A question from a forum member rebuilding a 1983 Honda BIG RED 200 E inspired me to write this article on the rear sprocket dampers used on the first generation BIG REDS (1982 - 1983). First off lets talk about their purpose and the meaning of dampen. Dampen for this application would be to absorb shock impulses. The rear sprocket damper on the BIG REDS were made of rubber and were used to dampen the power transmission between the chain and the rear wheels. This should give a

I am currently parting out a 1982 BIG RED and for the foreseeable future it will be the last 1982-83 BIG RED I plan on doing. I like the looks of the early BIG REDS but without reverse and rear suspension they are not my favorite. We are currently in fall but winter is fast approaching and I am looking forward to it. A hot cup of coffee, the woodstove going, a good podcast on the stereo, and a BIG RED on the lift. I get most of my work done on the BIG REDS in the winter time.

There is some interchangeability between parts from the 1982 through 1984 BIG REDS. Note that there are some big differences between these models. The 1982 and 1983 200E models were chain driven with no reverse. The 1984 200ES models were shaft driven and have reverse. This article will only cover the main components that are interchangeable. Note this information is based on my research and my experience. Keep in mind that I am assuming that the parts are all OEM. I say this

There are a few differences between the two 200E models that Honda made in 1982 and 1983. This may not be a complete list as I am using Honda literature and Honda 200E atc’s that I have owned for sources of information. I will start with the most noticeable differences first and then go on from there. Here we go: Decals – The fuel tank and fender decals changed between the 1982 and 1983 models. The decals on the 1982 were different than all the rest while the decals used on t

This is just a quick post of the parts I found missing or worn on while restoring a 1982 and a 1983 Honda BIG RED 200E. I am not going to get into some the common worn parts like brake shoes or drive chain in this article. I did not have complete machines to start with so to make complete restorations I needed to scavenge some parts off of a few different 1982 - 1984 BIG REDS I have sitting around. If you didn’t already know the 1982 and 1983 BIG REDS share a lot of parts and

Crawfish etouffe, red beans and rice, and frozen daiquiris. I got to spend the week in the "BIG EASY" this week. It wasn't vacation it was for work. I was visiting refineries in the New Orleans area. The weather and the food were great but I was feeling a little stir crazy. After work I was having fun checking things out like the national WWII museum and the great seafood restaurants but I was missing working in my shop and on the property. I am finding that I am changing as

I was planning on prepping the frame for the 83 BIG RED restoration today but I didn't. I just could not take it anymore. I looked around my shop and saw clutter all over the place and piles of dirt on the floor. I put everything on hold and started to clean the shop. This happens to me about every three months or so. I stop everything and clean the shop. I can only handle clutter for so long and then it really starts to bother me. Especially when you can't find things and ne

I stepped out of the shop and looked up at the stars this past S aturday night. I could not believe it. Here it was February and I was media blasting a BIG RED frame in my big shop with the 10' X 10' bay door wide open. It was over 50 degrees and it felt great. No torpedo heater and no large amounts of condensation in the compressed air lines. I had to take advantage of this and stayed up late into the night getting further ahead on the restoration of the 83 BIG RED. The mild

I finished the 1982 Honda BIG RED 200E restoration and moved it out of the shop this week. I thought the shop would be a little cleaner but not so. I started the restoration of the 1983 BIG RED and now I have 3 BIG REDS in different points of disassembly. I have been spending most of the week picking parts from all three BIG REDS and assembling them on the one 83 that I will restore. This is kind of a fun. It is like having your own parts shop. In the past I would write a lis

I was just about to finish up installing the chaincase on the 1982 BIG RED 200E when I noticed that one of the 6mm screws was actually a battery terminal bolt. The one with the hex and the phillips head . I'm a bit of a perfectionist so 2 out of 3 correct is not acceptable. What do do? Simple just walk over to the other 1982 BIG RED sitting in the shop and see if I can find one. I bend down and yep I'm in luck. I did not have this luxury in the past since I did not duplicates

I climbed over the last of the four BIG REDS in the shop. I pulled up on the left rear fender and sighed in disappointment. Not one of these BIG REDS had the chaincase clips and rubber plugs for the access ports in the chaincase. This does not surprise me since in my opinion putting the chaincase on the 1982 and 1983 BIG REDS was a mistake. Why cover a part that needs to be regularly maintained? Honda tried to add access plugs to check the chain tension and lube the chain. Th

I took a sip of the hot coffee and walked into my shop. I turned the stereo on and put some kindling in the wood stove. I stepped back and thought man I wish I could do this every morning. I am on vacation this week for christmas and new years and it has been great. Since there is not enough snow to use the snow machines I am using the time to get caught up on the restoration of the 1982 200E BIG RED. I hardly ever have a week off and I am using it to my advantage. I have alm

The restoration process of these Honda BIG RED 3 wheelers ATC's can be satisfying because you can see the results of your efforts.

Rup rup rup rup. The starter motor on my truck was having a hard time turning over the crankshaft in my truck that spent all night in the driveway soaking up the cold wind. When the ambient temperature gets in the single digits I usually decide to take a night off in the shop. That doesn't mean I stop work it just means I move the work into the kitchen where the wood stove puts out great heat. Yes I can heat the shop but for a weeknight is it worth burning all that fuel for t

What a dumb design. I said this in my head as I squeezed the trigger of the air cutoff tool. zooop zooop. As the metal turned red hot my nostrils were filled with the scent of burning plastic. I gripped the channel locks and pulled the head through the gooey plastic. What I was doing was removing the mudflaps from the rear fenders. I still have not found and easy way of removing these. Like I said this is a poor design. The setup just invites moisture and mud from the tires t

Looking out the single pane windows of the garage doors I could see about six inches of snow on the grey car cover used to protect an old 1986 250ES. I looked back into the shop and saw the bare frame of the 1982 Honda 200E sitting on the lift. All the parts were organized on shelves or on the service cart. Man I'm making some real progress here I thought to myself. With the season changing my shop schedule is changing too. I leave for work and it is dark. I get home from wor

As I dumped a little bit of gasoline into the tank I didn't have any doubts that when I pressed the little black start button on the left handlebar switch that the 200cc Honda motor powering the 1982 BIG RED would turn over and fire up. I mashed the button and it came to life with that deep exhaust note. I pulled it off the lift opened the garage door for a late night "test and tune". I gunned the throttle a few times, turned the light on, and tapped the shifter down. The thr

This week I spent some time sorting out the restoration on the 1982 Honda BIG RED 200E. I have two of them and I’m trying to figure out which ATC has the best parts to use for the restoration. This sounds easy and it is in a way but if you make the wrong decisions here it can cost you time and money. With experience you learn how to properly examine the parts to know they are good. In some case this will require some disassembly. You also need to know if it is the correct par