Heys Knowsalot,

I was wondering if you looked at the above webpage from MALOCHALA
second post. I thought maybe you might know what year those Hondas are.

I think that site is in Brazil.

Chet

 

all i know is that i really miss getting to race a 3-wheeler. there was nothing like it! running down a 4-trax with my tri-z and passing him like was standing still. ahhh, those where the days! damn did i just show my age[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] it sucked when big brother stepped in and said no more. so like every one else i had to go to a quad.

 

Hey Chet.

Mark and I were discussing that quad this morning. I have seen pictures of it over at threewheelerworld before and just thought of it as a conversion and nothing more.

The site that he provided here is legit, but I do not know of it's origin. The site cannot be broken down any further and no home page exists, so I have no idea what it is.

My OPINION is that it's a quad built by an importer/exporter and not actually affiliated with Honda.
I have never heard of anyone having one and the ATV industry's media has ever mentioned it existing.

A company in Europe did this with the Tri-Z three wheelers. They purchased all of Yamaha's remaining inventory of them after the three wheeler ban and converted them into quads.

Honda had a TRX 200X at it's dealer show in 1992 but it doesn't resemble this one we are discussing.

 

I was checking out the Japan Honda web site.

I would love to go into Honda dealership in Japan and see the wide array of models compared to what we receive.

I don't see how they keep all the models straight.

Chet

 

First of all, I have to commend you on your well written and well thought out arguments. On one particular point I have to agree with you, too. The media and Uncle Sam are always ready to create hype about something so that they can come to our "rescue" which we usually don't want or need.
Now, I have to disagree with the following paragraph you wrote:

"The truth is, in spite of having one less wheel and corner to lean on, three wheelers did not give up much stability to their newer four-wheeled kin. Although riders did have to adjust their weight slightly for the different handling characteristics of the machines, on most terrain three wheelers and quads were usually evenly matched. Only in some special situations, such as on the side of a hill for instance, were quads given a clear advantage when it came to stability."

As you can see from my sig, I'm a previous owner of a "top of the line" Big Red (I had it for 3 years). While I agree that it's a great machine, there are a few points to be made to show how much safer/maneuverable a quad really is compared to a 3-wheeler.
You mentioned side hills, for instance. This is a very good point. I can't stress how dangerous it is to ride on the side of a hill on an ATC, though with ATV's you have to be very careful as well. That lack of a 4th tire makes all the difference in the world, especially if you have to dodge a rock or stump while riding off-camber like that. If you then just happen to catch a rock or small stump with your rear tire you'll be doing cartwheels on an ATC. Next, try riding straight down a hill (not a vertical hill, mind you, I meant not riding at an angle), then for some reason you have to hit your brakes and swerve to miss a log, rock, tree, etc. If you're on an ATC, you're toast, but if you're on an ATV you at least have a sportin' chance of staying upright. Next, have you ever gotten into a slick area (mud, snow, etc...) and tried to steer a lousy 3-wheeler? Hopefully you don't have to swerve to miss something at that point because you're gonna keep going straight ahead. The lack of weight on the front end is another shortcoming. Sure, wheelies are fun, but not when you're almost to the top of a fairly steep hill and you can't quite make it or you have to stop for some reason. This happened to me the first night I owned that Big Red. I was not hot-rodding or acting irresponsible and I wasn't a 15 year old kid. I was 27 years old and when the thing rolled over the top of me it fractured 2 vertebrae and pulled a rib loose from my sternum. Let me tell you, "pain" isn't quite the word for what you experience in such a situation, especially when you have to then ride the ATC out of the woods to get back to the house. Also related to the light front-end is when you throw a deer on the rear rack to haul it out of the woods. Now, I know Big Reds have probably packed out more deer than about any other model, but when you live up north here and you load up a 250 lb deer, you have to literally lie over the handlebars to keep the front on the ground. You can't steer, either, and forget it if you have to drive it up a hill under such a circumstance. That's suicidal.
I suppose it sounds like I'm rabidly anti-ATC but I'm not. I think the government needs to stay out of about 90% of this kind of a situation and let the market decide. We're not babies, after all. However, I felt I had to correct your opinion comparing ATC's to ATV's. ATV's are far superior and I would never choose my Big Red over a good quad.

JC

 

Try this page, it has a little more info, but not much.
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/TRX200X.shtml

 

I think that people should start making therir own custom 3wheelers so tey have the susp,gearing,size,ect of it, or take a 87 tecate 4 chop the front off put a tecate 3 old salvage for and therer you go

 

albaBANSHE,

Run that by me again, I don't understand it. Is that reverse technology?

MALOCHALA,

I was wondering if I could borrow your Icon's teeth today, see I have to go to the dentist and it would look better than this piece of tape I have over my mouth.

One look at those teeth on me and the dentist would pay me to come into the door.

Chet[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Jerms has summarized it about perfectly....to suggest that the stability of a 3-wheeler is even comparable to a quad is ludicrous, and could be dangereous advice as well....i intend to have a 3-wheeler again, hopefully an 86 Big Red....for the nostalgia and the fun of it....but let me tell you, when i get off my quad and hop on to dad's ATC110, you notice the difference in stability before you even start the thing..the bigger trikes are much more stable than the 110, but still not comparable to a quad.

 

Thank you all for not only taking the time to read such a long post, but to respond to it as well. I appreciate your comments and your views.

The truth is, in spite of having one less wheel and corner to lean on, three wheelers did not give up much stability to their newer four-wheeled kin. Although riders did have to adjust their weight slightly for the different handling characteristics of the machines, on most terrain three wheelers and quads were usually evenly matched. Only in some special situations, such as on the side of a hill for instance, were quads given a clear advantage when it came to stability.

Apparently, some of you feel that I understated the difference in stability between three wheelers and quads in my comments above. Perhaps I did, to an extent. I appreciate your comments and views as well, and feel that I should address your replies directly. Let me explain further:

First of all, three wheelers are less stable than quads. That is obvious. They do have one less point of contact with the ground. However, there is not so much of a difference that they should have been banned. While there are situations (like I described above) where a quad does have a clear advantage, on MOST terrain and IF used properly AND WITHIN its limits, a three wheeler is just as adept as a quad.

Three wheelers handled different than quads. Turning a three wheeler required one method when going slow and yet another when going fast. When going slow, on some three wheelers the front wheel would tend to push instead of turn. However, a dab of throttle and a shift of the rider's weight and the machine could whip around with extreme agility. When going fast, you used your weight and turned the handlebars left to go right and right to go left. Also, they had the combination of amazing traction in the rear and light weight in the front. Ask anyone with a 350X if they were easy to wheelie on.

As I said, three wheelers never got to the point of consistently having good stock suspension setups like quads have. And, it's not really fair to compare the old three-wheeled machines to todays bigger (and better) quads with four wheel drive and four wheel independent suspension. As I said, I don't believe three wheelers got a fair shake when they were banned. They had not advanced to a level suspension-wise that would have made them much more safe.

As I recall, the only machines that had real suspension all the way around were the Tri-Z 250, ATC 250R, KXT Tecate, 200X, 350X, 250SX, the Big Red, and maybe the Yamaha DX 225. If I've left any out, it's purely by mistake.

Of the machines I listed, the first five were considered high performance sport machines. The other three were top of the line utility machines. Most three wheelers sold were the smaller and more popular models that did not have any suspension or just some meager front shocks. As any rider will tell you, suspension has much bearing on the way a machine handles and contributes greatly to the overall safety of a machine.

Three wheeler accidents were purposefully exaggerated and exploited by those who were using the issue to further their own agendas and their own careers. While I don't disagree with the fact that there were a lot of concerned parents that didn't want their children hurt on these machines, the ones who subsequently had them banned were mostly politicians and lawmakers looking for a hotbed issue upon which they could make their name. Even back then, there were many critics of the manner in which three wheelers were targeted and banned.

Don't miss the point of my thread here. I asked some questions and I posted a warning. Along the way, I inserted a little bit of history, a little bit of opinion, and defended a victim of politics.

I still would like to know what the law concerning three wheelers actually says. I would also like to know if there is a way some company somewhere can still legally make them, even if only in small quantity. Also, I asked if anyone knew if they were still available in other countries. As I pointed out, there is evidence that the 200X may have still been produced as recently as two years ago in one form or another.*

Finally, and I think this is most important, I posted a reminder to all those that love their machines and their sport that those same politics that ended the three wheeler are still around today. It's not completely inconceivable, you know, that quad owners may have to fight for their sport one day.


P.S. Opinions are like buttholes...everyone's got one!

*From RAPTORYFM660r: By looking at the rest of the machines it appears to be 2 years old material. I could be wrong.