Just blowing off steam

[RamsesRibb]

I can't understand why some people will part out perfectly good trikes. I mean I guess they do it for monetary return. But I just don't understand how someone can kill a perfectly good machine. GRRRRRR!

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Well, for me it's a love/hate thing. Without people parting out good machines there wouldn't be a supply of good OEM parts out there for us restorers to buy. But I do feel your pain when I see a pic of a pretty descent trike/quad/sled on CL to be parted out.... It is a shame in a way. I know I would NEVER part my baby's out!

[Mr. Clean]

So RamsesRibb tell me where you get your parts?

Ebay? Most affordable parts come from complete bikes.

C-List? see Ebay, or Buy a trike then get the parts you want off of it and then......

Honda? Disco on most parts and this is not the 70's....groovy!

Local Boneyard? Good luck on that one, l have one near me and no way would it provide the wear parts etc to the level I need.

So if you are against parting trikes please explain how you do it.

[murfman]

It is actually BIG business for all ATVs, not just 3 wheelers. I recently picked up some parts for a 300EX I'm building for my daughter from a place called Rivergrange Powersports from E-pay. They are somewhat local so I went to pick them up, and got the nickle tour. It is just a warehouse with 5 or 6 employees parting out Quads, snowmobiles and wave runners. They buy them at auctions ranging from repo's to dealer trade ins, to Insurance totals. Some of the quads they had were practically new. The Owner stated that they started the business fixing them up and selling them, but found more profit in parting them out on E-bay. They do not even have a store front, all Ebay business, and most of the machines are from out of state auctions. I have no love lost for quads, but it was amazing to see late model running quads stripped apart.

[Yamaha3wheeler]

If that is all you have to blow off steam over, consider yourself very lucky! :)

[RamsesRibb]

If that is all you have to blow off steam over, consider yourself very lucky! :)

Actually I'm having alot of trouble with a crazy neighbor, but this is a much better way for me to get my mind off the other things. :) A friendly debate.

[tecat-z]

I have to agree that it's sometimes tough to stomach the thought of a otherwise nice original oem "performance 2 stroke for me" 3wheeler going under the knife for monetary gains. In all honisty i don't think i could do it. But on the other hand, well worn and otherwise clapped out machines deserve a new lease as parts bikes. And give all of us enthusiasts hope of either fixing up, or keeping what we have running. I guess it's a necessary evil... With the rare exception of a few 4 wheeled machines of the 86-87 genre. Quads make great parts doners, that can be dismantled, wrecked, parted out without any remourse to me. Hell, many dealers have actually "parted out" new unsold inventory trying to clear out the floor. This was common practice with TRX450R and CRF150R models a few years ago when new 450R's were being sold for $4199. The dealers had to make money. And the guys selling used machines were nearly giving them away... Or, part em' out.

[RamsesRibb]

So RamsesRibb tell me where you get your parts?

Ebay? Most affordable parts come from complete bikes.

C-List? see Ebay, or Buy a trike then get the parts you want off of it and then......

Honda? Disco on most parts and this is not the 70's....groovy!

Local Boneyard? Good luck on that one, l have one near me and no way would it provide the wear parts etc to the level I need.

So if you are against parting trikes please explain how you do it.

I'm not saying none should be parted. But it breaks my heart to see someone parting bikes that are in better shape than the ones I'm riding because they can get more money that way. Eventually they will all be gone. Some people don't see the three wheelers as a job or money making gig, but as a passion. For me it's fond memories of my childhood.
Many wear parts can still be acquired new. With a little ingenuity new parts from different applications can be adapted to fit. I'm not a big believer in sacrificing 5 decent machines to make 1 all original machine anyway. Something like that is for museums. Most people don't own a museum. I ride the bikes, museums pieces wouldn't stay that way long. And for the instance of performance bikes, when people buy them they usually want to upgrade performance anyway which kind of defeats the purpose of stock parts anyway.
Of course this "is" my opinion.

[partsmaster]

Any time I've ever bought a parts bike, in the back of my mind I'm thinkin after I use the parts I neeed, ill fix up this parts bike into a rider. Endless cycle for me!

[hoosierlogger]

How many other trikes are still out there because of the "donor trikes"? I have saved a few from the scrap yard, and I have sent a few there too.

[Dirtcrasher]

It has to be done to keep the other trikes running.

Give it some years and we will all have converted quads to trikes just so we can get inexpensive parts alone...........................

Many of us will hang on to originals for a long time, but it is becoming impracticable to ride them.