86 Tri-Z resto just about done , nice change from the honda stuff ...

[vintagemotorsports]

well thought I would post up some pics of the 86 tri-z I am restoring for a guy in NY , Its a nice change to build something I have never really played with before . the guy bought this project from Bill K (orange county) witch was going to be a restore for bill but with all his tigers he decided to sell this project off and my way it came . I received this bike in no joke about 8 boxes totally taken apart I had already restored the engine for bill years ago so that didnt have to be done but everything else was basically and olf 86 Z in a box. typically this is the worst case scenario to start a resto from not knowing where anything goes , whats missing , etc but with alot of hair pulling and micro fich looking I put the puzzle together , bill had a nice stock pile of nos parts , and the rest i was able to locate through net working of friends etc , pretty happy with how it turned out , waiting on the grab bar to come back from chrome and some misc hoses etc but pretty much she is done . thought I would post some pics .. Mike

[HondaHarry]

WOW Totally awesome and drool worthy!! Great Job! HH

[bkm]

Absolutely stunning to say the least. I have always wanted to ask you about the restorations that you perform. Are you able to recondition any parts (ie, rear axle) or does it have to be nos to achieve the oem quality finish.

[racer....X]

very nice job!

[buster-717]

dont know how you do it but amazing like always.

[vintagemotorsports]

to answer your question almost all the parts you see on the chassis are original that i restored even the rear axle It was cleaned up on a lathe and polished and i have a place that rezinc plates them for me .

[Red Rider]

Nice job & a beautiful Tri-Z!

[bkm]

to answer your question almost all the parts you see on the chassis are original that i restored even the rear axle It was cleaned up on a lathe and polished and i have a place that rezinc plates them for me .

That makes it even more remarkable. Great job!

[Bryan Raffa]

MIKE YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!!!

:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:: drool::drool::drool:

try to find some oem rear rims that are almite gold,, thoes rear warrior rims are too goldish..and that rear sprocket is not right .. dang I just got rid of some NOS Grips!...

[Tri-ZNate]

Awesome job and thanks for sharing

[vintagemotorsports]

yea I looked hard for nos tri-z wheels I ordered both of those wheels right from yamaha one of them is the correct almite gold the other came in a darker gold same part number on the boxes must have been a different run on the wheels they were not cheap either like $400 per wheel he can always keep looking for nos tri-z wheels they are close enough for the untrained eye for now , the rear sprocket is the one bill gave me with the nos parts is it the wrong profile ?? I know nothing about these bikes so im learning as we go . you like those nos Dunlop KT733 s those were a find from Pete in the UK didnt think we would ever find those .

[Bryan Raffa]

yea I looked hard for nos tri-z wheels I ordered both of those wheels right from yamaha one of them is the correct almite gold the other came in a darker gold same part number on the boxes must have been a different run on the wheels they were not cheap either like $400 per wheel he can always keep looking for nos tri-z wheels they are close enough for the untrained eye for now , the rear sprocket is the one bill gave me with the nos parts is it the wrong profile ?? I know nothing about these bikes so im learning as we go . you like those nos Dunlop KT733 s those were a find from Pete in the UK didnt think we would ever find those .

I love thoes Tires!!!!! :naughty: the nos sprocket has elongated holes in it..that one is solid.. and the hardware was a greenish color I forget the name now .. the hubs and sprocket color was called Nebular gold ,,but like you said to the untrained eye..

You did a absoute Fantastic job!!!:beer

if you dont mind me ask'n how mutch you got wrapped up in it?

do you have the airbox tube?

[GSXR750RIDER]

that looks great. very nice job.

[vintagemotorsports]

thanks bryan,
Its good to learn the little details for the next one (LOL)
I am needing the carb to air box tube rubber joint as well as the hose that goes from the boost box to the reed block those were both missing you have any you want to sell ?? I dont know what he has into buying the bike and parts from bill but i know my end he has in the 10K range into it alot of that was parts there is an incredible list of nos parts on this bike would be hard to replicate again I know bill had spent almost 6-7 years collecting what he did plus all the stuff i found .

[MrPretty]

It's always great to see something in such good condition. Especially since I was too young to remember seeing what one looked like new.

[Bryan Raffa]

I dont have the tube joint,, but I do have the the boost bottle hose and oem clamps,, shoot me your Address..

any other silly little things missing? you got all the right hoses for the gas tank?

the black plugs in the skid is something you dont see all the time..:D

[tecat-z]

Olive is the color of plating Yamaha used alot, and still does Bryan. VMS, great job as always, and this proves once again. The 86 tri-z's were imo the best looking "stock" 3wheeler made. 85's were nice, but the 86's evolved in all the right places along with that striking change in color.

[whipit]

very nice, you are really doing the lords work with these restorations.... should the levers be black?

[code200k]

holy crap that thing is amazing

[puggerton03]

Very nice. I love the way the Tri-Z's look.

[ATCeeya]

thats a work of art! very lucky owner

[whipit]

I just hope these pristine restorations dont go to some spoiled kid who will immediately demolish them like spoiled kids do. that thing belongs on display somewhere , not balls deep in a mudhole

[Tri-Z 250]

I just hope these pristine restorations dont go to some spoiled kid who will immediately demolish them like spoiled kids do. that thing belongs on display somewhere , not balls deep in a mudhole
Why, thats what I did when I bought mine new in 86'....nice work!
10K...ouch! I bet more than a few Z guys are stunned over that price.

[vintagemotorsports]

no dirt for this one , this is going to a private museum / collection with about 30 other 3 wheelers .

[UlsterATCFan]

Truly amazing (as always) thanks for sharing

[honda200x1987]

we are fortunate to have a company like vintagemotorsports pumping out new trikes just like they looked back in the day. It is a real shame that the big 4 may never bring them back but as long as there are nos parts around and reproduction are made we will be fine,, for now. Great job on that TRI Z, over the top restoration as usual Mike. Thanks for sharing!

[3Razors]

Love to see them like that. You sure don't see many clean examples of 86 Tri-z's around.

[Russell 350X]

That is just jaw dropping!!! Excellent work!!!!

[mike from long island]

That is just another beautiful job. I could just sit here and drool!!!

[Eric250R]

As always, Trike porn at it's best!!! :drool::beer

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

very nice!!
wonder if they want to sell it to me ??

[code200k]

no dirt for this one , this is going to a private museum / collection with about 30 other 3 wheelers .

you said this guy is in new york?? I gotta become freinds with him

[clutchcargo]

Awesome.....what else can you say!

[dcreel]

I agree, your restoration work is nothing short of amazing.

[vintagemotorsports]

here are some updated pics I got the grab bar back from chrome and put that on along with the rear tailight now it looks more complete , also got all the brakes filled and bled all the hoses hooked up coolant filled , raffa is hooking me up with the missing boost hose , the puzzle is almost done ..

[200XMichigan]

I always love seeing the trikes you restore. It looks amazing. And is added inspiration to get my neightbors Tri-Z.

When you restore one that's going into a museum do people start it just to hear it run? Just wondering. How are trikes in museums stored? Seems like they would use some kind of extra heavy duty fogging oil? It's cool to know there are three wheeler museums. Keep up the awesome work.

[AutoXer]

You don't think the owner would mind me ripping that beauty around at Patucky would ya???? LOL I think its a shame to have some thing so great and not enjoy it for what it is a awesome off road adrenaline rush!!!! NICE work VMS!!!

[Orangecnty250r]

Nice Job Mike!!. Let me tell all here, Mike had very limited time to get this together. He received this in RAW form in various boxes, crates etc. Used parts mixed with dirty parts with all of the NOS mixed in. I had found some of the real rare stuff. The dunlop KT733s eleude dme the whole time I owned the machine. I may be mistaken on this but I believe the Z has MANY more parts than the typical restore. It toook me a very long time to find what I found and it was far from all of it. Seeing it now I wish I still had it but I decided to invest in other machines.....one with many less parts and rotax motors!!! I think the sprocket may have superceded to that one.....but really.... has anyone ever seen a more showroom Z aside from the one sitting in a dirty crate oversees.......Nicest one in the country by a long shot!!! Again hats off to VINTAGEMOTORSPORTS

[vintagemotorsports]

thanks Bill, your right even compared to a liquid 250r this thing has way more little parts and things to it , look at all the dam vent and fuel lines they go all over the place , the rear suspension has more little bushings and bearings and spacers than a typical 250r but was a nice challenge for sure .

the question on running them yes on a bike like this witch we all know will and should not be driven due to the amount of money and nos parts involved , the engine gets a test fire and run through the gears and thats it nothing gets put in the fuel tank it is all done off a fuel cell and without the finished pipe to prevent burn off of the paint , if by chance some crazy rich guy bought it and wanted to run the crap out of it . its ready to go just as it was from day one , alot of stuff in museums are non functional that drives me nuts I wouldnt be able to own something i knew was not complete inside and out .

[pablo]

Mike,
Beautiful restoration of the Tri-Z.
You have raised the bar. Inspirational to all of us who rebuild trikes.

[rasorroad250r]

beautiful work! Very primo tri z.

[andrew j hyman]

Great Job Again . I know you had fun ! See you in 24 hours or Less !!