ATC'S! Real crazies ride three-wheelers!
Hi! Welcome to my new and revised ATC page!
If you're a repeat visitor, you're probably wondering what happened to all the ATC's on this page. Well, I moved, and sold all but one, the 350x. So, what I'm leaving on this page is of general interest to most visitors.
If you have
a question, click here first.
First Contact!
This is the first ATC we ever saw. It was about
1971, and this guy who lost his right leg in Vietnam came riding along
at Marina Beach, near Monterey, California. The shifter on this trike is
on the left side, and they all came with a hand brake on the handlebar,
so he could control the trike with no problems. He was JAMMIN'! When he
would fall off, he would hop on his left leg back over to his Honda, which
was usually still running, and take off! Talk about equal opportunity off-roading!
By the way, Pop is on the left, I'm the little kid in the white t-shirt,
and in the striped t-shirt is my friend, Kevin Deupser. This photo was
published in 4-Wheel ATV Action Magazine in June of 1999, on page 3!
I'm a Page 3 kid! This does prove to lots of doubters that Honda
made ATC's in different colors! I still have a blue 72 model.
So in November of 1972, Pop bought us our own ATC90. The picture above was our first outing. I still have most of the parts to this one, including the engine, plastic, tires, and gas tank (complete with the dent where I kicked it. That was the only time Pop ever hit me. He kicked me in the butt for kicking the machine. Boy, did I ever learn a lesson there!) I still ride this (the various parts went onto a better frame) today. That's my big sister Cindy driving at Pismo in the days before mandatory helmets and the ban on riding double. My first (and last) two-wheeler is in the background. It was a Yamaha 80, a good learner bike. The little trailer was big brother Fred's for towing behind his Corvair powered Meyer's Manx.
Just to prove it to you that the little ATC still
runs, here is a recent photo of me and Cindy on the same ATC,
25 YEARS
LATER! This photo was taken at Pismo in November of 1997. The engine,
tires, and gas tank are the same as those on the photo from 1972. Cindy's
about the same size, but I have grown quite a bit! Let's stay in
the past a while and look at Fred's improvement on Honda's early work.
Back before Honda ever thought of increasing the
ATC90 into a 110, Fred was already past them. In 1975, he built his own
tear-your-arms-out-of-their-sockets speed-machine from parts of a 67 Suzuki
T200 and an ATC90. Here is what it was like then. He used the lower frame
of the Suzuki, then bent up tubing to make the rest. After reading the
Two-Stroke Tuner's Handbook, he even made his own pipes! When it's on the
pipes, look out! Those rear tires are ATC90 units with big paddles vulcanized
to them. Major roost, I can tell you! I was the little brother stuck behind
it! The T200 did well until Kathy used it to attempt to pull start Fred's
other machine. He told her that she would need to pull him pretty fast
to start the other machine. He DIDN'T tell her that she needed to get the
slack out of the rope BEFORE she went pretty fast. The transmission
on the 200 was toast.
So, in went a 69 Suzuki T250 X-6. The performance
increased dramatically. The pipes were bigger, so Fred had to modify the
frame a bit. A few years ago, I worked on it a some to add a thumb throttle,
smaller battery, and tires that improved the cornering ability.
This is what it looks like now. And yes, it is terribly fast. And terribly hard to ride, with no suspension, rear drum brakes, and no front brakes at all. Not a machine for the inexperienced or faint of heart! The white things on the front axle are 2½ pound dumbbell weights, which add a total of 10 pounds right on the front of this wild thing to keep the front end down so you can steer at high speed.
Questions Disclaimer
If you have questions:
Please, do NOT ask me questions about ATC models and years other than the ones you see here. I've never owned any others than these. Also, I have NO KNOWLEDGE of other brands of ATV's, so DO NOT ask me questions about other brands or models than the ones you see here. You will incur my wrath by asking these types of questions, especially if you tell me, "Hey, I read your page and I have a question about my XXXX (non-Honda) ATV." If you do indeed read this page, you will have read this paragraph, and have no excuse for asking stupid questions that I have no way of answering.
Don't ask me how fast any ATV is. I have no way to clock anything I ride, and I certainly don't know how fast yours is.
I will no longer answer the above question, which is so totally stupid, I can't believe 3 or 4 people a week keep asking me. If you ask this question, you will get a reply with this webpage URL attached.
If you have a problem with your ATC, buy the repair manual first, and try to diagnose the problem before you email me. I am NOT a repair service! If your ATC does not start, or won't run, DO NOT ask me to diagnose your problem!
The best places to get mechanical replacement parts and tuning advice are your make's dealer (whether it be Honda, Yamaha, or some other), local independent motorcycle shops, and aftermarket sources that advertise in the current issues of ATV magazines. Entire ATV magazines are devoted to providing information on ATV's, so buy them and read them! Don't ask me!
The best place to get plastic and other used parts is the auction house Ebay.
I will no longer answer questions
on these subjects, because they are so basic. I welcome questions
on other subjects, but will no longer answer these.
Why is there a disclaimer?
Ok, there have been a few immature readers who have taken it upon themselves to email me to call me just about every four letter word in the book, just because they don't like the disclaimers I've been forced to include on this page in order to maintain my sanity.
If you count yourself among the few who feel the need to voice your opinion about my personality, then I propose you do this before you email me:
Start your OWN website and answer questions.
Here's just one of many examples of why I've had to put these disclaimers here:
I have a 2001 Polaris
Trailboss 325. how can I increase performance? Would an aftermarket pipe
help? its pretty slow for a 325. top speed 37 on my gps. My 1991 Suzuki
230 quadrunner does 50! its alomost 100cc smaller and flies
past the polaris!
What can I do?
How am I supposed to answer that? Do you see any information on quads, let alone a Polaris?
So, walk a mile in my shoes before you criticize me.
Links to separate pages:
70-74 ATC 90 Balloon Tire Models
ATC350X (not for sale, so don't ask!)
My Family's Dune Buggies from the 50's, 60's, and 70's
My Personal History of Pismo Dunes
...Neat Links:
This group was created to keep the Oceano (Pismo) Dunes open to off-roaders and other vehicular and equestrian users. Please visit and join up if you care for this great sand riding area.
This is THE page for ATC 90 stuff, especially the early flotation tire machines.
This guy restores balloon-tire ATCs!
Maps of the dunes, tide, reservation, and towing information
here!
Excellent resource for all types of dune buggy and
ATV information.
Lots of off-road information, with links to manufacturers,
off-roading associations, and other webpages.
This is a really great site, with a link to a video game you just gotta see!
