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Vintage Fun! 1970 Honda ATC90 3-Wheeler

When I was young, my Grandfather had a Honda 3-wheeler. Long before they were deemed unsafe, 3-wheelers were a popular alternative to motorcycles and provided endless hours of fun for millions of families. This 1970 Honda ATC90 can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $860. Located in Vernon-Rockville, Connecticut, the ad doesn’t mention much about the history other than it appears to be mostly original. Check out this bit of nostalgia!

The 90cc engine actually displaces about 89.5 cc’s and was one of Honda’s most reliable small engines. The seller has a link to a YouTube video in which they do a full tour of the bike and pull the starting cord on the engine. While you can’t hear it run, it does sound like it has good compression. This bike looks like it has been used, but not abused. Unfortunately, there is no title and it is being sold on a bill of sale. If the buyer plans on doing anything other than having fun on private property, some due diligence is warranted to ensure they can title it where they live.

Unfortunately, due to their design, 3-wheelers were prone to tipping over, which culminated in several lawsuits which you can read about here. As mentioned before, they were extremely popular, but you don’t see them come up for sale too often. I’m guessing since the “ATC” (All-Terrain Cycle) name wasn’t adopted until 1973, this one probably has replacement rear fenders. The seller does say the front fender is metal and the rear are fiberglass, which makes sense. Overall, this doesn’t look like a bad candidate to have fun with. Did you ever have a 3-wheeler?

Comments

  1. Avatar Cadmanls Member

    Didn’t own one but did ride one quite a few times. A guy rented time on the beach in Biloxi when I was in the service there. Three or four of us would ride these for all they were worth. Only rule he had was a course was set up with banked turns and we had to keep it in bounds so to speak. Had a great time in the sand.

    Like 2
  2. Avatar PETE W.

    I worked at a Honda dealership when these things came out. It was a good sized operation and we sold a lot of them. They were a handful if you didn’t know how to ride em, especially the ones with the bigger engines. I remember them coming in 90, 110, 200, 4 stroke sizes and a 250 two stroke that was essentially the CR250 motocross engine. That one was nuts.

    Quite a few came back wrecked and a few parents returned them as a little too dangerous for kids to ride unsupervised.

    On slow days in the winter, we used to race em around the parking lot in the snow. That was a hoot as they’d go sideways pretty easily.

    Like 6
  3. Avatar Gloin

    Watching American Restoration a couple of days ago and they were working on one of these. The front tire was $1000 (and that was used)

    Like 0
  4. HoA Howard A Member

    This is the one that caused all the flurry. Note, no back tire leg guards. Those tires are getting hard to find, but knobbys work just as well, and I don’t think these ever had titles, as they were never intended for road travel. Again, same old thing, common sense and these were a lot of fun.

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Dave

    Wow grew up on a 90 and later a 200. What a blast!! Ran my leg over a few times but learned quick not to put that leg Down! In the snow these things were endless fun!

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Rob

    The tires are worth a TON. They are impossible to get now.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Jon G.

    I’ve seen those wheel/tire combinations go for $2k+ each! When these first came out some Honda dealers got a kiddy pool and let these things float around! It all started with a Honda engineer that wanted something to go over snow.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Rodger

    I am sure I have heard that these trikes cannot be brought into my province in Canada and getting insurance would be next to impossible if even at all.

    Like 1
  9. Avatar chrlsful

    tires are readily available (& lower prices than quoted above).BUT…

    I’d say – why would one want 1? They were banned for a reason. Never loan urs out if U have one:
    https://darwinawards.com
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Roy L

    Comes with a long term care policy which you will need. I’m here all week, try the veal.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar michael h streuly

    My grandfather bought one to use for coon hunting and every summer i was there i would ride the piss out of it. Had alot of fun doing wheelies and sliding it like a flat tracker. Like any off road vehicle 2,3 or 4 wheeled if not ridden with respect it will bite you.

    Like 2
  12. Avatar Ron

    A friend had a later model, probably a 250 if I recall. Having raced motorcycles and been at the top of the amateur circuit, serious practical knowlege of motorized machines used in the dirt, and getting ready to ride bikes and trikes in the dirt one day, my friend asked if I wanted to take it for a ride before the group started out. To the gravel pit I went. Tapped out at about 60 mph and broad-sliding around a sweeping turn, the berm made by a grader to my left became the mound of dirt that jettisoned me off the machine while making my right-turn slide. They found me, not able to breath but a quick gulp of air every breath and off to the ER I went. With a compressed fraction of one of my vertebrae, I remember then as I do today, the Honda three-wheeler sitting there after the roll, upright, facing me and as if it were laughing saying, “Thought you were good? Really?” Still was a fun machine even though it took out many of us.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Robin Baker

    We have one of these in our garage… Haven’t bothered to repair it in the last decade or so since the carb blew. So hard to find somewhere to enjoy it with the city encroaching on farmland, it just wasn’t worth it.
    But now that I am reminded of how much fun we used to have,I might just invest a little time in our baby!

    Like 0

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