Resto completed!

[Leadfoot281]

I've finally finished the restoration of my Dads old '82 Honda Big Red 3 wheeler.

Here's a slideshow I put together for the three wheeler forums I'm on. http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss335/1911Kimber/Big%20Red%20resto/?albumview=slideshow There's probably a few pics here you might have seen before. Sorry 'bout that.

The whole project took longer than expected and ran about $2,000 over budget. There are parts here from literally half the 50 states and several countries.

It's not perfect. I know the purists out there on the 3 wheeler forums frown on not using OEM air in the tires. $crew 'em! I like it and you really have to look hard to see any signs of it's actual age.

Some things I learned from the resto include;

1. Remembering how stupid "Break dancing" was after I got carb cleaner in my eyes.
2. Spending two hours under a freeway over pass in my Marauder waiting out a tornado/ hail storm on the way home with a trunk load of parts really sucks.
3. Phosphoric acid tastes terrible.
4. Powder coat is some tough stuff and metric taps are spendy.
5. "Mint condition"= "rusted all to hell" on e-bay.
6. Machinists like glazed donuts.
7. The best junkyards can only be found by word of mouth.
8. Money talks. Mine says goodbye.
9. Body shop folks really like ice cold Pepsi.
10. Never buy used 3 wheeler parts wearing clean clothes or while driving a shiney Marauder. Wear greasy rags and drive a rusty Jeep for the best prices.

[twin03]

Wow..Great job.

[guspech750]

Thats so way cool!! I remember a friend of mine having one of those when we were kids. Brought back some memories!!

[justbob]

You did an AWESOME job on that!! Nice book on the trailer :)

[BAD MERC]

Wow - I would not even know where to start but you did all of it at once! You hit it out of the park!!

[Mike M]

Wow, really impressive.

What is the "On the Minnesota/Arizona border"?

[Hadamustang1]

very nice,, good job

[martyo]

That is amazing.

Nice job.

Do you plan to use it regularly or keep it as a tribute?

[ImpalaSlayer]

came out great man!

[tbone]

Way better than new!

How much did you invest?

I bet Honda would buy it for a museum piece.

[Leadfoot281]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Let's see if I can answer everyones questions now. Lol!

This restoration probably shouldn't even be called that. As sort of a purist myself, I know the Honda museum wouldn't touch it due to incorrect finishes (powdercoat and ceramic coatings) and several incorrect model year parts ('83 forks).

What I tried to do was save it. An aftermarket exhaust would have been just $20 more than what I tied up in the old crusty one but I didn't want to throw the whole machine into the junk pile. A NOS muffler for this model is $185.

A NOS tank, if you can find one, starts at about $350. I had the original tank repaired and painted, along with the forks and headlight bucket, for $370...and some cold Pepsi. Again, just wanted to keep as much of the original stuff as possibe.

There are several people out there that will restore your old machine. Prices on the this model run from $7000- $10,000 depending on the condition of the machine needing restoration. Other models are MUCH higher. For instance, an original ATC 70 tire can go for as much as $4,500.

I'd rather not think about how much money I have in it. It is for sale though. First person to hand me the keys to a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier and an Ohio Class ballistic sub can have it. (I'd like to re-organise the world just a tad). ;) Any lesser offer will be laughed at. I think I got a deal.

The NOS rear fenders were the first items I bought ($380). At the time I knew nothing about their rarity. Once I learned I'd just bought half of the worlds remaining supply of them, I decided to forget the "Krylon Rebuild" go all out with it. Honestly, the rear fenders should probably be in a museum.

Virtually all the bearings, cables, bushings, and engine parts are still available and not terribly expensive. It's the Honda stuff that got really bad. I slapped nearly 2,000 miles on the Marauder looking for the trunk lid alone.

I have a dozen other rigs to use instead of this. Even so I do plan on riding it once in a while. There are about a gazillion farmers around here that used to have one. For that reason, I'd like to show it at local car shows this summer just to see their reactions...and maybe find a few more parts.

This was my first attempt at a resto and it has deffinately given me a whole new respect for anyone that does this sort of thing for a living. The profit margins must be razor thin and the time and effort is staggering. Just sifting through all the E-Bay and Craigslist BS was tedious enough!! Picking through junkyards was fun though. Coming home from the junkyards empty handed 9 times out of 10 did get old.

About the machine...

This is considered to be the very first Utility trike ever made. Prior to the '82 Big Red, all others were basically toys. It has a 5 speed semi-automatic trans with hi-lo range giving it 10 forward speeds. Reverse came in '84 along with shaft drive. There were 39,998 Big Reds made in '82. It weighs 375lbs dry. '87 was the last year for 3 wheelers.

[LIGHTNIN1]

Glad to hear you got her completed. I know you put a lot of time and love into the project and it means a lot to you. Now you can enjoy showing her off.:beer:

[tbone]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Let's see if I can answer everyones questions now. Lol!

This restoration probably shouldn't even be called that. As sort of a purist myself, I know the Honda museum wouldn't touch it due to incorrect finishes (powdercoat and ceramic coatings) and several incorrect model year parts ('83 forks).

What I tried to do was save it. An aftermarket exhaust would have been just $20 more than what I tied up in the old crusty one but I didn't want to throw the whole machine into the junk pile. A NOS muffler for this model is $185.

A NOS tank, if you can find one, starts at about $350. I had the original tank repaired and painted, along with the forks and headlight bucket, for $370...and some cold Pepsi. Again, just wanted to keep as much of the original stuff as possibe.

There are several people out there that will restore your old machine. Prices on the this model run from $7000- $10,000 depending on the condition of the machine needing restoration. Other models are MUCH higher. For instance, an original ATC 70 tire can go for as much as $4,500.

I'd rather not think about how much money I have in it. It is for sale though. First person to hand me the keys to a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier and an Ohio Class ballistic sub can have it. (I'd like to re-organise the world just a tad). ;) Any lesser offer will be laughed at. I think I got a deal.

The NOS rear fenders were the first items I bought ($380). At the time I knew nothing about their rarity. Once I learned I'd just bought half of the worlds remaining supply of them, I decided to forget the "Krylon Rebuild" go all out with it. Honestly, the rear fenders should probably be in a museum.

Virtually all the bearings, cables, bushings, and engine parts are still available and not terribly expensive. It's the Honda stuff that got really bad. I slapped nearly 2,000 miles on the Marauder looking for the trunk lid alone.

I have a dozen other rigs to use instead of this. Even so I do plan on riding it once in a while. There are about a gazillion farmers around here that used to have one. For that reason, I'd like to show it at local car shows this summer just to see their reactions...and maybe find a few more parts.

This was my first attempt at a resto and it has deffinately given me a whole new respect for anyone that does this sort of thing for a living. The profit margins must be razor thin and the time and effort is staggering. Just sifting through all the E-Bay and Craigslist BS was tedious enough!! Picking through junkyards was fun though. Coming home from the junkyards empty handed 9 times out of 10 did get old.

About the machine...

This is considered to be the very first Utility trike ever made. Prior to the '82 Big Red, all others were basically toys. It has a 5 speed semi-automatic trans with hi-lo range giving it 10 forward speeds. Reverse came in '84 along with shaft drive. There were 39,998 Big Reds made in '82. It weighs 375lbs dry. '87 was the last year for 3 wheelers.

Yes, it did cross my mind that your machine is so much better than anything that ever rolled off Honda's assembly line that they would not consider it for a museum piece. But, you never know what they might be thinking......
You should at least send some pics off to the ATV mags. Maybe they'll do a story on it.

[PhastPhil]

I see that the restoration advice that you recieved here has paid off really well. J/K :D

You did an awesome job ! Now it is better than new.

I remember riding lots of the early ATVs. I was pisssed when they were banned. I had preferred the trikes to the early quads. Until I got my Yamaha Warrior around 1996. I think my Warrior was a 1993 or 94 model.

My friend still has his 1985 Honda 250 SX, and my brother has his 1986 Honda 350 X.

I am sending you a PM.

[Ladyhawke]

10. Never buy used 3 wheeler parts wearing clean clothes or while driving a shiney Marauder. Wear greasy rags and drive a rusty Jeep for the best prices.

:lol:
.........

[Leadfoot281]

I see that the restoration advice that you recieved here has paid off really well. J/K :D

You did an awesome job ! Now it is better than new.

I remember riding lots of the early ATVs. I was pisssed when they were banned. I had preferred the trikes to the early quads. Until I got my Yamaha Warrior around 1996. I think my Warrior was a 1993 or 94 model.

My friend still has his 1985 Honda 250 SX, and my brother has his 1986 Honda 350 X.

I am sending you a PM.

Actually, JustBob sent me his Big Red shop book for the project and that was extremely usefull. I'd say it was worth it's weight in NOS Honda parts....err I mean gold. Same difference. Lol!

I've ridden exactly one 4 wheeler and hated it. That was a fuel injected 800cc Polaris 4x4 and it was far less stable feeling than my three wheeler. I felt more comfortable on my motorcycle.

The '86 350x is a nice thumper. Would love to own one. A lot of them were turned into Fat Cat clones after the ban. Real Honda Fat Cats are rare! If you don't know what these are, imagine a dirt bike with 25x9x12 balloon tires.

The ban also lead to a lot of people to install 4 wheeler kits on their trikes. Most of those kits just made three wheelers even more unstable. That's Government in action for ya.

[Mike M]

What is the "On the Minnesota/Arizona border"?

[Leadfoot281]

What is the "On the Minnesota/Arizona border"?

Sorry I forgot to answer your question. http://michellemalkin.com/2010/06/25/video-open-borders-democrat-needs-geography-lesson/

[sounnder]

The ATC looks great! Thanks for posting it.

[Mike M]

Sorry I forgot to answer your question. http://michellemalkin.com/2010/06/25/video-open-borders-democrat-needs-geography-lesson/
I remember that one...good stuff.

[Joe Walsh]

Great resto project!
You gotta love modern day powdercoating technology!
I remember first seeing those Honda 3 wheel ATVs in a James Bond movie...
The 'bad guys' were riding them and they were chasing James Bond around out in the desert somewhere.
I thought that they were the coolest things!

[Egon Spengler]

Wow... That is the nicest looking 3-wheeler I have ever seen! haha GREAT JOB!

I am working on a mid-70's Kawasaki KE-100 Enduro... I don't have the determination you have though and the bike has just sat for a year now. I got to get on that huh?!