Getting a Tecate 3!!!!

[Levithan]

Hi guys! Its been a while since Ive been on the forums, but im back! I moved from Washington to Utah 6 months ago, and left my Auto X and MX 200x project there. I really miss riding, and after being in Utah for a while I noticed all the sweet looking places they have here to ride. So, I looked in craigslist, and found a decent shape '84 T-3. I've never ridden a T-3 so im not exactly sure what to expect. Ive read they are very pipey, and I am assuming this means that they are high strung. I am also not used to using a twist, so I am either going to have to get used to the twist, or switch to a thumb, but I am unsure about this as of yet. Everything on the bike appears to be in good working order. I kicked the bike over, and it kicks over, but will not start. The guy who owned it said its been a year in storage since he has ridden it. I am assuming that the carb is probably at fault, but havent looked into it yet. I was just curious as to what info I need before working on, and riding this bike. Is there anything I should be looking for? I have quite a bit of 4 stroke experience, but no 2 stroke experience to speak of. So anyways, I just thought id say hello, and try to get everyones input on the T-3.

Thanks!

[going4broketecate85]

Great bike! Scary fast to most people!!! One thing to check for is spark it was and as far as I am concerned still is a problem with the Tecate-3's!!!!!! Good luck with it!!!!!!:beer

[cr480r]

Be careful...

[scooterroo]

yeah scary fast, and depending on what mods could be really scary fast, lol. yeah check for spark. stators are a common problem on the t3 but easy enough fix, go thru ricky stator. aside from that, wouldnt hurt to check the carb. thumb throttle is the way to go for me. z400 works, or you could always go with anew moose billet thumber like i am using. once you do get it running, hold on tight, cuz its definately not a 200x, and you will know what i am talking about.

[ccdhowell]

Utah must be about the perfect place to ride a 3 wheeler, I'm a little envious. As far as the Tecate, I have a nice running 85 that sees mostly trails. The Tecate really isn't a great trail trike, it will keep up on your p's and q's trying to keep it in it's powerband and not too much throttle twist through the rough stuff. The suspension is really good for trails though. Lots of travel. The quad guys are beat-up after a few hours, but my T3 keeps my old backside plenty comfy. You'll love the Tecate once you get used to it and it's powerband. I tried gearing really low when I first got mine in an attempt to make it behave like 4stroke machines...didn't work out. I finally did learn to enjoy the lightswitch powerband and make it go where I wanted, but it must be learned as the Tecate isn't as intuitive and easy to ride as other trikes. At least that's my take on it.

Good find though and send pictures of the beautiful Utah backcountry.

[BigGreenMachine]

There are dunes in Utah right? You picked the perfect machine to make a duner thats for sure. It is a great trail rider IMO. I ride a LOT of trails with knarly hills, steep banks, roots, rocks and stumps with no problems. The big flywheel on the T3 makes it easy to chug along when you want and then snap it open to really get up and go.

[Levithan]

Sweet! Thanks for all your replys guys! I absolutely LOVE the Utah back country, its more diverse than any place Ive been so far. We have dunes only a hour and a half from here, which is pretty sweet. So the thumb is the way to go eh? Where can I find a thumb throttle assembly for the Tecate? Is there a good place to look for parts? Also, where can I find plastics for the bike? Ebay looks pretty slim in that department. Are the 84-85 and 86-87 plastics interchangeable? Well, once I have the bike in my posession, I'll post some pics!

[Tecate250]

Great to see another tecate surface. I never used my 84 front end with the drum brakes. I was told they were junk.

[BigGreenMachine]

The 86/87 rear fenders will fit the 84/85 Tecate with some modding. Not sure on the front. Denniskirk.com is a great place for parts.

The thumb throttle and cable from a Z400 Suzuki will fit the Tecate.

Ebay for everything else that you can't find.

[ATC-Eric]

So whats the condition of the bike? How much is it going to set you back?

Thats pretty cool man. I really want a Tecate!

[cr480r]

Great to see another tecate surface. I never used my 84 front end with the drum brakes. I was told they were junk.

I though my old drum front brake worked quite well for what it was... I imagine that the discs are better obviously, But I am going to a '85 set-up mostly for looks... and I needed to replace my forks anyways...

[Levithan]

The bike set me back 400, which is really a steal IMO for a bike like this. It needs alot of work though. Took the carb apart today and it had sand chunks in it. Leads me to believe that I need a new intake boot. Anyone got one for sale? Im also going to change the air filter, and the reeds. Eventually Im going to swap the front and rear fenders as well. It also needs a new bracket that connects the exaust pipe to the front of the frame. Here are some pics that I took. I will have more tomorrow when its light....

[cr480r]

The bike set me back 400, which is really a steal IMO for a bike like this.....

I paid $300 for mine with blown forks, nearly blown shock, a bent axle, and a failing ignition....You did just fine...Congrats on the ownership of a sweet tecate

[scooterroo]

400 isnt bad at all. especially for one as complete as that. god where do people find these things. i need a break here, lol. looks like a fixer and keeper. keep us posted with some pics of her progress. you'll love it once you get used to it. your intake boot looks to be in ok shape, if its not dry cracked to bad, you could always use some of that plier grip dip stuff on the outside to re-coat it in rubber. works wonders, i know i used it on mine and it looks new basically.

[BigGreenMachine]

That is in pretty decent shape. Does it run? Looks like the top end has never been apart.

I couldn't get a 200m here for $400...

[DixiePlowboy]

You got what seems to me to be a pretty good deal. I paid $360 for a crusty '85 frame and a pickup truck load of parts in boxes minus quite a few essential pieces but with an excess of things I didn't need for just one machine.

[Levithan]

It hasnt run yet. The guy had it sitting for a year in his garage, and the carb was full of old gas and sand. I was looking for any cheap 3 wheeler project I could find on craigslist, and there wasnt too much in the way of anything here. Then I searched Tecate, and found one posted for $450. He told me that some other guy had offered him 325 and that he had to take the bike down to him, unless I gave him a better deal. So I offered him an even $400 and it was a done deal.

Would backpressure from the intake boot allow air to flow in from there if it was cracked? The guy I bought it from seemed to think that I should probably get a new intake boot. Last night I went over the carb with laquer thinner, and cleaned it up real nice. Probably got a couple mm of sand out of it. Im going to put it back together today and see if I can get the bike started. I havent tested for spark either as of yet, so we'll see if I have one of those notorious bad stators....

[BigGreenMachine]

If it starts and the revs start flying way up out of control then shut off the motor right away before it seizes.

That shooting up of rpm's would mean your instake boot is bad and is causing a deadly air leak.

[scooterroo]

use some of that plier grip dip stuff. coat your intake boot with a few nice coats, bam, looks as good as new and works great.

[Levithan]

Well, I checked, no spark. Anyone know what I should be checking first? I know that the stators go bad, but that would be because the flywheel, am I right? So does this mean that i should be replaceing the flywheel and the stator? Just lemme know, im taking the radiator off to do a flush of the cooling system right now...

[Levithan]

Hi guys, just wanted to post some more pics. Is that the stock air filter in there? I also need to figure out some way to mount the expansion pipe back to the bike, as the bracket is broken. Do you guys think I should get rid of the front drum brake? Im questioning wether or not I should. I already took the brake lever off to get the radiator guard out of the way. Is the bake worth the while?

[ATC-Eric]

Heres your stock exhuast part on BikeBandit for $15.

Good looking Tecate you got there, I would like to find one just like it!



http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/oem_schematic_view~schem_dept_id~1297839~section_d ept_id~1~section_dept_name~OEM+%28Stock%29+Parts~d ept_type_id~2~model_dept_year~1984~model_dept_mfr~ Kawasaki~model_dept_id~1297783~model_dept_name~TEC ATE.asp#stay

[cr480r]

Do you guys think I should get rid of the front drum brake? Im questioning wether or not I should. I already took the brake lever off to get the radiator guard out of the way. Is the bake worth the while?

Yes definately keep the front brake... at least until you gather all the parts for the disc conversion... left fork leg, hub, rotor, wheel, caliper, caliper bracket, brake hose, master cylinder,etc.... I would ride it as is while you look for the parts you need... Its not too expensive if you wait for good deals...If I had it to do over I would do a complete '86 front-end swap... some people run without a front brake system, but I feel its really important...for downhill braking especially...

[Levithan]

Thanks man! I have another question, heh, sorry I have so many. :postwhore Im thinking Im gonna have to remove the flywheel so I can look at the condition of both the flywheel and stator. When I had my 200x, all you had to do Is insert a certain size bolt into the hole of the flywheel, and screw it in as far as possible until the flywheel popped off on it. Is this a similiar job? They're kinda vague in the manual as what you have to do. I dont have a flywheel puller with me, so that isnt an option at the moment. Anyways, thanks again for all your help! :beer

[cr480r]

http://3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=67532&highlight=puller

[BigGreenMachine]

Careful not to insert the outter bolts too far into the flywheel as they will contact the stator coils and destroy them.

[Levithan]

Alright, I'll have to start that project come monday, I work weekends. The coolant appears good. Should I still replace if its been sitting for a year? I also noticed that the brake fluid resivoir has broken off the mount, so it wont hold brake fluid anymore. Do you think I should stick to the stock tires, or get something with more of a low profile? Anyways, thanks for all your help guys, im getting pretty close to having this thing ready to go!

[digity x]

yeah get some nice 18 hoosiers for it mine looks bad ass with them on or nice razors.

[scooterroo]

titan fast trekkers...18x11x10's slide nice, hook up just as well.

[BigGreenMachine]

Replace that engine coolant for sure. Your original tires are in NICE shape, I'd put them up on ebay. The two rears in one auction and the front in another. The get yourself a Kenda Front Max 22-11-10 and some nice Titan Fast Trekkers in 20-11-10. Only get 18's if your not going to be doing any trail riding as it makes you loose ground clearance. Thats definately the stock filter, UNI makes one for your trike. That exhaust mount you might be able to get at the dealer.

[BigGreenMachine]

I may have an spare brake fluid reservoir kicking around as well.

[HondaHarry]

I think I saw that same Tecate for sale on CL, thought about buying it. looks pretty good, Im in Southern Utah, picked up an 86 T-3 about 45 minutes from where I live, had to pay 1800 for it, but I think I stole the thing... Previous owner new a little about them, and priced it accordingly, but I think he mustve scared himself on it. lol brought it home cleaned the carb and it fired up on the 3rd kick. came with a bunch of goodies too, +6 swinger, Pipe(unknown brand I suspect DG but cant tell), Boyesen Reeds,39mm carb, and a 300 sleeved cylinder with some major porting done. Had it stored away for a while, dug it out, and got it going, then put it away again.:crazy: lol needs some jetting, way too rich right now, wont rev out.
I'll get some time to work on it sometime.. really need a garage, I have a shop to use, but I kinda wore out my welcome there, so I havent been motivated to work on it much, but hey, its not going anywhere. Sorry for the novel, its good to see another tecate being brought back to life, seems like they are popping up a bit more than usual. :beer HH

[Levithan]

Hey Big Green, I would be interested in that resivoir, how much are you asking? How much do you think those tires would grab on ebay? Do they make them anymore? Would I just be selling the tires by themselves, and not the rims? Hehe, sorry, im a ebay n00b when it comes to selling. What tires would you recommend if I was to do a lil bit of trail riding? Im planning on riding alot up around American Fork, which has alot of wide trails. Thats a nice Tecate HH. It sounds like you got a good deal even at that price. Im glad I found this bike, It was perfect for my budget. Im gonna try and get the flywheel off next week and see what the deal is. If there is a problem, Is there anyway I can get it fixed without too much trouble? I've read a bit about the flywheels magnets coming off and stuff. I would get an aftermarket, but it seems like the ricky stator one is the only affordable one, and Ive read thats crap too! Well, back to work. Have a good one guys!

[KASEY]

wow,,, good to see you got another wheeler!!! how do you like utah ? maybe you can make one of the rides we have going,,, the tecate is a big step up!!! congrats!!!!!:w00t: :w00t:

[cr480r]

What tires would you recommend if I was to do a lil bit of trail riding? Im planning on riding alot up around American Fork, which has alot of wide trails.

20" is a good compromise between handling and ground clearance...

[BigGreenMachine]

Well you could always upgrade to some nice aluminum 8 inch rims on the back and the front stay with the same size aluminum wheel. Tires, some 20 inch tall Titan fast Trekkers are great tires, 6 ply and very sporty. Great for a Tecate.

If your riding a lot of open area then a 14 tooth front sprocket would be nice so your not over reving the motor to keep up with others.

Focus on getting the trike running and working fine first. The ride it for a while to get a good feel for how it handles and the power. After all of that would be the right time to start tinkering with it.

The tires are rare in that shape. I'd sell just the tires in one auction and the wheels in another. By the look of those tires I'd be 95% positive saying your machine has very few hours on it. Looks like it was abused a little and sat for a long time.

PM me your mailing addy and I'll send that reservoir out to you so don't worry about it.

James