'86 T3...Finally done....for now

[Maico]

Hey guys....thought I'd share my project with ya. Bought an '86 Tecate T3 back in January. 1 runner and 2 rollers. Parted the rollers out and stripped the runner down for inspection. New chain and sprockets (Sprocket Specialists), new air filter (K&N), new swingarm bearings, rear carrier bearings and front wheel bearings (All Balls Racing), new bars and pad (Renthal), adjust-on-the-fly clutch lever (Outlaw Racing), brake pads front and rear (EBC), new clutch cable (Motion Pro), flywheel and stator (Ricky Stator 85W lighting), secondary coil (Monster Coil), pipe & silencer (DG), rear grab bar (RPM...not pictured).......and various other odds and ends. Rode it today for the first time. Started on the second kick.

[SYKO]

sweet! glad theres a tight kawi in georgia! now you need to build a racer!

[Red Rider]

Looks good Maico! :beer

[Maico]

Thanks. I didn't get carried away with re-painting everything...just made sure everything was clean and crack/damage free before I re-assembled it. It has the original air box and radiator overflow tank...but I removed the tank as it has a hairline crack in it and it weeps glycol if you squeeze it.

I sent out a spare rear shock for rebuild and new heavier spring

I need to find a rear skid plate!:beer


I have another '86 T3 roller back in my home state of MI. that's just BEGGING for a 500 swap. I kept enough extra parts from the parted rollers to make a complete bike....including 2 spare '86 250 motors if I decide to stick to the 250 theme.

[oldsking86]

Looks good! Now I'm not the only one in the south with some tecates haha at least I thought I was

[scooterroo]

well maico, if yuo decide on offing one of them 86 motors let me know. the t3 looks good, so how does it ride?

[Maico]

well maico, if yuo decide on offing one of them 86 motors let me know. the t3 looks good, so how does it ride?

Will do. As far as the ride?? The rear shock is a pogo stick...waiting for my rebuild to return. I need to go thru the front forks too. I'm workin' on a set of triple clamps and modified USD KX forks for it also.

Other than that...it runs pretty good. Stock carb w/airbox. Fairly peppy. I haven't wrung it out yet but it does feel a bit faster than any '85/'86 Honda R I've owned...and I've had a few.

[brrcuda]

who are you sending your shock to? I need mine done also and looking for a good place to send mine.

Bike looks nice. "B" Tecates are the best! Dont you just love saying that word - TECATE.

You might want to try OMF for a skid plate - call them up and ask if they still have the tools to make one - if they ever did. Got one for my tri-z last year - 100 dollars plus shipping but took six weeks to make and was worth the wait. Its worth a try though - they were cool on the phone with me. If they can make one for an 86 tecate - i'll buy one also.

[BigGreenMachine]

Same here!! I need one bad and have the 86 swinger on the T3.


That is nice Maico! The Kawi green is just awsome!

[BigRedRunner]

You said you had an "RPM" grab bar. Did you mean PRM? I've got one order and wonder what you thought of yours?

[scooterroo]

prm grab bars are very nice and sharp looking, love mine!!!

[Red Rider]

I need to go thru the front forks too. I'm workin' on a set of triple clamps and modified USD KX forks for it also.I don't think any of us have seen a Tecate with inverted forks yet. That should be pretty sweet, as long as the forks are the proper length for the bike. Keep us posted.

[Maico]

Sorry..my dyslexia must of flaired up. PRM made the rear grab bar. I went for the standard grab bar.

The USD's will be a fairly easy swap. The triples will be the biggest $$$ drop. I even went with the thought of Ohlins USD's and a custom Ohlins rear shock.:drool:

[firefirefire90]

This will be so sweet when finally completed. You should look into one of those green 250R fenders BigBore has on here. Yours just looked a little droopy in the picture. Might be me. The trike looks excellent BTW, not trying to dog on you. Will you be using the blue anonized forks or the "aluminum" finish forks?

[Maico]

who are you sending your shock to? I need mine done also and looking for a good place to send mine.

Bike looks nice. "B" Tecates are the best! Dont you just love saying that word - TECATE.

You might want to try OMF for a skid plate - call them up and ask if they still have the tools to make one - if they ever did. Got one for my tri-z last year - 100 dollars plus shipping but took six weeks to make and was worth the wait. Its worth a try though - they were cool on the phone with me. If they can make one for an 86 tecate - i'll buy one also.

The guy at the local parts store is doing the rebuild. He's the store manager of Slack's Auto Parts in Dahlonega,GA and also owner of a motorcycle parts/accesories/repair/sales shop located within Slacks.

Nothing special on the shock....just a rebuild to desert valving specs and a heavier spring.

I sent an e-mail to OMF about their Obsolete Parts Program they have mentioned on their web page.

I'll let you know when I hear back.

[Maico]

This will be so sweet when finally completed. You should look into one of those green 250R fenders BigBore has on here. Yours just looked a little droopy in the picture. Might be me. The trike looks excellent BTW, not trying to dog on you. Will you be using the blue anonized forks or the "aluminum" finish forks?


No offense taken. :) Constructive critisism is always welcomed. That's how I learn new ideas.

It must be the angle, FFFire. The rear plastic is in excellent condition actually. It has the original rear fender brace that has never been bent or re-welded/modified.

Forks will be the "aluminum" finish. They're primarily my guinea pig forks. The end results will be Ohlins forks.:naughty:

[BigGreenMachine]

Let me know what you find out about those skids. Need one here.

If you were interested in a front skid try KX500 skidplates.

[Maico]

Let me know what you find out about those skids. Need one here.

If you were interested in a front skid try KX500 skidplates.

I noticed a few of those KX front skids on E-Bay. My guess is that if the KX500 motor swaps right in basicaly, then I'd bet the frame rails of the cradle would be very close if not exact.

[BigGreenMachine]

Agreed. Kawi made everything pretty similar back then.

[Maico]

Let me know what you find out about those skids. Need one here.

If you were interested in a front skid try KX500 skidplates.

UPDATE: Here's the e-mail reply I just got from OMF.:(

Hey Roger,
Thanks for checking out our new website. Unfortunately we do not make a skid plate for the old Tecate 3. The stock mounts were just not strong enough to put a decent skid plate on. You might need to have somebody custom make you one.

Good luck,
Bones

Daraugh "Bones" Flynn
OMF Performance Products
9860 Indiana Ave., Unit #17
Riverside, CA 92503
Phone - (951) 354-8272
Fax - (951) 354-8599
www.OMFPerformance.com

It was worth a shot.

[BigGreenMachine]

Ahh that sucks man. Thats one piece I'd like to have just for peace of mind. I don't like spending extra on hard to find brake rotors..