200x frame, 125M parts and cr250 motor?

[johnny27bt]

Hi there, i'm new to the board, but i have been browsing unregistered for a while now. I deceided to sign up when i bought my first trike a month or so ago. Its a honda ATC125M 1987. I do love trikes and have wanted one for along time, although i have had bikes, dirt bikes and quads for years. So i'm a newbie to trikes but have lots of general mechincal and electrical experience with motors i've owned.
I was somewhat dissapointed that the 125M has'nt got suspension just ballon tyres. I have good plans for building a good trike to suit me, but fitting a swing arm and front suspended forks would be a must for a good fun trike for me.
So i have ordered a 1985 200x frame, i have already got the swing arm, 200x front forks, rear axle, hubs, wheels, tyre's, brake disc, most of the fenders, engine mounts, rear shock, sprocket and the majority of other parts i will need. I will be building the trike on the 200x frame, but the parts will be abit of a mix and match between the 125M and nessacary 200x parts.
As i said i am new to the ATC, so please can you help with with a couple of questions.
I have narrowed the motor choice down to 2 different engines that i would be able to find in the UK/Ireland, as we don't have any ATC parts, so alot of needed parts have to be ordered in the US.

1. Honda 250cc 2 Stroke, watercooled engine. I wanted to know if i can mount a Honda CR250 motor in the 200x ATC frame. I am guessing it is the same engine in the CR250 and the Honda ATC250R? If someone can confirm that for me, and whether it will fit the 200x 1985 frame?
I know i would have to mount a radiator too, but i can make some custom mounts for it.

2 Or i may just fit a 200cc Air cooled Lifan OHC motor, or possibly a Zongshen 250cc air cooled OHC motor, which is around 18 or 19KW engine (20 something horse power) which is alot faster than some 1st generation china motors using OHV gear.
I'm pretty sure of the in's and out's of fitting the 200cc and 250cc china motors,
but if i can buy a good condition CR250 motor (as long as it fits) at a decent price with all the engine running gear, i would rather use it than the lifan 4 stroker.

Also, i wonder if anyone can tell me if i can fit 1987 125M rear fenders to the 200x 1985 frame, without major mods?
I know that may seem strange, but i am trying to keep costs to a minium, as it is very expensive for me to buy 200x parts, as they all have to be bought from the US, and its very expensive to ship larger items to me here in Northern Ireland.

Thank you very much for reading that, sorry it was long, i just did#nt see the point of making multiple posts for smaller questions. Cheers
Johnny

[Louis Mielke]

If your 125 is in good shape i would not take it apart as the 1987 125ms are somewhat hard to find and some would consider more valuable of a trike. I would not chop it up if its nice. Its worth more in one piece.

[cr480r]

Its way cheaper to buy a complete non-running or even a running trike than it is to piece something together from ebay parts... I would leave the 125 intact and ride without fenders until you can afford the correct ones... or sell the 125 to buy more parts.. CR250 and ATC250R engines are not the same... and neither will fit a 200x without mods... the pipe and radiators will be the biggest challenges.. when its all said and done you would have been better off saving up the cash for a 250R....

[The Goat]

the lifan engine swap consists of bolting the engine in and hacking up a wiring harness...that is all really.

[brapp]

post a few pic so fthe 125m and if it is decent they are quite rare.

[SYKO]

YEA dont hack the 125m, I have an 86 and absolutly love it! even though its a major pain to get parts for!

[johnny27bt]

Hi everyone, i don't like to bump this thread, but i want to apoligise that i have'nt made a response, or send a thanks for your help and replies. I have been without internet access for a week, so i'm just back on this board tonite.
If anyone is interested, there was been a few updates.
I have received my 200x frame last week, and i have started sanding and prepearing it for painting.
I have most other parts needed for the 200x build, i managed to buy on USA ebay a 200x front hub and rotor. Also have got a decent front wheel and tire, as my older 125m wheel and tire as you probaly know won't fit my 200x front forks.
Also ordered a second hand orginal rear shock and canister, i was going to use a shock i had lying about in my shed, but if i did use it, i could'nt use the shock linkage to the swing arm, so i figured that it would be weaker for hard riding as i could only use one mount on the swingarm without the linkage.

As regards the atc 1987 125m i bought, i appericate your advice on it, but in the UK it is quite worthless as concerns getting good money if i was selling it. As there are few good trikes in the UK, and people only want the sports models like 200x, 250r or 350x. So i will go ahead and use any parts from it that fit and are needed for the 200x build.

The rear fenders i will be able to use on the 200x frame. The 125m 1987 fenders are actually quite nice, they are different to other 110 or 125m older models fenders i have seen online.
They fitted the 200x frame with very little modifcation, i just had to move the seat catch mount.

At this stage in my project, everything is being prepeared for painting. I'm spraying the 200x frame 1st, so i am working on the prep work in the evening when i finish work. The 125m rear fenders are in quite bad shape, but i have to make do with them.
Once i have the frame sprayed, i will go about sanding down the fenders as much as possible, although it would be impossible to sand them enough to remove all the scrapes and scratches.
So after sanding i will use some plastic primer, then use some filler primer or high build primer, and add some 2k flexible additive to help with avoiding paint cracking, when the trike is finally finished and in use.
I wanted to ask a question please: I would really like to make an online project diary for building my first trike, i noticed on 3wheelerworld here people have posted their pictures and info on their work in progress and the finsihed pictures. Can new members make a log the same way i have seen other projects documented on here. If so, how do i go about starting one? Thanks

[300rman]

a 200x/250r would be AWESOME. insane power, TINY PACKAGE.

no, the motors wont directly swap without modifying the frame cradle.

[factoryX]

I had friend who put a liquid R motor in a 85 200x, and it was faster than a 250r by it self...

[rdlsz24]

Is a 200x really that much smaller than a 250r? Sorry I've never seen a 250r in person

Rob

[Blown 331]

Is a 200x really that much smaller than a 250r? Sorry I've never seen a 250r in person

Rob

Way smaller. Ever seen a 400EX or any of the new 450s really. Just imagine one with one front wheel and that is basically the size of a liquid 250R.