Hello everybody. I haven’t logged on for a while. Any body out there have any new questions or inquiries they’d like my opinion on? Ask away. Cheers!
Hello everybody. I haven’t logged on for a while. Any body out there have any new questions or inquiries they’d like my opinion on? Ask away. Cheers!
New to the board
Arm chair racerNew to the board
Hello Mike, I built a 83 Santa Cruz style racer 3 years ago to pay tribute to you and Dean. (we spoke on the air cooled site a few years ago)Fast forward to today ,I am still enjoying racing that old girl here on the east coast.I also sponsor 84/85 gncc atc cross country champion Ted Trey whom i talked out of retirement 3 years ago ,and has been racing mx and Winning, or getting a top 2 or 3 finish every time on a stock 85 250r. He recently won Harrisburg PA Motorama 2018 Both nights at 56! You guys are true legends of this sport ,and were my heroes growing up in the early to mid 80s.
Thanks for the props and congratulations to Teddy for his recent success. It appears that 3 wheeler racing is on the rise in certain areas. I have no desire to race 3 wheelers or to compete in any form of Motorsports, but I do believe that if Honda was to build 3 wheelers again, they’d sell like crazy.Originally Posted by MtPleasantMadmn
Hello Mike, I built a 83 Santa Cruz style racer 3 years ago to pay tribute to you and Dean. (we spoke on the air cooled site a few years ago)Fast forward to today ,I am still enjoying racing that old girl here on the east coast.I also sponsor 84/85 gncc atc cross country champion Ted Trey whom i talked out of retirement 3 years ago ,and has been racing mx and Winning, or getting a top 2 or 3 finish every time on a stock 85 250r. He recently won Harrisburg PA Motorama 2018 Both nights at 56! You guys are true legends of this sport ,and were my heroes growing up in the early to mid 80s.
Hello all. Been a while again since I’ve been on the site. Just wanted to say Hi and that I attended the 50th anniversary event at Ashtabula and had a wonderful time. I got to see and speak to many, many fans along with past and current ATC/V racers. Had a blast at the event and had fun riding one of current racer David Ham’s 250R machines sponsored by BDT. It turned out to be one of, if not the largest ATV events of all time. Glad I was there! I’ll try to check in more often. Anyone with any questions or in need of old school information please inquire. Have fun and ride safely. Cheers!
yaegerb
The day begins with 3WW
It was a real pleasure meeting you mike! Congrats on the #1 finish on Friday night!
Thanks yaegerb! Boy, I can’t believe it’s been over a year already. I hope you and your family have been well. Looks like this thread is about run it’s course. Have fun and ride safely.
Cheers!
First Time Rider
Arm chair racerNew to the board
I wasn't even born until 4 years after the last factory trike was made, but this was an EXTREMELY interesting read. Thank you for sharing.
1980 Honda 110-125 lifan manual clutch *in progress*
1985 200x - building peice by piece
Registered User
New to the board
Every bike has a weak spot, what was an area that the stock '85-86 250R had to be improved the most? Weak top end power? Front end too light?
Why did Honda tweak the rake [increasing the wheel base] on the 1986 Atc?
Hello. IMHO The only weak spot on the 86 250R (and all 3 and 4 wheel ATV’s) is lack of turning radius. None of the machines turn sharp enough in stock form. Honda did address this with their “Short Course” Tank kit.
The VERY minor geometry change from 85 to 86 was to increase hi speed stability. The change was so minor I couldn’t feel any difference.
Hello everybody! It’s been a while again since I last checked in. Looks like not much activity on this thread. I would like to add a bit of information concerning what many have inquired about but I feel was never truly addressed by myself concerning the 1985 racing season. Inquiring minds want to know why Honda was treating my racing effort at a different and less supportive level than Marty Hart. I have mentioned numerous times that all Team Honda ATC riders had to divorce themselves from any and all outside sponsors in order to be on the team. Honda planned to provide ALL necessary support for the riders to include racing apparel, tires, lubricants, goggles, helmets etc. This approach never sat well with me but it all started at the end of the 1984 season. The Team riders had been given pre-production 1985 250R’s to ride and develop into machines that would out perform our 84 models prior to racing them. I was riding the wheels off of mine and testing a pre-production short course fuel tank. DG performance had planned an advertisement to use me and my practice 3 wheeler for their ad. It came out wonderfully and received a LOT of interest for DG. What no one expected was that once Honda upper management got a look at it, they got VERY upset. So upset that one of the Honda departments threatened to sue DG! This most likely started the whole outside sponsors being dropped for Team ATC riders. I was under contract to DG until March or April of 1985. DG was a giant in the industry at that time and informed Honda they would counter sue Honda if they forced me not to endorse DG products until my contract expired. Due to the legal threats, DG only ran the ad that one time. It was a great ad! Anyway, the 1985 season started with a LOT of drama and many questions about how the season would work out. I was able to use all DG engine components and other items until my contract expired. After my DG contract expired I was excluded from any and all performance testing. All of the modified engine components, ported cylinders, dozens and dozens of pipe tests were all done with Marty Hart exclusively. My mechanic Chuck Miller and I only received engine components already used and deemed unworthy or undesirable for Marty’s use and delivered to Chuck for us to for our tests. While the items we did test were OK and perhaps better than stock, they fell far short of what I had been accustomed to from DG. This is how the entire season unfolded until I got together with Harry Klemm at the end of the season and Chuck secretly installed a cylinder and pipe from Harry.
(That I disguised as Paul Turner!) With Harry’s items installed I won the following two Nationals back to back. My results raised eyebrows as Paul Turner knew that I only had access to components they had tested and determined undesirable. Paul immediately did a close examination of my machine after my Colorado Springs victory and quickly noticed I wasn’t using his cylinder and pipe. Harry’s components were immediately removed thenand there in the pits. A similar situation came about at the next and final race of the season at San Jose. I’ve already commented on that fiasco so no need to repeat. Anyway, in a nutshell, I feel certain that the DG ad is was started a concerted effort for Honda to not only halt all outside sponsors but also to put the majority of their efforts into Marty’s team to ultimately
win the Championship by ALL means. This included changing the points system in an effort to make certain Marty would win the Championship, not only over me but Jimmy White as well.
Last edited by CoeShow; 02-03-2024 at 01:57 PM.
Wires, Hoses, & Digital Wizardry.
Got the holeshot
Mr. Coe, thanks for the "behind the scenes" glimpse into the 80's ATC racing business. Flipping through the pages of 3-Wheelin & Dirt Wheels, in the 80's, only gave us readers a narrow view of everything. Reading those articles, I don't ever recall, even imagining, there would be such politics & favoritism, behind the scenes, and in the pits. Thanks again!
Red Rider's Sand Machine Updated 07/23/14
Reply With Quote