Long Live 3Wheeling Magazine

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Depends on the deal and the individual rider. Guys like Marty Hart, Stevie Wright, and Mike Coe got the red carpet treatment; salary, bonus, expenses, full-time mechanic, box van, etc. Others, like Mark Weixeldorfer, Dean Sundahl and Tracey Dickson got ATCs, spares, box vans to use, travel money and bonus cash. Still others just got free parts, tires, wheels. And some got only a hardy handshake. That's the difference from a factory rider, a support rider, and just someone that knows someone that worked at a dealership. Hart made BIG money.

There were racing deals, TV commerical deals, apparel contracts, testing deals, Honda dealer and support tours with personal appearances, and so on.

Tracey Dickson and mechanic Chuck Miller made a lot of money riding the new Hondas in commericals, in the dunes, woods and where ever. These were seen on TV, as well as the dealer meetings and new model intros. We didn't pay riders to do photo sessions with the magazine, although I bought a lot of steak dinners, carne asada BBQs and beer!

Tim Orchard did a lot of testing on the Pilot for Honda R&D. They paid him for his time in the seat. Tim told me that they strapped a bunch of technical recorders to his chest and he was instructed to drive around the same course, over the over again, at exactly the same speed and rate. They would make changes to the shocks and suspension, and compare the data from one lap to the next. Tim got bored at one point, and started to throw the Pilot around a bit, and hit a few jumps hard to get some air... the Japanese tech-o-guys didn't like that one bit! At one point, one of the head duds came up to him at the pit stop, grabbed the chin guard of his Moto 4 helmet, and told him, "Don't F-up my equipment!"

Since we did a lot of our testing mid-week, we would often catch the factory guys testing some protype 3wheeler out in the sticks somewhere. I remember one day we got out to El Mirage Dry Lake about 8:00 a.m. for some photos before it got too hot to ride. And there was a Suzuki box van out in the middle of no-where. Hmmmm. So, we cruised by and once these guys saw who we were, the test units were quickly covered up, and shoved back into the van. I sure loved to screw with those guys. Their ass was on the line if photos appeared in 3Wheeling! Miss that stuff.

[Fox250R]

Dean,
I was wondering where all those factory 250Rs we saw in the mag are today? Do the riders still have them stored away somewhere in their garages? Did honda take them back and sell them again? Did they just part them out? Or are some of these bikes just sitting in some field somewhere rusting......I've always wondered this...Anyway thanks for your time!

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Well, you want the official story, the one that Wes McCoy sleeps well at night with, or the real one? (hmm, there seems to be a deleted message from above).

[ScottZJ]

Oh it doesnt matter, they both sound like they would be a very interesting story.

[ATCnut]

I want the real story, even if it will make me cry.

[wizzard]

One of the coolest conversions we ever did was to install a 200S engine/tranny into an ATC200X frame. What we ended up building was a one-off, 200X Automatic! We still used a rope starter from the 200S, and had to make a new brake lever. The top mount was a mismatch from the 200X and 200S. It was super easy to ride, and freaked a lot of people out. Even Honda asked to ride that one.....

that was popular conversion here around new orleans. I even remember the article in the magazine.

[mad_max]

Well, you want the official story, the one that Wes McCoy sleeps well at night with, or the real one?

You have to be one of the luckiest guys ever! You got to LIVE this stuff up close and personal. You oughta write a book!

[3WW Star-oldfart]

More later on guys, I am leaving on a ten day trip to Michigan, Washington D.C. and Virginia... back on the 31 of May. Think 3!

[86250RZ]

[

QUOTE=wizzard]that was popular conversion here around new orleans. I even remember the article in the magazine.

[/QUOTE]


Yep! Up here in N. Louisiana also. I had one back in 1986. The only difference was mine had a 185 S lowend and a 200X topend. They claimed it made the 200X faster trough the gears, therefor they they were better suited for the short mx tracks that were popular in this area.

[milners36]

What an awesome thread! I just dug out my old issues and will list the ones I have. Unfortunately, I wasn't a subscriber so I don't have them all but between the two mags, I know I have the tests of all the 250r's(except the 87 )as well as the tri-z and all the Tecates and many smaller bikes. I've owned an 82 and an 85 250r and two 85 Tri-z's in the past but have never actually ridden a Tecate. Anyway, it's great to "meet" someone like Dean who was there!

[3WW Star-oldfart]

Mike Coe had an nickname that we used (behind his back of course)..... It was "E B". Can anyone tell me what those two letters stand for?

[Red Rider]

I don't know if Mike Coe endoed a lot, but "EB" could stand for "Endo Boy". This is just a guess though.

[magiscotty]

Hello, for those of you that are old enough, you might remember a publication entitled 3Wheeling Magazine, published by Wright Publishing Co, of Costa Mesa, CA. This magazine started in March 1980 with its first issue devoted to the ATC/3-wheeler market. At the time, I was the Associate Publisher/Advertising Director and co-creater of this idea (with Tom Chambers). We actually started covering the ATC market in issues of Hot VWs Magazine, back as far as 1976. We even covered ATC90 flat-track racing in the San Diego area during the late '70s.

My first "ATV" was a 1975 Honda US90, with steel front fender, and folding fork assembly. My last ATV was an ATC350X.

Up to about 1988, I can safely say that I rode nearly every production ATV that was produced up to that time, and many prototypes that never were built for production. I rode the Honda ATC200R, Honda ATC450R and many other "secret" projects. The 1987 ATC250R with white plastic? Yup, that one too.

Since the last issue of 3Wheeling/ATV Sports was published, I have not been on an ATV.... After spending the majority of my time riding, testing, building and loving 3- and 4-wheelers (nearly ten solid years), and seeing the ATV industry turn upside down by some legal morons, I could no longer enjoy my sport.

I got rid of all of my spare parts, riding apparel, ATVs and so on, in the late '80s. The only treasure I still hold on to, is my collection of factory rider helmets. This includes helmets worn by Dean Sundahl, Stevie Wright, Tracey Dickson, Mike Hallet, Mark Wiexeldorfer, Jimmy White and Mike Coe. I only wish I had one from Bob "Ace" Williams...

That is for now. I just thought some of you might like to hear from someone that was there in the beginning... before the CPSC, and lawsuit city. Sincerely, Dean Kirsten

[magiscotty]

Hi
Three wheelers forever.
I am new to the site and was wondering if you dont ride because of the ban on new three wheeler sales. I orginally owned a 1979 Honda atc 90. That trike would go anywhere I could find. Wish I still owned it. I now own a 1983 Honda atc 200 big red. I just purchased this trike about 5 months ago. I have noticed a lot of back fire. I believe it may be muffler related or carb. Losing compression from the exhaust pipe. Anyways I enjoyed reading your post.

[3WW Star-oldfart]

No, the Mike Coe nickname is a little more "personal"...