Honda ATC (AKA "The Chubster")

[Mystery Machine]

Don't ask me about the name....the GF took one look at it and said, "It's a bit of a chubster isn't it?"

Next she made things clear, "You can go jump if you think I'm ever having a go on it, those things are lethal"

...shortly followed by, "I hope you've made a will?" before heading back into the house with her wonderful way of saying she wanted nothing more to do with it, "Fancy a cuppa?"

That's my girl!

So there we have it, a mini-project that I picked up off Ed (10mpg) which has had the 'approval' of my girlfriend. Time to get it to Area 52 I guess?

[cairyhunt]

Love it!

I want to see it A52'd

[Mystery Machine]

So here are some 'before' shots of how it arrived:



As you've probably worked out, the rear fender panel isn't original...probably from a quad?


Straight from being used as transport between Eds house and his workshop the other side of a farm


Droopy fender on the left due to this thing throwing various people into various parts of the scenery


Wouldn't it be great if this was running some Edelbrock stuff?




Handlebars are pretty cool


Complimentary dog-turd on the front tyre


LOVE this view of it. Tyre was pumped up shortly after...

[Mystery Machine]

Before going any further I decided to see if it would fire up. First thing I found is that the big fender panel gets right in the way of the kick-start. I just ended up getting my foot caught in it, so off it came (I wanted to remove it anyway)

With the ignition barrel mounted in the left wing of the fender panel I couldn't remove the panel completely, but enough to get some room to get onto the kick-start a bit better. After a few goes, it fired up and actually sounded pretty sweet despite Eds warning that the rings were shot and it ideally needing a new barrel, piston and rings. (this was all fully explained before I bought it so I knew what I was getting into)

It didn't smoke as much as I thought and the main thing is that I knew it fired up. A good start. Jed wasn't so impressed though - I don't think he likes loud things, so he retired to the snug!

Straight after this I disconnected the wiring for the ignition barrel so that I could completely remove the rear panel.


The barrel is tiger sealed into the rear panel, so some brute force was employed to pull it out


Some scraping and thinners later I had a fairly neat ignition barrel to mount somewhere on the trike. I'm not planning on refitting the erear panel, so something will have to be made up to mount the barrel. I love the little Honda key....


With the seat and rear panel removed I could see where some angle had been welded on to support the rear panel. One piece had come off which help explain why the left side was hanging low. Probably knocked/broken/torn from the chassis in an 'off' sometime.


The shorter (forward) support bar was quite bent on the left side too....I'd straightened it out in these photos, but when I tried the seat back on, it didn't sit right because the bars meant it wouldn't locate properly (it seemed to sit fine with the rear panel on)


Out with the grinder and off with the support bars. Some flap wheel action and the welds on the frame are gone too...





The seat fits perfectly now ;D

[will]

Off road trikes are one of the most dangerous things a man can drive, great purchase ;D

I had the fortune to pilot a bigger version of this many years ago, a tow bar out back made it virtually unflipable. Titanium slider sparking hero spec 12 o'clock yard wheelies FTW

*bookmarked.

*Edit
Cub90 motor yes? I'm sure you know but if you hold the shift lever up half way you can build the revs before dropping it back into gear and wheelstanding away ;D Also pit bike lumps will drop in with more displacement and a clutch to boot.

[penski]

Bobber style?

*n

[Mystery Machine]

Thanks Will (and Cairy) - it won't be a massive build, just a bit of a quick makeover and some servicing. I just want to have some fun on it, it certainly won't be a resto or anything near it.

I much prefer the look without the rear fender. Sure, it'll kick up dirt/mud/sand a lot more but what the hell....it'll just add to the fun of riding it.

[Mystery Machine]

Jan 29, 2012 23:08:36 GMT will said:

*Edit
Cub90 motor yes? I'm sure you know but if you hold the shift lever up half way you can build the revs before dropping it back into gear and wheelstanding away ;D Also pit bike lumps will drop in with more displacement and a clutch to boot.

Yep, a C90/Cub engine. I'll be leaving the engine 'as is' for now because I can't justify spending £50 on a new barrel/piston but it will happed once the project is nearer completion.

Ed says he fitted a 110cc pit bike engine but it wasn't as powerful/fast as the smokey C90 lump, so this went back in. I'll just be keeping it like this for the forseeable future - I think it'll be plenty fast enough for me without trying to bring my impending death further forward.

Jan 29, 2012 23:16:22 GMT penski said:

Bobber style?

*n

Sorry Dude, I'm keeping this one simple because I want to concentrate most of my efforts on the cars. This is just a 'when I've got a spare hour' thing. It'll stay looking pretty much like ^^that^^ but with a bit of a clean-up and some TLC.

I have a picture in my head of the finished thing. Nothing major, nothing ground-breaking, but it'll hopefully suit what I've got planned for it.

[crazymonkey]

definitely prefer it naked (without the rear fender) as for dangerous, isnt that the whole point of these things. if it isnt dangerous there's something wrong with it

definitely a good buy, I am sure the outcome will be brilliant in your hands

[Mystery Machine]

Before heading home I decide to start on one small aspect of the trike.

I dig out some tubing from the racking. Luckily, it just happens to be 'about' the diameter I want


Some flat sheet welded to the end and quickly dressed back


Lop the end off and drill some holes in the main tube then run a tap through them


Cut some strips of flat and drill a hole in the end of each one, then bolt them to the tube and place the 'cap' back on


Weld the pieces to the cap and flat off the weld on the top




...and there you have it....a removable cap. The purpose of this will become clear when I finish it off.



It was starting to get dark and I was getting hungry, so packed everything away and headed home. I'd only spent about 3hrs total on the trike since wheeling it out of the back of my car this morning (four visitors in quick succession at the unit today, so work was slower than anticipated....but the company was great ;D ) To be continued soon...

[composimmonite]

Mate bought a 50cc version for his son. Was lethal as even with a small engine difficult to turn because lack of diff made it want to go straight.
Also speaking to an off road specialist breaker I know he told me although he can sell parts it's illegal for him to sell complete machines because of the safety aspect hence if you want one then private sellers is going to be the only source.

Me - I want one but would fit a quad or Kart diff so it could be road registered In fact it's got me thinking of another future project.

Any idea of the weight ? If less than 150kg one would be ideal for me to adapt into a legal off road capable mobility buggy ;D

Paul h

[mercman]

We picked up an ATC70 and a 110cc pitbike free from pals so the natural thing was swap the dead 70cc motor out. Like yourself, we had a problem getting a decent swing on the kickstart and it took a fair bit of fettling to get it sorted.
We also fitted the pitbike bodywork too.





Huge amount of fun with little outlay! ;D

[grizz]

Watching this one.

Nice project Bruce.

[dungbug]

Lots of fun + bomb proof engine. I'm sure you'll do something cool with this, enjoy

[smellyferret]

Heh I saw this for sale and thought 'fun' too So hows it gonna attach to the delica?

[composimmonite]

I'm seriously wanting one
Spent yesterday trawling sites looking but none seem to be for sale
Plenty of idea - (a) limit to 8mph so it could be used as a mobility buggy (not so silly if, like me you are disabled and struggle to explore off road areas), (b) modify so road legal - front brake, handbrake, lights diff, road tyres etc) (c) use as a basis for an electric vehicle;
Looks like I'm searching for more than one then !

Paul H

[deano123]

Jan 31, 2012 9:25:19 GMT composimmonite said:

I'm seriously wanting one
Spent yesterday trawling sites looking but none seem to be for sale
Plenty of idea - (a) limit to 8mph so it could be used as a mobility buggy (not so silly if, like me you are disabled and struggle to explore off road areas), (b) modify so road legal - front brake, handbrake, lights diff, road tyres etc) (c) use as a basis for an electric vehicle;
Looks like I'm searching for more than one then !

Paul H

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-atc-70-90-cc-trike-/110816836153?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item19cd32ba39

[ben711200]

Slow(ish), low powered, cheap, lethal good fun. Perfect toy






Can I have a go?

[LowStandards]

I'm starting to think we seperated twins!

Here's my garden find






















Oh, lack of diff is good



Currently tucked up somewhere admist the curse word in the Garage undergoing a full suspension build...

[LowStandards]

Oh, you'll be wanting a thumb throttle if you're thinking of taking it anywhere near any bumps, trust, me...