1982 185s Fork Swap, do brakes transfer?

[elmateo487]

Hey all,

The year I was born, my dad bought a 1982 (I believe) 185s. It was given to some family friends, and they kept it all these years and still runs. They asked me if I’d like it and I was ecstatic! I’ll include old photos of my dad on it. It seems like the kid he bought it off of, Danny (the tank has the name Danny painted on it), seems to have replaced the front forks and bars. He probably wrecked it and that’s why he was selling it?

Anyways. I want to swap the front to have forks from a 1983 185s. Everyone that is doing the swaps on here I can’t tell if they are doing the whole front end including tire, or if I can get just the forks and triple clamp, and my current wheel, brakes, axle nut etc will bolt to them. Any ideas?

My dad
https://i.imgur.com/A1hsWcE.jpg
My mom
https://i.imgur.com/77Z7Ex5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sDTte17.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MI5JElO.jpg

Forks I would buy to swap on
https://i.imgur.com/BN6EfXo.jpg

Here it is today.
https://i.imgur.com/kjrLeS2.jpg

[Jim mac]

on the later front end, notice the axle screws into 1 side of the forks and clamps on the other? so the solid front axle doesn't work.
then on the brakes. notice the second hole above where the axle screws into? there's a boss on the later brake, the stud goes into the top hole. you might be able to rig up a mount to the solid front brake assbly.
easiest way would be to find a fork, brake and axle. jim

[elmateo487]

on the later front end, notice the axle screws into 1 side of the forks and clamps on the other? so the solid front axle doesn't work.
then on the brakes. notice the second hole above where the axle screws into? there's a boss on the later brake, the stud goes into the top hole. you might be able to rig up a mount to the solid front brake assbly.
easiest way would be to find a fork, brake and axle. jim

Thanks Jim. That’s exactly what I needed to know.

[ATC King]

If you haven't bought any forks yet, make sure to see what the tubes look like under the boots.

If thye're rusted and scratched up, pass. They'll just chew right through new seals.

A lot of sellers on Ebay don't even bother to show what they look like under the boots, and that's just shady.

[elmateo487]

If you haven't bought any forks yet, make sure to see what the tubes look like under the boots.

If thye're rusted and scratched up, pass. They'll just chew right through new seals.

A lot of sellers on Ebay don't even bother to show what they look like under the boots, and that's just shady.

Yeah haven’t bought any yet. Thanks for the tip.

[elmateo487]

One more question.

It is my understanding that if I bought a 1984 200m. That I could take the entire front end off it and put it on the 185s. The 200m has a 25” front tire. Could I just put the 185s 22” tire on the 200ms rim?

I thought I read they are the same rim between the two. One fork is just wider. Thoughts?

[ATC King]

One more question.

It is my understanding that if I bought a 1984 200m. That I could take the entire front end off it and put it on the 185s. The 200m has a 25” front tire. Could I just put the 185s 22” tire on the 200ms rim?

I thought I read they are the same rim between the two. One fork is just wider. Thoughts?

You'll have to use the 9" 200M front wheel. The hub bolt pattern for the 200M is 150mm, the 185S is 130mm.

Just run a 22x11-9 tire if you don't want the 25" one. I'd advise against the 200M fork though, for only one reason, nobody offers a new fender for it and decent condition OE ones are very expensive and difficult to find. There's at least one source of new front fenders for just about all of the other Honda trikes. Not a single one for the 200M though.

The other difference is it's a leading axle fork and even with the smaller tire, it's still got about an inch or so more length than even the suspended 185S fork. Not that it'd cause it to handle horribly, but at least two things are going to change at once. The taller fork will change the steering stem angle and leading axle is only used on the 25" tire trikes. The suspensed 185S/200S forks have a trailing axle.

I've run all of the OE combinations on the 185/200 series trikes, even the aftermarket axle extenders for the rigid forks. None of them felt like dangerous combinations, just handled differently and took a ride or two to get the feel for. On these low performance, short/no fork travel, hardtail trikes, tire choice will cause the biggest difference in overall handling.

[Jim mac]

Is it the M forks that are usually seized and not repairable? jim

[350for350]

No. Those are the 200E/ES forks. The 200M forks are a good upgrade because at least they can be rebuilt. The fender and front rack (Big Reds) can be worked around.

[elmateo487]

Thanks. You all know your ATCs.