastic's that had not ran in a year for 200 bucks but as it turns out it needed a new battery and gas tank which was 300 bucks "no plastic one on the market then" back in 94 oh there wasn't anything wrong with the tires they just needed air. it was an 85 250es sold it for 900 it was in respectable shape i think the value would be about the same older ride's seem to hold the same values iv noticed in my 9 years in the sport hope this helps alittle g luck

 

a mint 250ES goes for $2000-$2500 in canada. (yes that's more than they were new) one like you describe would go for about 900 here, so that's like 540 in U.S. THEY ARE DEAD RELIABLE. and can go very far in the mud if you know what you're doing. let your feet hang over the rear rack so the front tire is in the air and they'll go far. also they'll stay with ANYTING on tack off power. one guy i ride with has a 86 250 BIG RED that had 8 tanks of gas ran through it(father in-laws) and it'll stand straight up in 1-4 gears. (this is no lie)

 

Same thing in the south. A good 250 BigRed goes for at least $1500.00
A 200 BigRed will bring $800.00-$1000.00

The '84 model you looked at must have been an '82 or '83. The '84 had reverse, shaft drive AND a low range selection [the only year]

The '85-'87 models were 250s. The '85 models have a different rear end setup than the '86 and '87 models. [same applies to the ATC250SX and TRX versions]

Parts discontinued that I know of are:
[1]carburetor assemblies[A TRX300 carb can be made to work though]
[2]front fender
[4]headlight shell[plastic only]

There may be more parts discontinued, but these are the most requested that I know to be dropped from Honda's stock.

All engine parts are still available so far and will likely remain that way for a while since the TRX300 2WD engine is nearly identical except for the crankshaft, rod, and piston.

 

<< The '84 model you looked at must have been an '82 or '83. The '84 had reverse, shaft drive AND a low range selection [the only year] >>



this is true, we had an '84 big red, it had reverse, hi , lo, and shaft driven, and front suspension (it was a 200ES) i'm guessing the ES stood for electric start??

BTW those prices i gave were canadian dollars.

 

Hey RINCON,

Mighty close.

E stood for electric start ['82-'83 ATC200E BigRed]

ES stood for electric start/shaft drive ['84 ATC200ES and '85-'87ATC250ES]

 

I was given one for free in a little worse condition and repaired it and rode it for years. My buddy found one in close to mint only the seat torn for 750 about 3 years ago here in West Virginia. I would say 200-300 for the one your looking at.

 

thanks KNOWSALOT, we always wondered what the ES stood for. it turns out that the 450ES just gave new meaning to an old word! the only complaint we had about our was when you'd get stuck in high range, and when you went to put it in low the range selector would go outta high and get stuck inbetween high-low, so it wouldn't go anywhere's. because you need to rock it to change ranges (just put it in low first off, if the mud's thick)

 

LOL....Tell me about it RINCON

I have some of those same memories with the 'lil ATC110 as a youngster.

I think it took more energy rocking back and forth to get low range than it would have been if I had just got off and pushed it up the small hills......LOL

Later,
Patrick

 

ya, the day dad got my brothers 200 stuck we had to get the 1/2 ton to pull it out. (back then we only had bikes-they don't tow that good! lol) we broke the rope many times, so in the end i got dad a shovel and the mud was so thick he just plopped the mud awayfrom the bike. Mom was made cause we missed super!!

those days were fun...........even thoughi could take my Kodiak though the same hole without spinning a tire. lol