1983 ATC200X vs. '84 or '85

[ATCT]

Hi-

I was wondering if anyone out there could help me. I recently purchased what I thought was a 1983 ATC200X. I have no reason to suspect it is not. I recently purchased an engine off of eBay that was in excellent condition. The listing said it was from an '83 as well. However, when I went to put the engine in my frame, I had extreme difficulty as the mounting bracket/weld on the frame nearest the swingarm (where the lower engine bolt goes through) was too narrow. So, I went and measured the slot on the rear bottom of the new engine where the bolt slides through and it was 3 1/2". I then measured the original engine that was in the bike, and, sure enough, the width of the space where the bolt slides through was 3 1/4"!! I literally had to bend the brackets (not an easy task--they're strong and the Honda welds are amazing!) to fit the new engine in the slot.

The question is, why is the engine casing that holds the bolt a different width? Was this section wider in 1984 or 1985? Or was it wider in 1983 and then in 1984 and 1985 they narrowed it for some reason (and hence my bike isn't an '83, but an '84)? The reason why I'm asking is I'm looking at an '84 frame to powdercoat and hopefully fit the engine in properly.

I'm guessing all of this might be resolved by looking at the serial number on the engine. Is there a place I can match the number with the production year?

Thanks for your help. Hopefully I made some sense.

[edog]

This belongs in the This VS That forum.It should just drop in.

[danteross77]

I measured my 1984 200x frame lower bracket space and it is 3 1/2"

[ATCT]

Thanks guys! I'll have to figure how to drop the threat in the proper category.

[chris200x]

Thanks guys! I'll have to figure how to drop the threat in the proper category.

:welcome: Don't listen to Edog... :rolleyes:

The 83-85 motors should be the same. The only 200x motor that won't bolt up that easily would be the 86-87 200x.

[Glenn J]

Isn't the "This vs That" forum for "What's faster?", "What has more HP?" threads? This thread seems like a regular ol' trike question.

I'm wondering if you got an engine from an 86 or 87 200X. An 83 engine should drop right in, no problems at all.

Do you have pics of the frame and the new and old engine?

[OldSchoolin86]

Thanks guys! I'll have to figure how to drop the threat in the proper category.
Welcome to 3Wheeler World! :welcome: The title is confusing because we have a vs. forum but this is more of a tech question. Your placement in here was correct. Good luck with the motor mounting!

OldSchoolin86
3WW Moderator

[ATCT]

:welcome: Don't listen to Edog... :rolleyes:

The 83-85 motors should be the same. The only 200x motor that won't bolt up that easily would be the 86-87 200x.


Pretty much everyone has said this to me, including the guy I purchased the engine from. However, the engine on the bike I bought and it's mounts on the frame are clearly a 1/4" smaller than the new engine. Looks like I'm going to have to check out the serial number on both the engine and the frame to figure it out.

[ATCT]

Welcome to 3Wheeler World! :welcome: The title is confusing because we have a vs. forum but this is more of a tech question. Your placement in here was correct. Good luck with the motor mounting!

OldSchoolin86
3WW Moderator

Thanks for the help!

[Meat-BoX]

Welcome to the site and your post is in the right place. Dont listen to E-Dog, he a post Ho:lol: because his Yamaha is the sexiest around.:w00t:
Im curious if you have a Honda XR motor or something like that. Anyway if it dont work out this is the place to be to Buy or Sell parts and get the info you need.

Oh my im over 1000 posts:eek:
Im a Post Ho allso:w00t:
My bike doesnt look as good as E-Dogs though.:cry:

[ATCT]

Isn't the "This vs That" forum for "What's faster?", "What has more HP?" threads? This thread seems like a regular ol' trike question.

I'm wondering if you got an engine from an 86 or 87 200X. An 83 engine should drop right in, no problems at all.

Do you have pics of the frame and the new and old engine?

Sorry, I don't have pics of the frame or engine at the moment. Are there any striking differences between the 86/87 and the 83-85 engines? The reason I ask is that I thought I did a fairly decent external comparison of the two engines I have and they looked virtually identical.

Additionally, while I am completely aware that it is possible someone parted this bike together, it just doesn't seem like that was the case based on the swingarm bolt being glued in the swingawm, the color of paint on the wiring from the frame being spraypainted, what appears to be the original frame year sticker. Once again, I guess all of these changes on the trike could have been made in 1990 and hence, the bike looks like an original '83 now due to aging, but...well, I guess anything's possible.

[slow200s]

Yes there are striking differnces between the first generation and the second, if you look on the left side of the engine there is a CDI cover that is round on the first generation bikes (83-85),
also the 83-85 transmission was 5speed which was indicated on the case neer the shifter, the 86-87 was 6speed. hope this helped you out. good luck, if you post pictures people will tell you instantly what is wrong.

basicly the 86-87's dont look much like the 83-85's if the engines look the same then thats probably not the problem

[200xcellent]

Also, 83-85 use a tube frame and the 86-87 use a square frame. So you should now know what your frame is.

[chris200x]

The later x engines also had a taller top end on it. I can't for the life of me recall what its called but the cover on top of the cylinder. :rolleyes:

[Rex Karz]

The 86-87 has the spark plug on the left hand side, 83-85 is on the right.....

87 Motor (http://www.rexkarz.com/ridepix/87-04.JPG)

[jason85atc250r]

maybe it has 200s center cases. are they black or silver? they do fit by brother did it to his 85 200x. i don't remember if the mount is different that was back inj the early 1990's

[ATCT]

Nope, they're the same cases. The engines are virtually identical, with the exception of the rear bottom mounting casing (on the engine) and the space between the mounting brackets on the frame. In any event, it looks like the '84 frame I just purchased should fit the new engine, so hopefully it won't matter. I'm just going to eventually rebuild the original engine and put it in the original frame. Still, it's a bit strange.

Someone mentioned looking at the frame and engine serial numbers. Is there some sort of decoder--the last digit=the production year, or something like that?

[dreadhed]

Nope, they're the same cases. The engines are virtually identical, with the exception of the rear bottom mounting casing (on the engine) and the space between the mounting brackets on the frame. In any event, it looks like the '84 frame I just purchased should fit the new engine, so hopefully it won't matter. I'm just going to eventually rebuild the original engine and put it in the original frame. Still, it's a bit strange.

Someone mentioned looking at the frame and engine serial numbers. Is there some sort of decoder--the last digit=the production year, or something like that?
Yes you can decode it. Check the home page of 3ww. If you can not find it there. Post it here and I will look it up. It sounds like you may have a 86-87 motor.

[ATCT]

Yes you can decode it. Check the home page of 3ww. If you can not find it there. Post it here and I will look it up. It sounds like you may have a 86-87 motor.
OK, I finally had a second to check out my engine and frame codes, and what I've come up with makes absolutely NO sense.

My frame # is JH3TB0523DC264824
The engine that came on the bike is: TB05E-6134179

The new engine # is TB05E-6006619

So, if I'm not mistaken, this means the frame is an '83, the engine that came on the bike is an '84, and the new engine I bought is an '83. Yet, the '83 engine doesn't fit in the '83 frame, but the '84 engine does. This is CRAZY!!

[dreadhed]

Ya you got the years right. Im not sure why you can't get it in. Keep on trying.

[ATCT]

Ya you got the years right. Im not sure why you can't get it in. Keep on trying.
Well, I finally did get it in. However, I just bought an '84 frame for $30 and I'm having it powder coated as we speak, so hopefully I'll just be able to drop it in there without bending those mounts (which was brutal--they're pretty damn strong).

I just wanted to know what the story was on the discrepancy. It will remain a mystery, I guess. I just hope the new frame is spaced to fit the engine (3 1/2"). Based on the replies, it seems like this should be the correct size.