This one could be titled: A Good Deal or Too Dangerous? We’ve seen many three-wheel ATCs/ATVs here on Barn Finds and at least I think they’re interesting. I’ve never had trouble riding one but the general consensus is that they’re really dangerous and sometimes comments border on an outright ban on them. I never thought we’d be talking about banning vehicles here. The seller has this nice example listed here on eBay in Phoenix, Arizona and they’re asking $1,499, or you can make an offer.
I’m not a big “let’s ban vehicles” guy, but I get it, these things can be dangerous even if ridden by careful people. If this example were local to me, I’d be very tempted at this price. One sold on “another site” two years ago for over $4,000 and it didn’t appear to be in much nicer condition, other than being highly detailed.
I think the camber in the photo above is a trick of the camera angle, the rear wheels aren’t really angled in like that. Or I hope they aren’t. Without a guard on the bottom front of the rear fenders, I can see where a rider could put their foot down and get into trouble and we’ve heard many other stories of the unwieldy control of a three-wheeler. The Arizona desert seems like a perfect place to ride one of these things.
Honda made the ATC 125M in two versions, the horizontal engine model was made for 1984 and 1985, and for the 1986 and 1987 model years, they changed the engine to a vertical configuration. After that, Honda got out of the three-wheel ATC market. This example looks really nice and the seller says it has a few normal scratches from use, but there’s no rust, it has newer tires and a new battery.
The engine is Honda’s 124-cc OHV four-stroke air-cooled single with around 8.5 horsepower. It sends power to the rear wheels through a four-speed dual-range transmission and the seller says this one has recently been serviced and is ready to ride. Let’s hear those ATC stories, hopefully they’re not all bad ones!
Scotty, I’ll start with a good story. My dad worked for 25 years in the oil fields of Ohio. He job was tending to the day-to-day operations of wells. The low-budget ma-and-pa company he worked for could not afford to maintain roads in all-weather condition, so when it was wet/muddy/snowy he simply walked. Until…
He got a three-wheeler in the early 80’s (an ATC 90?). It made getting around much easier, especially when it involved lugging tools (e.g. pipe wrenches). The three wheeler probably extended his career by a few years. He treated it with respect and never had any issues beyond normal maintenance and repairs.
That is a great memory Bob. Usually these were bought for “fun” but as you remind us, these were also very practical too. I can just picture your Dad walking in those fields in all the elements, he must’ve been happy as a clam at high tide to have that 3 wheeler.
Dave
Thanks Driveinstile. Yes he was very happy to have the three-wheeler. It didn’t take him long to fabricate baskets to haul tools, motor oil, etc. I remember him remarking “sitting on a pipe wrench gets uncomfortable quickly, I had to come up with a better solution.”
Had one when I was younger. We used to get hammered on rye and do dumb stuff on it. Can’t count the number of times I flew off or ran myself over. It was really fun in winter because the snow would cushion the landings. So glad I don’t drink rye anymore lol.
Rye = trouble RKS 🥃🥴 lol.
Drank plenty up here 🍁.
Rye and ginger… then many yrs later double Rye and coke press, a lime or lemon slice, w tons of ice, in a tall glass. Both tasty drinks. 😌
As for these, like Bob pointed out, they were best served as slow and steady workers in the woods. 🏕 Once up to speed, and into corners..lookout 😲↩️
I just got my 83 Yamaha 200 three wheeler all done and am back out riding it as of a few weeks ago. It is what I grew up riding. Be dumb and they bite. Be smart and fairly skilled and no problem.
My experience with these was in 1981. A friend was a farmer in the Mississippi delta and we would ride them to check the rice fields and catfish ponds. They were fun, but hard to ride too. You have to steer them by leaning out into the turn rather than in to get the outer tire to help turn it. These were ATM 90’s I believe. These were hand start only and the compression release lever would hurt your hand if you forgot to release it (my wedding ring finger joint is still larger from that one day when I forgot to release it). One day we carried them out into the hills in the edge of the delta one time and I learned another painful lesson. Riding down a steep hill on a logging road with a starting gully, the right tire went in it and my right foot came off the peg. My foot went under the rear tire and is suddenly stopped when it tried to dislocate my right knee. We didn’t ride it too much after that event and trucks were fine from then on.
Tenspeed, you comment pretty much says it all. A simple misstep ( even ridden normally) and an injury way out of proportion to the error.
In prior posts I’ve said enough on this subject and others have a lot of miles with none. So is it just bad luck or skill?.
This one is pretty clean, hope the buyer is aware.
Around here there’s a lot of cattle on rough to bad terrain. Guys would buy them to move or round up cattle. Results ranged from quick turn flips to charging steer rollovers and a good scrubbing to steep grade rollovers and death. As soon as 4wheels came along these things were gone!
I actually saw these three wheelers raced at the off road course they set up at Riverside Raceway…can’t remember the year. It was a wild show!
Very nice looking example of this model with upgraded turf tamer tires that look to be in great shape which are much better than the stock tires. This machine looks like it has been well taken care of. Some people really took a liking to three wheelers. They were popular and still are for river riding and irrigation farming. They make great collector items now and most parts are still available. I rode one a couple of times in 1985, I was NOT very good on them. I moved on to a Yamaha four wheeler and have rode quad ATVs often from 1986 until last year when my back made me sell my last Raptor and YFZ450 and switch to sport Side by Sides. I liked ATVs so much I started a successful state organization that lasted for 28 years until it got sued out of existence. I rode in a lot of different states and trails and still do.
My seven children all grew up riding a Yamaha 50 Tri-Zinger. Never a problem. For me, a 225 Yamaha Tri-Moto. Never an injury. Still have them. Also a Yamaha Grizzly 4 wheeler and a Polaris.
Hey, You got to have fun.
I had the best time of my life riding a 90 version of this in the 70’s! We had a circle track set up between 2 warehouses. It didn’t take long for both corners to become high banked. I’m in my early 70’s now, but DAMN, that was a lot of FUN! We did a lot of stupid (But FUN!) stuff back then, but heck, we were young!
These ATC’s are more fun than a barrel of monkeys and this one is selling for well less than its value. These trikes have a solid rear axle with no differential. Therefore, as counter-intuitive as it seems, remember to put your weight on the outside footpeg when turning and lift the inside wheel. It sounds sketchy because it is!
As we used to say in Maine… “if you’re gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tough!”
A friend had one with the rear rack in the early 80’s. We would mud it and was super fun. Another had the Big red and another had the 185s. All honda’s and super reliable. Good times!!
The manger of my first job lost two of his sons to ATV accidents. Him and his wife were good people. They were good boys and the apple of their eyes. I felt their pain personally because I knew them. When ever I see an ATV l think of them.
I’m always saddened by the stories of people that got hurt or killed on any recreational item, you are supposed to have fun, not kill yourself. The most common injuries were the “foot under the rear tire” thing. Later models had guards, and deaths were uncommon, they just didn’t go fast enough, yet lawsuits were, seemed everybody that stubbed their toe, wanted in on the action. Deaths were rare, with over 370,000 sold in 1984 alone, a total of 789 deaths were recorded over the 6 years of production. Half the deaths were children, usually unfamiliar with the operation..
As mentioned, these were made as a step saver for farmers, ranchers, and utility workers, it was never meant to be hung out on turns on 2 wheels or jumping logs. We( the kids) are to blame for that. ATVs were in their infancy( see Scottys Rokon Trail Breakers) and this was the humble beginnings. It didn’t take long to realize, 4 wheels was a lot more user friendly, yet we took our lumps on those too.
Listing update: someone made an offer the seller couldn’t refuse!