This represents one of the cooler auctions I’ve seen on eBay in a while, and also one of the more likely instances in which a large collection will sell in one shot. The vintage Honda ATC or three-wheeler is one of the hottest categories of collectible cycles, and after being slammed in the 1980s for being unsafe, these extremely capable off-roaders have come into their own. Check out this assortment of ATCs here on eBay with bids to $10,200 and the reserve unmet.
I’ve felt for a while now that Honda’s ATC deserved more credibility in the marketplace and to be treated like the icon it is. Even on looks alone, there’s never been a three-wheeler like it and I doubt we’ll ever see one again. It’s a shame that they were as maligned as they were when first introduced, because even if the ATC was challenging to ride, some pundits believed it was more the fault of dealers pushing these off-roaders onto parents of young children and convincing them it was safe in the hands of a novice rider.
Listen, I wasn’t there, so I can’t say with any certainty that this was true. But given how many times in history a decent piece of machinery has been unfairly labeled unsafe due to reckless media reporting or attempts by owners to recoup damages due to losses stemming from their own ineptitude – well, I won’t ever bet against a manufacturer when a story first comes to light about claims of malfeasance. The ATC shown here is a 200M that appears to have like-new cosmetics, and the seller does confirm that three of the machines are in museum-grade condition.
Interestingly, the seller actually purchased all of these at one time himself, and has been prepping them for eventual sale ever since. These days, you never can tell what the next “hot” item will be, but we’ve seen strong numbers for survivor-grade ATCs in recent years. If nothing else, buying one of these now as a restoration project makes an awful lot of sense, as I’m sure you can enjoy it to the fullest and still get your money out of it – if not turn a modest profit – without too much effort. Hopefully, the seller of this ATC collection gets what he needs to justify the mechanical refreshing he claims to have performed. Did you ever ride one of these in your younger days, or do you have one currently?
Oh, the horror,,,1,2,3,SEVEN times the horror, even endangering the wee ones,,yeah, sorry, in a funk after that Belushi Corvette post, but the fizz has all but fizzed on these kinds of activities. I see this as a outdated family activity, where even grandma could putt along the trail. Are you sitting down? Because this was good enough. No need to rehash old feelings, if it’s any consolation to those that either got hurt or knew someone that did,I highly doubt these will go anywhere. Everything now has to be off the scale, and these modern ATVs with P/S, automatics, A/C-heat, stereos, microwaves,,,wait, too far,, heck, better than most peoples cars, why on Gods colorful earth would you operate relics like these? Oh, the horror,,,
We survived Trikes as kids. We still had helmets. I think Trikes aren’t any more dangerous than the rider who rides them.
The Wife and i had a couple that we used when we lived remote in part of Alaska. Nothing wrong with them. A little quirky at first, but after some time with them it was natural as could be riding them. That is, unless you have had a couple of adult beverages in you. then it could become a challenge to go in a straight line, mush less climb a hill and turn a corner. I’d like to have one just for here on the homestead!
This is a cool collection. I frankly never thought of having a collection of ATC’s, but obviously it is a ‘thing.’
Which leads to this thought: You are having some friends over. They know you have several collector cars. Naturally they want to see them and you are proud to show them off. Some of the friends ‘might’ want to drive them but probably wouldn’t think of asking to take one for a spin (with them driving), even if they were driver-grade cars.
But if the same circumstances instead included this group of ATC’s, would they ask to go for a ride, and would you let them?
Right after they signed the release form.
It is interesting because that is exactly the type of scenario that got a rider into so much trouble. The look docile, but DEFINITELY are not. They are attractive to young people who get on them with little or no experience. They are unstable at speed and tricky to turn.
I was a 3 wheeler dealer (different brand) and the injury reports from ones I sold (some serious) came in so quickly that I was scared to sell them, even with careful instruction. The brand I sold recalled ALL of them, and it was a good move.
My friends children were riding double (age, riding double and helmet wearing weren’t brought up yet) and drove one into a ditch. The rider was severely injured and paralyzed. A families lives were forever changed b these stupidly dangerous machines.
I disagree strongly with Jeff for suggesting the negative experiences are hype. Someone buying these should be fully aware of the danger and there should be no minimizing this due to time. They should be recalled and destroyed.
I’ve ridden these back in the day, as well as motorcycles and dirt bikes. I understand they’re quirky handling, etc. etc. They do not need to be driven at high speeds unless you’re experienced, or possibly not at all in the case of the early models with no suspension and balloon tires. No doubt there are dangers to operating them. I don’t really understand the “ban” on them, though. Lives have been forever changed by motorcycles and we still have those. I dunno. I’d feel a lot safer farting around in a cow pasture on one of these than I would riding a bike in traffic. I suppose what got people into trouble (especially kids) is the inherent ease of operating one of these. A 6 year old with no experience can literally hop on one and be riding with 5 minutes of instruction. That doesn’t mean they should have been allowed to do so, though.
They are only stupid and dangerous if the operator is also stupid and dangerous!
How about a precision ATV drill team? You’ll have to score a DOT-approved fez and a pair of Nomex curly-toed shoes for each of the riders, however, to really complete the picture…
Closest I ever came was riding a Big Wheel but as a kid (around 83 or so it seems is when these 3 wheelers peaked) this was my ultimate wheeled grail at the time. I’m positive my Mom would have had none of that though. My older brother was already giving her ulcers with his driver’s license.
When I worked as a tech at the dealer back in the 90’s one of the techs bought a 3 wheeler in after hours. We were all standing around looking at it. Some riding it while enjoying our favorite adult beverages. The kid in the recon department steps up and says I used to love riding these can I ride it? He got the nod and away he went down the center of the shop. He pulled the front up and over. he went backwards falling head first onto the steel drain grates that went down the center of the shop. How he didn’t die right there will forever remain a mystery. He did get scalped on the drain however and no doubt had one hell of a headache that night. The Honda never returned for round 2. Any tool can be deadly in the hands of the inexperienced. However there are some that even with the best training will still want to kill you when you have a lapse of judgement. A grinder with a cut off wheel is one of them. I think a Honda 3 wheeler is another.
This comment is right on point. Even reading it makes my hair stand up. You really can’t appreciate how dangerous these were until you or someone you know is injured on one.
Winner gets a side of Lawn Darts!
I was a Big Wheeler as a yute and probably rode one of these at some point (never owned one). A neighbor’s kid was killed on a BW – she was riding down a side street and ran right out in front of an approaching car – driver didn’t see her due to other parked cars on the street.
I’m aged enough that these are not of interest to me, but I’m glad to see some have been preserved to be enjoyed by new (hopefully prudent) riders.
i’ll take a set of those lawn darts if you’ve got extras lol. we just put them away when the adult beverages come out. then we switch to corn hole or bocce.
i’ve ridden these for decades (still do) with ‘nary a disaster. keep your feet on the pegs and your hands on the bars. but yes the lean for the turn is counter intuitive just like a snowmobile.
i wonder if they will manage the package deal. though their home site lists them all separately and the prices are reasonable. i’m tempted to make a road trip for one of the 185s
Okay guys I’ve read both sides of the whole ATC facto and I agree on both sides. I happen to own a 1983 Honda 200X ATC and it is a great and very fun to ride ATV. My children were taught at a very young age and love to ride it. Never ever had any accidents and would never sell it or trade it. Still runs great today and we take it out all the time . It’s a real head turner and people like it. Now on the other hand the ones that they are selling in my eyes are death traps as they are older with no type of suspension. These were the ones that people would crash on. Also people with no experience would ride them and crash all the time. They would put their feet down and run their legs over, turn without leaning into the turn plus forget to gas it as you turn. All in all I would pss on these but I really love ATC’s
I loved them as a kid and still would love to ride around on one – I did have a few mishaps where I came off due to stupidity/operator error. I had an aunt who was an ER nurse who hated them (and motorcycles for that matter) because she saw the nasty effects of many accidents involving them. As a kid, I rode a 70, 110, 185, and maybe a 200M. I’d love to have a 200X these days.
I clicked on sellers other items, over 16,000 came up!!
Knocked my left foot off the peg in some rocky terrain on one of these and the damn tire ran up the back of my leg and pulled me half way off the seat. How I didn’t break my leg is beyond me but haven’t been on one since.
They used to smuggle these in to NH using hay trucks. Two cans of fix a flat in each rear tire, then insert sheet metal screws in the tread, The screw was sharpened with no way to remove the. The unit was then raced on the nearby frozen lake with a lot of adult malted beverages consumed.
I had a
82 200S
A souped up 84 200X
86 200X
86 black and red Yamaha Tri-Z 250
The 84 200x had a big bore kit, polished head, full race crank, oversized exhaust, +2 swing arm, +6 rear axle. It was a plug fowling machine if you didn’t run premium gas. Sounded awesome ran awesome when it ran! lol
86 200X was a baby doll. Perfect condition. I bought it when I was older so didn’t get too wild on it.
The Tri-Z was bad a$$! Real head turner and blew 250R’s doors off.
These all were so much fun to ride. Would love to have one again.
Three posts on one item, but my feelings on these are really strong. People I know got hurt on machines I sold, this despite many warnings about the hazards and history of injuries. They flip, they tip and they can quickly drag you off over an errant foot. All of this can occur at low speed with injuries far in excess of expectations.
There are 7 machines here. I can almost guarantee that one of these machines is going to cause a moderate to severe injury to someone if they are ridden. I do agree that they should be included in a motorcycle collection, but sending them out for general sale to new inexperienced users, well I hope there is a liability contract on sale.
Rode and sold Honda’s from 1973 until 1985. ATC’s were a huge seller in the late ’70s and into the ’80s when some complete idiots got hurt, blamed everyone but themselves and sued the 3-wheeler into extinction. Anything with wheels, operated recklessly or under the influence, can become lethal. Our dealer sold thousand’s of ATC’s, usually with a waiting list for popular models like the 185/200, 200X and Big Red. I have no knowledge of anyone getting injured on one and many returned to buy new or additional ATC’s for use on farms, large worksites, etc. They were also a helluva lot of fun! But, put some adolescent on one in shorts, no shirt and no helmet, 4-5 beers into the afternoon and yeah, you’re gonna get hurt. Same would be true on a 2-wheeler or a car for that matter. It didn’t bother Honda to discontinue these however, they simply replaced 3-wheelers with heavier, more powerful, less fun but more expensive 4-wheelers and ultimately side by sides and UTV’s that are available today. All have the same ability to hurt but are apparently acceptable because they have 4 wheels. It’s a shame that in America, personal responsibility has been replaced by the lawsuit and entire segments of products, services and tools are being legislated out of existence. Glad I grew up in an era where using your noggin and taking appropriate precautions or accepting the consequences was accepted.
We had one. A Honda 90. We lived on a farm and this was an irrigation tool. Used to check rows on gated pipe irrigation. The baloon tires were a great improvement over the narrow tires on the Honda 50 motorcycle it replaced. Never had a safety issue. Eventually replaced by a larger Kawasaki and then a 4-wheeler. They were fun if you rode sensibly!
The dangerous life threatening part of these was that they became popular at the beginning of the era of people with no intelligence or common sense when it operating machinery. Sadly that line of intelligence is still prevalent today. Very nice collection. Saddest thing is to keep them this nice you couldn’t ride them the way you would like for fear of damaging the perfect factory patina.
I remember these well, the only danger was putting someone on them that knew nothing about them. What I’m getting at would you consider banning M/C also? No me either, one has to know how before turning them loose on one. You and know to shift your body weight just like on 2 wheels, know your limits, and don’t get stupid. This goes for ANY motorized vehicle. Cars kill everyday, usually from negligence of the rule of thumb, or just being stupid in one. But they’re not banning auto’s or m/c’s. Dont put a 4 yr old on a ATC and say go, thats when the HORROR begins. You don’t put the same behind the wheel of a car, do you?
My in-laws when I used to be married years ago had one of these up at their cabin it was fun to play with if used in the right hands their ok to operate however they can be a tragedy please use your head to use them the right way!
If the hype is to be believed, then this is a good way to send you and 5 of your friends to the emergency room.
Or, you could just drive them into the back of a Pinto.
Same thing happened to me. Got on one went about 20 yards went to turn it started to tip over I put my leg down and the tire ran up my leg and ripped me off the machine in 2 seconds. No major injury just brush burns on back of leg from knobby tire digging in. Never got on one again !!
I see seven broken ankles in someone’s future.
Some people need to wear a helmet to the mall. People who are afraid of these three wheelers are the same people you see driving down the highway alone with a mask on. I had two of these back in the ’80s. Badass ones 250s. My 10-year-old could Master it. If you don’t have any skill you should probably just stay on the sofa.
Still remember my first ride on one. After being repeatedly told, don’t put you foot down while turning, what did I do? Put my foot down, of course! Ran over my foot! So used to riding bikes, it was just natural to put your foot down on a slow turn. Finally got the hang of it. Didn’t keep it long, 4 wheelers were becoming more available on the used market, sold the three wheeler and bought a 4 wheeler. Now I have a work style side by side with a dump bed, much more practical for an old man!