1988 - A year that might have been (fiction by Wickedfinger) Pt1.

[Wickedfinger]

Feel free to ad to this story as you all want. The Idea is to imagine the state of three wheeled ATVing if the Consent Decree hadn't been drafted. I am taking the role of a writer for a "Major" atving magazines "new model review" issue.

1988 - Model Review - Trikes hang on ( but for how long ).

1988 may go down as a major turning point for our sport to say the least.
With all of the major manufacturers now fully commited to producing four wheeled atvs along with their tri footed models, you may find yourself asking "Is there really a need for trikes anymore?". Well, for one manufacturer, Suzuki, the answer is a resounding "NO!". Their slogan "first on four wheels" has never been more apparent. This will mark the second year now that Suzuki hasn't offered a three wheeler in their lineup (the 1986 ALT125 was the last model available) and the first year for the anti-trike publicity campaign they seem to be mounting in their print ads. With all of the major manufacturers announcing that they are pulling their factory support from three wheeled racing this year it might just be the beginning of the end ...... or is it?.

1988 three wheeled Hondas:
Honda has made some exciting changes this year to existing models and even come up with a few new ones. Honda still offers the most extensive three wheeled line of ATV's available from any manufacturer.

New for 1988:
Goodbye ATC200X, hello ATC250X. Bouyed by the resounding success of their TRX250X, Honda has decided to offer the new four-valve powerplant in a three wheeled configuration. The machine is nearly identical to the later series square tube framed ATC200X except for the addition of slightly larger diameter forks and a stronger rear spring. Suspension numbers were increased to over 8.0" up front and stayed the same at just over 7.5" in the rear. To the delight of sport purests, the reverse gearing was removed from the TRX250X motor in order to make room for a sixth gear. Its a shame Honda dosen't see the need for a reverse gear in a sport model - it would have been a nice feature. One thing Honda didn't do was change the gear ratio spacing in the transmission - but what they did do was drop the rear tires down from 22" to 20" so, as we found out in the side by side comparison test last month in this magazine, the top speed of the ATC250X is still nearly the same as its TRX cousin. This was done primarily to keep the ATC from walking away from its heavier sibling in the real world. Honda is well aware of the fact that the TRX250X is nearly $800 more at retail than the ATC. Unfortuneatly, another trick honda used in keeping the ATC250X in check is the fact that theATC250X dosen't come with the TRX250X's outstanding 36mm Mikuni carb either. A 30mm Kehin oval slide takes its place. That being said, last month when we did the shoot out between the ATC250X and the TRX250X, the ATC250X is still quite a bit quicker off the line, with the TRX250X reeling it in with an impressive midrange. The ATC250X is now available in the new electric blue and white color scheme as well as the white and red one found on last years ATC200X.

Hail to the 300's! - Big news in 1988 is the fact that both the ATC250ES Big Red and the ATC250SX have been upgraded to the terrific 282cc 300 class mill found in the Foreman TRX300 and that the Big Red will be available in a 3x3, three wheel drive sometime this summer!. The new ATC300ES Big Red now features a front disk brake, higher loading capacity, revamped styling, an oil cooler, full instrumentation and greater suspension travel. The big red is now in addition to corporate Honda red, available in a green and tan woods version. We're told the ATC300ES/3-Drive will feature a shaft drive front hub via a neck mounted gear-box. Look for a full report on this remarkable ATC in a later issue.

The ATC300SX has been completely changed for 1988, lost most of its "utility" heritage and is almost a completely different machine because of it. In addition to a newer square tubing style frame, the 300SX now features the 300cc, two valve, auto clutched motor, same front and rear disk braking as the ATC250X, larger diameter front forks with a greater total 7.0" of travel and a completely redesigned narrower swing arm with nearly 2" more suspension travel than last years model. It does still retain the same 22x11x10 wide front and rear tire combination. A standard speedometer is now offered. The body styling has been changed in favor of the more racy look of the X models and is available in red, white, and the new electric blue color schemes. Look for prices to increase $300 over last years models.

Returning models for 1988:
The 125 is alive!. The ATC125M has returned for 1988 with very minimal changes to the upgraded 1986 model. It will still offer the same great value for those in need of a small but full sized ATC for light trail riding and chores. Colors available will be corporate Red and new for 1988, white. Price stays the same as last years model at $1310.

The race in "R". The ATC250R has returned for 1988 pretty much the same as last years excellent model. We're told by Honda that the new Showa forks now offer an inch more travel and that the rear shocks valving has been changed. The gas tank now offers a "Dry Break" fueling system that does away with the traditional screw on cap. In side by side comparison tests, the ATC250R consistantly beats the truely outstanding TRX in both accelleration and top speed, but the TRX's inherent "corners on rails" stability allows it to rule the MX and offroad track. The ATC250R will now also be offered in the new for 1988 electric blue color. The price will be $100 up from last year.

350X eXcites. The ATC350X has also returned for 1988, but with a few more changes than its pinger brother. The front forks are now the same excellent Showa units found on the 250R, the front rake of the triple trees has been legged out 1* and the rear swingarm has been lengthened by 1". We're also told that Honda engineers have managed to eek out 2 more ponies from the 350cc, 4-valve, manual clutched, 6-speed engine to bring it up to 30hp - mainly due to a camshaft profile change. Colors offered are white and red and the new electric blue and white. A standard speedometer is now offered. Price is $200 up from last year. Look for individual tests of the ATC250R and 350X in next months issue.


1988 three wheeled Kawasakis:
Kawasaki has managed to field three trikes this year in its line up. One a returning fire breather and the other two being all new models.

New for 1988:
Baja KLT250 sure is nifty. Kawasaki has finally decided to offer the great
Mojave 250 liquid cooled power plant in an three wheeler in order to combat the continued success of Honda and Yamahas sport four strokes. The all new Baja 250 will of course feature the new 250 liquid cooled, manual clutch 5-speed mill with a top tree mounted radiator, similar to the one found on the older Tecates. The frame is an all new design featuring square steel tube construction with a traditional tank and seat mount configuration. Front forks are in house units with 7.8" of travel and the rear uni-track swing arm has just over 9.0" of outstanding suspension boing. The rear shock is a remote reservoir KYB unit with pre-load and rebound adjustments. The front tire will be a 23x7x10 narrow sport style Dunlop and the rears will be 22x11x8. Braking is handled by two "borrowed" Mojave disks front and back Colors available will be an all corporate green or white and blue. Price is set at $2100. Look for a complete test as well as a head to head shoot out with the other thumper sport models in a future issue of this magazine.

KLT220 Prarie - home on the range. Kawie also has its eyes set on the three wheeled utility market with the all new 220cc aircooled Prarie. Similar in design and function as the Honda "Big Red", the all new Prarie features the new compact electric start with backup pull, 220cc 2-valve aircooled motor, full front and rear racks, shaft drive, sealed drum brakes, big 25" tires, a dual range, auto clutch 5-speed transmission w/reverse, full front and rear suspensions both with 5.0" of travel and a huge 5 gallon fuel tank for all day chores. There is also a "Police" model available that features a lighting and siren package as well as a full first aid kit, windshield and is intended for beach and border patrol. Color available is dark blue and black. Price is TBD.

Returning models for 1988:
Tecate crazy. The KXT250 Tecate 3 has returned for its 5th year with a few changes. The KXT now shares the same counterballanced 250cc liquid cooled 2-stroke, 6-speed as its T4 brother. That engine remains basically unchanged except for a stronger, more durable electrical system. It still offers the most the most thrilling, spine crushing horsepower in its class. Some needed chassis changes have come around to make it more controllable. Kawasaki tells us that in order to improve the Tecates handling manors, the 41mm front forks rake angle has been decreased by 1* and that the swing arm has been legthened by 1.5". A new rear axle with 2 more inches of width has also been installed. A larger rear axle hub with bigger bearings is mounted as well in order to cope with the increased loading the wider longer swing axle gives the Tecate. The lightening quick Tecate 3 will spank its Tecate 4 brother off the line and keep a good 2 - 3 bike lengths lead up to sign off at 75+ MPH. Color available is corporate Green with blue and white. Price is up $100 from last year.

Continued on the next thread ...........................

[Wickedfinger]

1988 Yamahas:
Yamaha will offer up two new models this year as well as improve three existing.

1988 new models:
Yamaha couldn't ignore the sucess of the ATC200X and ATC350X forever and has finally decided to take on the sport thumper trike market this year with the introduction of the YTX200 and YTX350.

YTX to success: The YTX200 is an all new design three wheeler featuring a two valve, air cooled 200cc 5-speed motor that has been adapted from the excellent TM200 dual sport bike by giving it a counter ballancer, a hotter cam and freer exhaust.. The electric start is gone from the TM200, but has a kicker in its place. The chassis features a round tubing design with traditional placement of the tank and seat. The non-linkage swingarm features a disk brake and rear shock that are the exact same units found on the new YFM200 Blaster, and offers up 7.2" of travel. The front forks are air adjustable and give the trike almost 8" of travel. There is a mechanical front disk brake installed. The 200 is shod in Dunlop rubber all around with a 23x7x9 up front and two 22x11x8's on the rear. Colors available will be purple and white or corporate blue. Price is TBD.

Thumper stumper: The YTX350 is also an all new design, three wheeled ATV that can be best described as a "Warrior minus a wheel". The YTX350 features the same powerful, six speed, electric start 2-valve motor as the Warrior and even includes the reverse!. The chassis while similar to the Tri-Z-250's, has its differences mainly in a traditional tank and seat placement (no underseat gas tank). An oversized oil cooler now sits in the space normally taken up by the 250's radiators. The front forks are the same 36mm units as found on the later Tri-Z250's and offer almost 9" of wheel travel. The rear suspension is an almost exact copy of the Banshee/Tri-Z/Warriors systems and offers 7.9" of travel utilizing the Warriors remote reservoir shock. Hydrolic disk brakes are offered on both ends of the bike. A 24x8x11 front rim/tire is mounted as well as 22x11x8 rears. Colors available are red white and blue, all red, and corporate blue. Price is TBD. Look for a test of these two exciting, all new models elsewhere in this issue.

Returning for 1988:

TriShee Zilla, killa. Yamaha shocked the ATVing world with their announcement last year of the intent to put the RZ350 twin Banshee motor into a Tri-Z chassis. Mid year, they offered up their promise in the form of the TriShee-350R. While the trike could be described as truely revolutionary and no-one could complain about excessive power of the mighty twin, the machine had some tremendous inherent faults, most noticeably that of an unpredictable, quirky sky climbing front end that would strike near the middle of the engines powerband and a horrible power wasting wheel spin at launch. Well, the TriShee-350R is back now for its first full year of production with many of the design flaws Yamaha claims, fixed. The improved TriShee350R features a completely redesigned air-box - fuel tank arraingement that now places the fuel tank above the engine and the air box below the seat. The swing arm has been legthened by 2" over last years model and the axle wider by an inch. Yamaha claims these changes have solved the handling problems - but we will determine that when we give the TriShee a full test in a future issue. The round tube chassis stays the same as last year as well as the terrific suspension numbers of 10" up front from the massive 42mm Showa forks and 8.66" in the rear. The rear shock is the same model found in the Banshee and features full adjustability. The disk brakes on the TriShee are top notch and the same as the Banshees as well. Tires are 24x8x11 up front and 22x11x8 rear. Colors available are yellow and blue, red and white, and corporate blue. Price TBD.

Tri-Z250 flyer: The Tri-Z250 returns for its fourth year of production with some noticable changes. The main change is that of finally swaping the air-box and fuel tanks locations to a more traditional placement. The YZ based 250cc Liquid cooled, 6-speed 2-stroke now features a power valve on the exhaust for low speed power improvement as well as a larger, redesigned boost bottle. The fuel pump has been eliminated and the air-box is much more freer breathing. The Banshee based swingarm now features a piggy back shock with 8.66" of linkaged travel and the front forks have been upgraded to 39mm air adjustable, 9.7" travel Showas. All of the body work has been completely redesigned and is more sleek in appearance. The headlights and mounts have been redesigned to the round style found on the Banshee. Colors available are black on black, red white and blue, yellow and black and corporate blue. Price is TBD. Look for a complete shootout of all the 250-3 class racers in next months issue.

YTM300DR reversable jober:
The YTM300DR Tri-Moto has returned this year changed and full of improvements as well. The 2-valve, aircooled, 5-speed with reverse motor was bumped up to a full 300cc to help it compete with the new Honda sport utes. The DRs frame has been redesigned and is now taller and longer. The shaft driven swingarm has been upgraded and now boasts 7.5" of travel as well as a hydrolic disk brake. The front shocks have been improved greatly and are now air adjustable with over 7" of travel. One all new feature of the 300DR is the addition of quick change, full pack racking. Yamaha claims you can tailor the DR to suit a variety of needs from pure sport to full utility. Its adorned the DR with a quick change racking system that they claim can be mounted or removed in under 3 minutes. Tires and rims are all still 22x11x8s front and rear and the front end still has a drum brake. Colors are light blue and black, yellow and black and black on black. Price has been set at $2600. Look for a side by side comparison between the YTM300DR Tri-Moto and the new Honda ATC300ES Big Red in a future issue of this magazine.

In conclusion, to answer our original question at the beginning of this article of "is it the beginning of the end" for Three Wheeled ATV's?, we have to say that based on the influx of new and improved models from all of the leading manufacturers, we'd have to say, the answer is "NO!", not by a long shot.

[atcmatt]

Did you write that up all yourself? If so you are a god damn legend :beer

Damn that was some good reading, long but good, very good! Just image those trikes. I think the best improvement was the atc300es with 3 wheel drive, good bye 4x4 quads! Man my praise goes out to Jonny Bigtime.

Thanks,

Matt

[Wickedfinger]

Did you write that up all yourself? If so you are a god damn legend :beer

Thanks,

Matt

... Yep, Took me 6 hrs.

[atcmatt]

I cant thank you enough Jonny (now wheres that worship icon) :D

Matt

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Very well done wickedfinger. :beer Thats worth sending to DirtWheels. Once in awhile I dream about new trikes.
I put some thought into a 3wheel drive trike.I think having power to the front wheel would put tons of stress on any head tube and forks,especially when the rear is stuck or hung up. The front wheel would always pull straight and would be near impossible to steer.Did anyone ever make a 3wd trike?
Also, I hope that by 1990 I can get a tri-z with upside down forks or a tecate with a perimeter frame.Dont forget,Yamaha quads remained pretty much unchanged for a decade, so the Z and tri shee's wouldnt change much(color and stickers,and $100 price increase anually). A 1990 tecate would look awesome with the radical new(1990) KX graphics.,,,I miss my 1990 KX250 :( Think of all the aftermarket parts that would be available if trikes were still being made. UFO plastic in any color,Graphics kits and seatcovers,cool looking nerf bars by DG and AC. Nac's would have a trike mx/tt race team.
,,,,,,then I realize I'm back in 2004 and everyones buyin 4 wheeled 4 strokes; then make them louder than any 2 stroke I've ever heard.
Good work Tejas

[atcmatt]

Jim,

What I figured with the 3 wheel trike is that the front wheel wouldent be driven the whole time. If you got into a sticky spot, hit a button on the bars or a lever and the front driven gear kicks in and away you go.

Matt

[Wickedfinger]

... the model of the ATC300ES that I have in my head is that the front wheel drive system would be like that of the Rokon Motorcycles except that there would be no chain drive from the gearbox to the wheel. I understand Yamaha ran a 900cc two wheel drive enduro sport in the Drakar rally this year. I don't know, like I said in the header of the story, everyone feel free to elaborate on this. If you all noticed in the article, I made mention several times of some "future tests". I personally would like to see one that would be the TriShee350R vs the LT500KR for fastest ATV made, the test of the ATC300ES/3-drive as well as shootouts between the ATC250X, YTX200 sport, and the KLT250 Baja in one and the YTM300DR and the ATC300SX in another. A shoot out between the 350 class thumpers and a David vs Gallioth battle between the KLT220 and ATC300ES Big Red utes would be interesting as well.

[thehickfarmer]

wait !!! this must mean the 88 atc must exist! they where baned in north american, maybe even the uk, but what about asia??? it is a possibility their is a 1988 atc somewhere in the world ! man i'm geating goose bumps

[The_dew_man]

WOW that is really good. good job. send it in to dirtwheeler and see if they will print it in the mag. :beer

[hrc200x]

If I owned a ATV magazine company you'd be hired, that was some good reading.

I thought in '88 CalFab had a deal with Kawi to do all their swing arms for them? Could be wrong though. And didn't the '88 ATC 250r come with the aluminum swing arm which can also be found on the '88 TRX 250r. Maybe you can elaborate on these things Wickedfinger???

Brand spanking new this year for Honda is the release of the 200r, you don't need to be Marty Hart or Steve Wright to get one. With this avliable to the public it will give privateers a chance to get right into racing with out having to spend all the extra cash on mods for their 250r's. But if you decided to get a 250r and wish you'd have got a 200r don't fear, Honda has what you want with factory parts that fit like they belong on the bike, (unlike most aftermarket parts). You can easily spend $2000 on Hondaline accessories for your 250r. From big bores to small bore 200 sleeve down kits, speedometers, dual rate rear springs, complete exhaust systems, nerf bars, full TT set ups, and fork adjusters which let you adjust compression and rebound of the forks, Hondaline, HRC, and Mugen have you covered. Check out next months article for a test of the 250r with all the goodies on it.

[mad_max]

Very cool Johnny

[plkmonster2]

Hey wickedfinger, great write-up! I love it! I also saw the article about the 2wd motocycle in the dakar. The front was driven by a hydraulic motor. It's neat that it can split the power differently, but it said most of the time it was 30/70. They said it handled much better, especially in sand. Look for an add on kit in the near future!

[84250r]

Good Job! I'm printing this! haha..

[leprogle]

I saw an ad in a classifieds mag "The Buyer Flyer" advertising a 250sx with 350x frontend, and a 99 TRX300 motor in it!!! 300sx!!
just thought i'd say that, in case someone was interested in making one, maybe it bolts right up.....

[Billy Golightly]

Wow...that was great Jon. Very cool thing. Few corrections though :p


#1: Tecate's are 5spd's (Unless, in '88, they got an extra cog ;))
#2: The Banshee engine is derrived from the RZ350 streetbike. The RD350 was an aircooler.
#3: On the Tri-Shee 350, You have 42" massive showa front forks. 42" is indeed massive, but I think you probably typo'ed for 42mm.


Very, Very cool read...If only we had some pictures to go along with it.

[TeCaTe_MaN]

that was great reading...if it was only a reality... :( a 3wd trike, if made correctly, would rip apart the 4x4 quads...

[ste-pel]

Very, Very cool read...If only we had some pictures to go along with it.

there is a program call poto shop iam sure some one could make them

[TeCaTe_MaN]

yea...heres the call out, ATC-Crazy crack out some cool pictures to go with this thread...that would be awesome

[Billy Golightly]

Yeah I've got PhotoShop, I know how to use it too (The ATC450R in Dirtwheels a while back was mine). But a 3wheel drive trike would be kind of hard to mock up and make look right.

[trikerider2oo7]

The biggest 2 stroke yet. The ATC450R. Almost double the power and speed of the 250R and only 25 pounds more overall weight. Wether you want to race or just ride around it'll do the job and more. It's liquid cooled 2-stroke 449.4cc engine will out accelerate and out run just about anything that lines up with it at the drags. The only downgrade of this bike is its price which is $4799 MSRP.

To keep up with Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha have also built liquid cooled 450cc 2-stroke ATC's. Kawasaki has introduced it's KXT450 Tecate and Yamaha has its Tri-Z450. More about these two trikes in next month's issue.

[Wickedfinger]

Wow...that was great Jon. Very cool thing. Few corrections though :p


#1: Tecate's are 5spd's (Unless, in '88, they got an extra cog ;))
#2: The Banshee engine is derrived from the RZ350 streetbike. The RD350 was an aircooler.
#3: On the Tri-Shee 350, You have 42" massive showa front forks. 42" is indeed massive, but I think you probably typo'ed for 42mm.


Very, Very cool read...If only we had some pictures to go along with it.


Fixed the problems ........ I meant to type RZ350, the 42" was supposed to be 42mm, The Tecate stays a 6-speed :cool: .

Changed my mind on the Tecate .... I would have had to "re-write" history on the Tecate 4.

[Wickedfinger]

Ok, I've figured out the ATC300ES/3drive's front drive system. The 300ES's front cradle and frame would have to be that of a double wishbone design and not a single down tube. The 282cc Honda motors bottom end would have to be that of the std. 4x4 model. A small adaptor/housing would be needed at the front power take off point that would angle a non-u-jointed drive shaft up through the double cradle and up to the steering head. Pretty simple so far, right?. Heres where it gets interesting. Well, instead of the drive shaft ending in some sort of a traditional u-joint, it would end in a cylindrical or "spicer" type gear that would feed at an angle into the head. Now, the head design would consist of a traditional hollow head piece but the inside would have a hollow spindle that would turn the forks and inside that would be a solid shaft with a bearing at the top and bottom and an inline gear face cut into the center of it. The head would have a "slot" cut out of the rear part and the spicer gear would mesh up at that point, at an angle, to the inline gear face on the spindle. The inline gear shaft in the head would feed out into a gear box thats located just below the bottom tree. Now, the big question - How to run a solid drive shaft down an adjustable fork that will change lengths as it travels?. Simple and ingenious, If I must say. The lower drive shaft would consist of a hollow tube outer cover with an inner and outer shaft. The inner shaft would be solid and the top end would have a long intermesh gear face cut into it, the larger outer shaft would be hollow and the lower part would have an outside gear face that would slide over the solid shafts outer gear. There would be dead space inside the outer shaft that would allow the inner shaft to move the length of the suspensions travel but still be in continuous contact with the outer shaft. Lubrication with good grease would be critical here. The rest is simple, the bottom of the inner shaft would feed into a small gear box that would drive the front hub.

[Red Rider]

Wickedfinger, nice dream article, but I found a few discrepancies. For the 1988 Tri-Z 250, you said Yamaha upgraded the front suspension to 39mm forks with 9.7" of travel & 8.66" out back. I'd hardly call that an upgrade since the 1986 model already had 39mm forks with 10" & I believe the back end had 9.3", but I'd have to whip out the old Yamaha brochure to be sure on that one.

Also, in keeping with your magazine theme, I have a question for your mechanical experts: "My friend Johnny has a 1976 Hodaka Dirtwhomper 175, that he says is stock, & he thinks it can beat me in a race. I have a 1978 Sandsnake 200 with heavy-duty piston return springs. Who would win?"

[Wickedfinger]

Wickedfinger, nice dream article, but I found a few discrepancies. For the 1988 Tri-Z 250, you said Yamaha upgraded the front suspension to 39mm forks with 9.7" of travel & 8.66" out back. I'd hardly call that an upgrade since the 1986 model already had 39mm forks with 10" & I believe the back end had 9.3", but I'd have to whip out the old Yamaha brochure to be sure on that one.

Also, in keeping with your magazine theme, I have a question for your mechanical experts: "My friend Johnny has a 1976 Hodaka Dirtwhomper 175, that he says is stock, & he thinks it can beat me in a race. I have a 1978 Sandsnake 200 with heavy-duty piston return springs. Who would win?"

The upgrade comes in the form of the fact that they are "Showa" forks now, not the in house units. Also the back end is now "Banshee" related and shares the same, better performing, piggyback shock, linkage and swing arm with the quad. This would have been an obvious move by Yamaha now that the fuel tank isn't in the way, to help keep costs down as well as have product modularization. We have to keep in mind that, at the time, the Banshee was the very peak of ATV development at Yamaha. Any lessons learned from its engineering would have been applied to other hi-performance models.

Now, as far as the bike question goes, the winner would be obvious - the 1978 Sandsnake 200 would beat the 1976 Hodaka 175 because its 3 years newer .... duh.

[short4stuff]

The biggest 2 stroke yet. The ATC450R. Almost double the power and speed of the 250R and only 25 pounds more overall weight. Wether you want to race or just ride around it'll do the job and more. It's liquid cooled 2-stroke 449.4cc engine will out accelerate and out run just about anything that lines up with it at the drags. The only downgrade of this bike is its price which is $4799 MSRP.

To keep up with Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha have also built liquid cooled 450cc 2-stroke ATC's. Kawasaki has introduced it's KXT450 Tecate and Yamaha has its Tri-Z450. More about these two trikes in next month's issue.

I always thought you would just cut the front end off the trx450r and put the atc250r one on... making it a 450r 4 STROKE not 2 ?? ...
They changed the engine did they ? hmm interesting ....
Just have to say the new power is in 4 stroke.... 2 will be going out the door soon.

[Red Rider]

Yamaha switches to a different brand of forks, that are the same size, but have less travel, and they call it better. Then they throw on the rear suspension from a quad that has less travel, and they call that better too. It would be better for them to produce because it would be cheaper for them to produce, thanks to the modularization. That's why I don't buy Yamahas!

[Mr. Sandman]

Red Rider :confused: This is fiction. Besides, how many years has Yamaha been making the Bansheep and nothing changes except the colors and graphics? In the real world, we would have had a new, but different color Tri-Z every year. And everyone knows only HONDA has a true R & D team and it sounds like Wickedfinger would fit right in. ;)

[trikerider2oo7]

I always thought you would just cut the front end off the trx450r and put the atc250r one on... making it a 450r 4 STROKE not 2 ?? ...
They changed the engine did they ? hmm interesting ....
Just have to say the new power is in 4 stroke.... 2 will be going out the door soon.


maybe i'm wrong, but what i got out of what oldfart said...the ATC450R idea was 2-stroke

[short4stuff]

maybe i'm wrong, but what i got out of what oldfart said...the ATC450R idea was 2-stroke

O yes I forgot about that post .. i was thinking about the trx450r converted .... sorry
By the way Wickedfinger you are a good article writer. :beer
:TrikesOwn

[Jeb]

Hey Wicked, keep your '88 Tecate-3 a six speed. Tecate-4's were six speed and counterbalanced. so you could really improve top speed and smooth out some vibration on the KXT by using the KXF's engine.

Also, If I remember right, 85 & 86 Tri-Z came from the factory with SHOWA forks. 36mm on the 85 and 39mm on the 86.


Great Article!

[Wickedfinger]

Hey Wicked, keep your '88 Tecate-3 a six speed. Tecate-4's were six speed and counterbalanced. so you could really improve top speed and smooth out some vibration on the KXT by using the KXF's engine.

Also, If I remember right, 85 & 86 Tri-Z came from the factory with SHOWA forks. 36mm on the 85 and 39mm on the 86.


Great Article!

Ok, I changed the Tecate section again based off of your input!. The problem I have with Tecates is ... all I know about them is based largely off of many years of discussions here on 3WW. I've never ridden a T3 or T4 and have only ever seen a T4 once in my some 20 years of ATVing. I can tell of only a handful of times I've come across a T3 on the trails too. They are super rare around me. As far as the Showas go, I couldn't get confirmation on that in any websearching I did when writing this. I don't remember my '86's forks saying Showa anywhere on them. Anyway, fiction boys, fiction.

[TeCaTe_MaN]

fuction...but great fiction it is....

[Red Rider]

Wickedfinger, I understand this is just fiction. All I'm trying to do is inject a little more reality into your perception of what the 1988 threewheelers would have been like. I totally agree with you about the powervalved engine & relocated gas tank/airbox on the Tri-Z, but I just don't see Yamaha offering less suspension travel than the previous years. That would be like the new powervalved YPVS engine producing 26hp. Also, the "corporate blue" color scheme didn't make it's debut until the mid-late 90's on the YZ's. For that time era, Yamaha probably would have been using the "international white/red" color scheme, or perhaps white/pink, or white/purple, just like their YZ's were.

[Wickedfinger]

Wickedfinger, I understand this is just fiction. All I'm trying to do is inject a little more reality into your perception of what the 1988 threewheelers would have been like. I totally agree with you about the powervalved engine & relocated gas tank/airbox on the Tri-Z, but I just don't see Yamaha offering less suspension travel than the previous years. That would be like the new powervalved YPVS engine producing 26hp. Also, the "corporate blue" color scheme didn't make it's debut until the mid-late 90's on the YZ's. For that time era, Yamaha probably would have been using the "international white/red" color scheme, or perhaps white/pink, or white/purple, just like their YZ's were.

Listen, one thing for sure is that I don't want to be seen as some kind of writer who can't take criticism - its not true, and I have changed quite a few things in this farse due to discrepencies pointed out by others. The only reason I wrote the thing was to create a little entertainment to those who chose to read it. The corporate blue is only in there because I'm really a big fan of it - thats all. Also, I wouldn't get hung up over .3" of Travel difference between 9.7" and 10". I'm not real fond of using too many rounded numbers when I'm writing for some reason (probably because they are more appealing to my mechanical intelect and the readers eye), which is why I used the true Banshee rear travel number of 8.66" instead of the 8.7" you see printed everywhere. Another thing is, just because something has the most suspension travel, dosent mean its the best suspension available for a bike. 12" of travel front and back might be great for the desert, but its terrible for the woods. Take your own example of the Tri-Zs rear numbers. AT 9"+, its 1/2 an inch more than the "newer" Banshees, yet the Banshees swing-arm and shock combination is a better design that has lasted 17 years without a major change. Its basic geometry was used in the development of an all new quad (Raptor) 15 years after it was introduced. The same thing can't be said about the original Banshees J-Arm front suspension, which was canned after only 3 or 4 years for a traditional A-Arm setup. If the Tri-Z's was a better design, it would have been put to use on the Banshee/Warrior. The old Tri-Z's stock shocks were junk anyway, and you won't find a stock one to be had anymore. The Modularization and commonality of parts would play a huge part in the development and continuation of a product line. Logic dictates that it would cost far too much to develop, build, and run so many different specialized machines to create a 100% different product from whats being built on the next assembly line over when what you are offering is just a variation on the same end purpose and product. The major manufacturers in my story did have to make a choice to keep building trikes, and they did - but - I think most of them are starting to see some kind of writing on the wall and spending huge amounts of development moneys on a seemingly inferior product isn't good for the public and private shareholders of these corporations. It has to be assumed by the reader that public demand for a three wheeled ATV is still great enough to keep building them. So, therefore, thats why my Tri-Z has only 8.66" of travel in the rear.

[eh_tee_see]

May 17th, 2005 Realizing how stupid it was, the supreme court has ruled the consant degree ( or however you spell it) "retarded" and instead they came up with "the quadset decree" which means that all 4 wheeled atv's have to be converted to 3 wheeled in the next 6 days or the 4 japanese companys are going to prison. Kawasaki and Honda are very happy about the switch while suzuki is royally pissed but grasping the situation, they have changed their slogan to "First to be back on three wheels". Yamaha has gone mad and they blew up all their factories this past wednesday( yay). Thats all the news we have here at Iman-Ideut ATVing, look in next months issue for information on the new 2006 three wheeled models. OKAY just thought i'd say something funny to brighten the mood

[TeCaTe_MaN]

hahah yamaha blew up their factories :Bounce :beer

...that was funny :TrikesOwn

[ATC crazy]

Yeah I've got PhotoShop, I know how to use it too (The ATC450R in Dirtwheels a while back was mine). But a 3wheel drive trike would be kind of hard to mock up and make look right.

I agree billy...It would be very hard.

Kudo's for Wicked....you did a kick-ass job on writing that up http://www.bluetraxx.com/phpBB/images/smiles/icon2.gif I was just about drooling over the keyboard while reading over the Honda stuff....especialy the ATC250X and 300SX. Great imagination...and very-well could have happened if it wernt for the cursed CPSC.

:TrikesOwn

[Dirtcrasher]

Absolutely fantastic!!

Ignore the critics - it was and is perfect as it is.

[Yamada]

Hey HondaATC send this pix of the ATC450R on the forum so we can see it.

[Red Rider]

Loved the article WF. I can hardly wait for the 1989 models now. :beer

[ATC crazy]

Hey HondaATC send this pix of the ATC450R on the forum so we can see it.

I also made one. The pic is on my computer at home...I'll post mine when I get home

[Billy Golightly]

Here it is...they eff'ed up my name and location though. It should be Billy Golightly from Live Oak FL, but instead I'm Billy Golighty from Bigstik, PA....

[threewheelin-feelin]

lmao yamaha went mad and blew up the factorys ill never get over that been lafing 15 mins about it. ok i want to give this a shot im gonna start th 89 line up.


well id like to start off with 3wheelers have lasted another year {yay}
new from honda in 1989
is the atc500r its a liquid cooled 499cc 2 stroke with a exstended rear swing arm to help keep that front down and come stock with a wheelie bar but can easly be removed. it also has optinal thumb or twist trottle hehhe. retails for $5,243

some one ad to this

[eh_tee_see]

August 15, 2005
A glorious day for the reminiscent three-wheeler goers out there... It seems today that the Supreme Court has abolished the Consant Decree (or however the f you spell it) which prevented the manufacturing and selling of 3 wheeled atvs from 1987 on. Look for more updates soon.

September 12, 2005
Its been roughly a month since the consant decree was abolished yet still no company has stepped forward to manufacture any 3 wheeled atv, 3 wheeler fans dont give up yet theres still hope.

September 14, 2005
Honda has released information regarding their 2006 model ATCs!!! A Honda spokesperson announced today they are releasing three 3-wheeled Atvs for the upcoming year.

Actually these two ATCs are actually not new concepts.

Hondas new ATC450rx is basically a 3 wheeled TRX450r. Honda didnt say much about how it performed but they did give us a few of the specs: The rearend is nearly identical to its 4wheeled brother with the same amount of rear travel and same sized tires. But the swingarm is extended 3 inches to keep it from wheeling whenever it gets gas. The new front forks offered on the ATC450rx offer an amazing 12.4 inches of travel and have 6 different adjustability settings. Though the front end was not much lighter than the 450r's in a side by side comparison, Honda claimed the ATC "wasted" the TRX model. This model is set to be released in early November this year at a set price of $5999*

The ATC300ex is to ATC250X as TRX300ex is to TRX250x... Discontinued in 1990 when the consant decree came into effect, the ATC250x was a very popular model and was missed by very many ATC-goers, thankfully Honda thought about them and Released the amazing ATC300ex!! Using a completely different engine over the TRX300ex, Honda introduced one of the fastest ATV's for its class, if not the fastest. Using a liquid-cooled 294 cc 4-stroke engine honda created a monster that delivered a whopping 32 Horsies to the rear wheels. The transmission was modified by introducing a 6th gear whilst retaining its reverse and electric start! With the more modern technology introduced to the ATC300ex, it is just as fast if not faster than Honda's previous model ATC350x but does not have as much torque. This model is to be released simultaneously with the ATC450rx and will be in the 3500-4000 price range.

In 1990 Honda stopped making a very popular ATC callled the 300sx... This was widely regarded is a bad move. Knowing that this was their most popular model, Honda knew they had to make a modern day version of it... The result? The all new 350sx. This 346cc liquid cooled badboy has it all, reverse, a new 6 speed tranny, electric start and for the first time in SX history, you get to choose between the 350sx or the 350srx which has a manual clutch. The 350sx features the same final drive as its predecessor the 250sx and 300sx. The 350sx's performance is almost identical to that of the 400ex with a 440 kit. The new rear suspension offers 8.2 inches of travel, a revolution for the shaft drive world, while the front suspension thrives on 10.3 inches of travel. The 350sx/srx however sporty it may sound still has the power to work on the farm and can be outfitted with Hondaline* rear racks and front racks. This ATC has 6 horses on the ATC300ex and features 20x11x8 tires to keep it from going overspeed. It is going to be released simultaneously with the other 2 models and the price range will be anywhere from $4000-4200 price range.




Okay this crap isnt very accurate or anything but I thought it would be entertaining.

[thehickfarmer]

new from honda in about 13 years later, in 2004 :) ,
honda 700 v twin big red 3x3, with hi -low range, diff lock, 698cc motor, remote head light that moves 180 degress, and 2nd person seating options,

[eh_tee_see]

new in the space-age future of 2005 the big red 8.9 liter twin, 20 years after production stopped, this beast beats any sport bike, come complete with diaper changing station, 8 year warranty, and a 56k modem... theres a reason they call you thehick farmer :P just kiddin

[eh_tee_see]

btw my dad has a pretty bad sx... it has a 300 cylinder and 250sx head on it with a web camshaft. hes got a 350x front end on it its pretty quick. He wants to bore it out more though, he'd buy a 350x cept for he doesnt want chain drive.

[threewheelin-feelin]

may 6 2004. this just in 2 groups of 3wheeler riders one being lead by man calling him self threewheelin-feelin and another being lead by a man calling his self atc-crazy. they have broke in to the cpsc main office and the other has taking over the supreme court they are armed with shot guns machine guns whips and bananas. there demands r that the cosent decree never be resigned and manufacturing of 3wheelers starts next year[2005] and they each get a new model of there chosing. if the demands r not meet by noon tomorow they will blow up the supreme court and the cpsc. stay tuned for more information. they have said they will use there bananas.

[ATC crazy]

Mine....This is what a 2004 would look like ;)

ATC450R & Tri-Z 450

[Yamahammer490]

I was thinking about the all wheel drive Big Red. It might not have to be that different looking. Yamaha has been working on 2 wheel drive motorcycles for a while now. I've seen a bunch of articles on dirt bikes and even an R1 road bike with their "2-Trac" system. It's hydraulic so there isn't a need for a front shaft/pumpkin setup. I bet it would work great on a trike. Here's a link to one of the articles about the 2-Trac Yamahas.

http://ymedc.introweb.nl/en/archive/enduro/wr450_2trac.shtml

[threewheelin-feelin]

guys i was just thinking didnt the cosent decree exspire in 1998???

[The_dew_man]

maybe add something about the 200r and the 450r that will be released later in the year. or something like a spyphoto / upcoming rides that tells very little about the atc. thats what i think, but it is up to Wickedfinger.

[TeCaTe_MaN]

Tiger should say F-quads and start makin trikes again... :TrikesOwn

[threewheelin-feelin]

i didnt know that tiger was still in busines and making quads?????

[TeCaTe_MaN]

they switched to quads if i remember right, then swirtched companies or somethin

[threewheelin-feelin]

i think they made 1 quad ans like 4 3wheelers all at the same time then made quads a couple years after the ban of trikes then went out of busines not sure though

[Wickedfinger]

Tiger has been closed for some time now ....... Howdy has a picture of where the factory used to be though .... ha ha ha

[Yamahammer490]

ATK purchased the Cannondale motorcycle and ATV rights and has a reputation for being somewhat of a maverick company. They could just make up some wider triple clamps and use the front from their bikes and the rear from their quads and sell brand new trikes with very little development effort. That would be awesome.

[C W.]

i love it i yould have that 300 3x3 big red with maby part time 3 wheal drive and a lockable rear diff. i wonder what hapend to all the old tooling used by hoda to make three wheelers went.2006 atc 250R sick sick sick

[threewheelin-feelin]

they proble still have them locked away for if they ever deside to make um again as a last resort if the quads start getting old or sumthing im sure that honda and yamaha have keep theres

[85_ATC_200S]

lol, i don't know if anyone noticed, but in atc-crazy's wet dream pics about the tri-z and the R, they are water cooled, yet have no radiators. They must have come out with some awesome kind of cooling system for those huh ;) LOL, i'm just giving you crap, those trikes kick arse, and i bet they'd fly once you got your cooling problem worked out, lol :TrikesOwn (i wana know how you do that, i could make some pretty sick trikes with the wheeler pics i have)

[trikerider2oo7]

my uncle used to have a two wheel drive motorcycle and i was just thinkin bout 3 wheel drive trikes just the other day

[threewheelin-feelin]

get photo shop 7 or if trailprotrailpro really good and got alot of time u can use paint

[Red Rider]

Hey 85 200S, I know how to solve ATC Crazy's supposed cooling problem. He could hide a couple of radiators underneath those radiator shrouds. :o

[85_ATC_200S]

ok buddy u find room on the Honda, the Yamaha would have room, but don't you usually see see a few hoses?

[Red Rider]

Hey buddy, do ya think those shrouds are there just for good looks? Oh I know, maybe there are some radiators behind them. Wow, those Japanese engineers are good. Not only did they manage to conceal the radiators behind those shrouds, but they also made the shrouds big enough to hide the hoses too. What a novel idea! :rolleyes:

[threewheelin-feelin]

May 17th, 2005 Realizing how stupid it was, the supreme court has ruled the consant degree ( or however you spell it) "retarded" and instead they came up with "the quadset decree" which means that all 4 wheeled atv's have to be converted to 3 wheeled in the next 6 days or the 4 japanese companys are going to prison. Kawasaki and Honda are very happy about the switch while suzuki is royally pissed but grasping the situation, they have changed their slogan to "First to be back on three wheels". Yamaha has gone mad and they blew up all their factories this past wednesday( yay). Thats all the news we have here at Iman-Ideut ATVing, look in next months issue for information on the new 2006 three wheeled models. OKAY just thought i'd say something funny to brighten the mood


lmao what did polaris cannondale and the rest of the companys do???????

[Wickedfinger]

Polaris never signed the consent decree .... they could have continued to produce the Scrambler 3 if they wanted to, but by that time, their new Trailblazer 250E/S was making some decent sales and they probably saw no reason for the Scrambler 3 anymore. Canondale however was still about 12 years away from entering the motorsports business.

[threewheelin-feelin]

did tiger sign or any other? wich companys actuly signed other then honda?

[350xsx]

the concent decree actually has already ended in 97 or 98 though right?so companies could realy start building threewheelers again if they chose to,right?

[TrikeKid]

when cannondale auctioned off what they had they sold two trike proto types. They were the 440 quad with the 440 bike front end. probably early proto types because they still had the bike front wheel and triple clamps.

[Aussieboy1]

Great job mate, it brought tears to my eyes. I was only having the same conversation with my brohter a couple of weeks ago, but we were talking about trikes still being around now (2004)
Anyway even thou its only fantasy, we can all dream hey...........

[Tri-ZNate]

Thats a nice 3x3 idea but i do believe honda extended that to the SX too. lol. It would be awesome if the 350x was upgraded into a 450x and the 300sx was also available in a 398cc option. If I was God that would be my greatest creation. Awesome job on the writing.

[Tecate250]

Anyone have pics of the 88 tecate 3 or tri z?