It’s weird Wednesday on Barn Finds again, or it is for me. This original ATV is a 1984 Honda FL250 Odyssey and it’s in Maumee, Ohio, and is listed on eBay for $3,500. For the record, this vehicle wasn’t driven by Homer as he penned the famous literary works…
The Honda Odyssey was made from 1977 to 1992 in basically two different body designs. The first models had a partial roll cage and some other features that held it back as far as being a serious dune-buggy-like vehicle. In 1982, a new design came out with a full roll cage as seen on the one for sale here. It had a full, padded safety harness, a 60-watt light, hydraulic damper front suspension, a 248cc race-bred engine, and a high-mounted carburetor intake.
Speaking of that, the seller says that this one has that modified air cleaner intake hose seen in the above photo. That could be brought back to original if a person wanted to. In 1985 Honda came out with a much-improved FL350 with electric start as opposed to a pull-start as on most FL250s. It also had a full suspension as opposed to the FL250, which didn’t have a rear suspension at all, just relying on the fat tires for some cushion. The FL350 also had a bigger engine for more punch.
There’s something satisfying about a simpler machine such as the FL250 for me. This particular FL250 does have electric start as well as extra tires. The seller says that this one was “covered and stored by original owner for many, many years.” The FL250 had a variable-speed auto-clutch transmission sort of like a snowmobile. This may be the top of the market for an FL250 but who knows where these small, fun, non-street-legal vehicles will go in the future as far as prices go. I wouldn’t really have a use for this thing but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t love to have it! How about you, would any of you want to have this fun little Odyssey?
I had 2 of the first generation Odyseey ‘s which were yellow, tthen there was the second generation red one like the featured vehicle, then for the last generation came the white ones with red and blue stripes called the Pilot which had the biggest engine, best suspension, best safety features. But even my yellow ones were a blast to ride, my wife to be got stuck on top of a gravel pile in a gravel pit and one of my friends tore up the pile from the other side with his and smacked her front end to break her loose from the peak of the pile. My owners manual said never ride these on dry pavement as it could hurt the transmission and if the clutch got wet forget going anywhere. Still I like this thing but not for that kind of money, I bought mine new for $2,200 a piece in 1979.
I’d have to get three of them for that price.
I beat the hell out of severAl of these in all the years. I could come pretty close to buying a newer style for what he’s asking. The “fun” park I take my daughter to wants 2500 for a 500, with gears and harnesses. And it’s even got lights.
Wow I’m seeing about 1200 bucks here. Way fun though.
As a teenager during the mid 80s, I dreamed of having one of these. My school was next to the honda dealership, which always had them displayed out front. Everyday I would see them and wished I had the money. My parents never had the money to buy one.
Last year, I found a very nice fl350 for $1000 nearby. I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to pick it up the next day. Like a kid, I gave the guy the money the minute I saw it, before starting it or riding it.
Took it home, spent hours making it perfect. Then I took it out riding. Somehow, it didn’t live up to my expectations(my fault).
Listed it on Craigslist and someone showed up within minutes to buy it. The guy had a similar story to mine. Said he wanted one since he was a kid. I’m glad he bought it.
No Scotty, it’s not just you, we’re all bozo’s on this bus. I believe the Odyssey was made in response to the dangers of the 3 wheeler ATC. The 1st ATV’s were the 6×6 vehicles that were clumsy and slow. For the 1st time, you could go fast, barreling through the woods, and not tip over. (an inherent problem with 3 wheelers) I just repaired a Yamaha “Moto 4”,which was the Yamaha equivalent to this. ATV’s have come a long way from these humble beginnings. All wheel drive, automatic’s, power steering, and price tag’s to boot. Be advised, parts may be a problem, as many Asian dealers were told to throw many of their parts away ( so they could sell new machines, not repair the old ones) and you may have to resort to ebay, and pay a hefty price. ( on a vintage Suzuki I worked on, 4×4, the left front u-joint was worn. Suzuki couldn’t find one, even if they could, it would be $500 bucks, for the whole shaft, u-joint not sold separately. Someone had one on ebay, for $150, and looked worse than the one that was on there) After working on these older machines, I’d probably pass on this, and get a newer one. But fact is, these started the whole ATV shebang, which is huge in N.Wis. and many other places. Personally, I don’t care for ATV’s, and much prefer a bike.
As teenagers my brother and I both bought one. Me a first gen and he a second gen. I put a pipe, full roll cage and clutch kit on mine. His was stock. We took them up to the silver lake sand dunes and raced each other on 5 acres behind our house. Those were good times.
OK, I got one of the early ones as part trade for an MGB I was selling years ago. Had 2 boys under 10 at that time, so we made a dirt track out around a field next door. The boys had lots of good times riding! When it rained, it just got more fun! These can really sling mud! Now my son is grown and just bought his son a go-cart that is very reminiscent of the old Odyssey. So the memories live on!
Absolutely nothing to this day beats the awesome-ness of the final version, the 1989 FL400 Pilot. Independent suspension all around, 3 point harness, wrist restraints, full roll cage with side webbing. Light and VERY quick. It runs circles around the much heavier Polaris Razr’s. A friend had one back in the 1990’s that had very little use. He paid what I thought was too much, $3500. We found out that it was a steal. They’re very hard to find around here anymore but when you do, it’s big bucks.
The one in this article in my opinion, is worth around $1,000. Which would you rather have for your kids, this high quality Japanese made Honda, or a brand new Chinese made piece of crap? The old Honda every time.
I grew up with an ’82 Odyssey that we got in January, ’85, and I rode the heck out of it growing up. Even rolled it, too. These things could rally take a beating, and this one for sale is in great shape. It’s rare to see the factory padding still on the rollbar and it even has its 1984-only red seat belts. I do agree though that the price feels a bit high for this, but it’s all supply and demand. There probably aren’t too many left of these in good shape like this, and it’ll run for a very long time. Prices will only go up as time goes on, and there hasn’t been anything on the market quite like this since. With the cage and belts these are about the safest ATV you could put your kids in.
That ’82 that I had is still in my parents barn and although I haven’t been there in 8 years I’d bet that I could go there and quickly get it running again. (It did the last time I went there and it was also about that long since it had ran the time before)
There’s a 84 FL 350 odyssey on modesto letgo and offer up yesterday he said he’d take $300 for it but he got scooled so it’s more now good luck
Bought a red one one, blown motor. Put a KZ440 in it… Ever see the tires make a parfect V? Way to fast but man was it fun!