jd2210
06-13-2007, 06:59 PM
Hello all, this is my first post, so I just wanted to introduce myself.
Here's my story.
A few months back, my wife's grandfather had his "going into retirement" auction for his farm. My wife and I felt it would be a good idea to go the auction and support him and his family (about a 4 hour drive away). So when we get there I spot a very abused 1985 Honda ATC250ES and took a quick looksy. Every fender was broken or missing, the electric start didn't work, the side covers are gone, the battery and most of the wiring were smashed or ripped apart, the fuel tank it bent, the front brakes kind of work, and the rear are cableless. The engine oil had the consistancy of roof shingles. The stright pipe exhaust looks like it welded by a blind 3 year old. But the sucker fired on the first kick, the tires were decent, and the tranny shifted very well (though reverse took some getting used to)
As I was checking it out my wife's Grandmother comes over and starts crying (yes I'm serious) about the loss of the 3 wheeler. "We had 9 children who all grew up riding this.... what a shame to see it go....so many memories....what a great machine, etc" I figured I could use the unit around my place for various little projects and decided in my mind I would go as high as $500 for the machine.
well I bid it up to $500 and when the guy I was against went $550 I looked up to now see one of my wifes aunts begging her husband to please buy it (and he basically ignoring her), so I bid $600. I got the machine. In the next 5 minutes nearly every one of my wife's relatives came to and congratulated me as if I'd just won the Daytona 500. These are VERY genuine good ol farm folk and were totally pumped the unit was staying in the family. I'm now offically the number one "married in."
So I get the unit home and take it for a 10 minute spin. Turns out the sucker isn't the instant death trap the media had me believing. Man is that thing fun! I am an ex-stock car driver, hard core snowmobiler, boat-owning, 4 wheeler enthusiast, and I can say with all confidence that there is nothing I've been on with an engine more fun than that machine. The sucker is even hard to get stuck (I get off quite often but not to the point where I need a winch. I often go riding on the weekends with a group of about 15 of us in some pretty mixed boggy, swampy, rocky, hilly stuff. By this weekend my beauty will be basically ready for it's first all day run (I've done a LOT of fixing, mostly just labor). The $12,000 800 Outty and his 700Arctic Cat buddies will be in for a surprise.:lol:
Here's my story.
A few months back, my wife's grandfather had his "going into retirement" auction for his farm. My wife and I felt it would be a good idea to go the auction and support him and his family (about a 4 hour drive away). So when we get there I spot a very abused 1985 Honda ATC250ES and took a quick looksy. Every fender was broken or missing, the electric start didn't work, the side covers are gone, the battery and most of the wiring were smashed or ripped apart, the fuel tank it bent, the front brakes kind of work, and the rear are cableless. The engine oil had the consistancy of roof shingles. The stright pipe exhaust looks like it welded by a blind 3 year old. But the sucker fired on the first kick, the tires were decent, and the tranny shifted very well (though reverse took some getting used to)
As I was checking it out my wife's Grandmother comes over and starts crying (yes I'm serious) about the loss of the 3 wheeler. "We had 9 children who all grew up riding this.... what a shame to see it go....so many memories....what a great machine, etc" I figured I could use the unit around my place for various little projects and decided in my mind I would go as high as $500 for the machine.
well I bid it up to $500 and when the guy I was against went $550 I looked up to now see one of my wifes aunts begging her husband to please buy it (and he basically ignoring her), so I bid $600. I got the machine. In the next 5 minutes nearly every one of my wife's relatives came to and congratulated me as if I'd just won the Daytona 500. These are VERY genuine good ol farm folk and were totally pumped the unit was staying in the family. I'm now offically the number one "married in."
So I get the unit home and take it for a 10 minute spin. Turns out the sucker isn't the instant death trap the media had me believing. Man is that thing fun! I am an ex-stock car driver, hard core snowmobiler, boat-owning, 4 wheeler enthusiast, and I can say with all confidence that there is nothing I've been on with an engine more fun than that machine. The sucker is even hard to get stuck (I get off quite often but not to the point where I need a winch. I often go riding on the weekends with a group of about 15 of us in some pretty mixed boggy, swampy, rocky, hilly stuff. By this weekend my beauty will be basically ready for it's first all day run (I've done a LOT of fixing, mostly just labor). The $12,000 800 Outty and his 700Arctic Cat buddies will be in for a surprise.:lol: