Basket case '83 ATC250R

[tRevHead62]

Hello there from AUS,
I've just bought an ATC250R. 1983. It was last run about 5 years ago and then left to slowly fade away under the cover of a hay shed. It was filthy dirty through not having been washed down after its last ride and subsequently it has patches of rust here and there. It looks like its last ride was on flat tires because the rear rims are not only rusted but very beaten up. The brakes on the front were good but the rears were cactus - all seized up.
The engine was still good though. After draining the stale fuel (possum piss) out of it I gave it a few kicks and lo-and-behold, it coughed into life. I could see that it had the potential for a new lease on life so I bought it.
To get the rear brakes working I had to replace the caliper. I had a spare one from a DRZ450 so with a little engineering I fabricated an adapter plate. Then I had to get the master cylinder working again. Luckily it freed up for me. There were lots of things seized up. I had to lubricate everything - all the nuts and bolts, cables etc etc. Everything is working ok now.
I cleaned out the fuel system and changed the gearbox oil. Now it starts and runs like a beauty. So I put the old beaten up wheels (with the flat & perished tires on) and took it for a burn around the back yard. After a few seconds the clutch freed up and could I feel the bike's power band just itching to come on and spit me off. I wasn't game enough to open it right up. Soggy rear end and all..
This was the first time I have ever ridden a three wheeler so I was a bit nervous after reading the investigations-atv-data. But I did have a few minutes of adrenalin rush.

So that's a brief history of were I'm at with the basket case. Sorry if I've bored you....but I have a couple of questions if some one could help me out it would be much appreciated.

Obviously I need to replace the rear wheels and tires. The book says 22x11-8 are standard but it has 25x12-9 on it. The stud pattern measurement is 4 1/2" PCD. (114.3mm). Pretty sure they are stock hubs.
I'm not that fussed about replacing them with the same size. I just want to get it ride-able again. So basically any wheel will do. There is an ATV wreckers nearby but they will mostly have only 4 wheelers. I haven't spoken to them yet. Which ATVs will likely have the same stud pattern as the '83 ATC250R?
What does the Lock-bolt on the rear axle bearing housing do?

Cheers, tRevHead62.

[Yamaha_Rules69]

The rear lock bolt on the swingarm is for the axle carrier - it holds it in place on the inside of the swingarm - the carrier is a seperate piece, and is aluminum. It sounds to me like you have some big red tires and rims on the rear. I would deffinatly get rid of those, and put on some 20 or 22 inch tires on it, and most any sport Honda 3 wheeler rear rims will fit - 200x, 250R, 350x - The rear rims bolt pattern is 4x110 and most commonly a 8 inch or 9 inch rim. Even a lot of the newer 4 wheeler rims and tires will bolt up, like the trx 250R, 300ex and 400ex I know for sure, there has to be more. Good luck, an post some pics of your machine, and maybe we can help a little more. You are in better shape than I was when I picked mine up - it didnt run, and was missing a bunch of stuff! Im still finding the small stuff I need, and putting a little money in along the way.

[tRevHead62]

Thanks heaps for all that info. At least now I can feel quite confident that I can get a pair of wheels from the wreckers. I'll try and get some rims with smaller tires like you suggested. As far as the lock bolt in the centre of the swing arm goes, how tight should it be? I can't find the setting in the book. Cheers,
See Photos.

[MonroeMike]

Welcome to the board.

http://www.mud-throwers.com/atv_wheel_chart

[MudBug]

Looks like it has potential! Good luck with it, and post lots of pictures :D

[coolpool]

Great find and good luck with your ressurection. I picture Australia warm, dry and sunny. That trike looks like it lived in a wet climate?

[Yamaha_Rules69]

I dont think there is a torque spec for that bolt - just so its snug. The bolt dosnt look correct, mine dosnt have a nut like that, but as long as you can snug it down, you should be good to go. That bolt, along with the 2 allen pinch bolts (one on each side) are really only loosened / removed to adjust the drive chain. Dosnt look too shabby, and a little elbow grease, it would look nice. Good luck!

[tRevHead62]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. And thanks again for the info. I've done the bolt in question up just snug. She'll be right now. The climate in my part of the world is definitely not dry. Very damp most of the year. I live in the south eastern state of Victoria on the edge of a range called the Otways, not too far away from the 12 Apostles. (You may have heard of it.) The good thing is there are plenty of good places ride just outside my front door..:p
I get some more pictures up soon.

[Dirtcrasher]

That bolt is the carrier stop. It prevents you from "over rotating" the carrier when adjusting the chain. It just has to be snug.........

[tRevHead62]

Thanks Dirtcrasher. That makes sense. Cheers,

[pablo]

RevHead,
I would remove that bolt and check its length. Threads shouldn't be longer than 1/2 inch. And you don't need the extra nut.

[EarlyBronocGuy]

You can mix and match hubs and wheels (as long as the bolt patterns match) to get the combo you want. A lot of different manufacturer hubs will fit the axle splines - my '85 Honda 200x had Yamaha rear hubs and wheels on it when I bought it, and I used rear hubs from my '84 250r to mount 4x110 hubs and wheels on a 2004 TRX 450r rear axle on my atc-atv project.