Big wheels
I know these big wheel bikes aren’t great in the woods and a normal dirt bike is better, but man… I want one. It’d still probably be a lot of fun.
Does anyone know anything about these mid-1980s Yamaha big wheels?
It looks like they came in 80cc / 200cc / 350cc. They’re way cooler than the modern Yamaha TW200. IMO.
And then at the bottom… Those Honda trikes look awesome and dangerous.
One of the Yamaha big wheel 200 which recently sold on eBay had the description:
This is a kick-ass bike that will go anywhere. None of your friends have one. Better that that, none of your enemies have one either! This is GLOAT-CITY doing a wheelie! I am selling it because I am getting a little older and feel safer on a four-wheeler. But I still bust it out occasionally when I want to crap out my neighbors.I could have washed it up for the photos, but then I’d be getting a lot of questions like “does it run?” or “Is it any good in the mud?” or “Can you cross a creek with it?” Yes, yes and OH, Hell yeah! This bike does it all.
Quit bein’ average and do something cool for your self. Your wife will hate it, so park it in the living room. That way when she starts yelling, you can ride it to the refrigerator and get a beer!
19 responses to “Big wheels”
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Published - Feb 10, 2011
CB500 Update
So I’ve been working away on my cb500. I got it back in November and at that point it had been sitting for 22 years. After a bunch of work I got it running, what a great feeling to fire up a bike after it hasn’t seen action for that long! Here is everything I […]
You guys are getting out of hand with this shit
I had that same dealer brochure for 250R(last pic) stapled to my bedroom wall in 1985. That three wheeler was one bad ass machine!!!! I’d love to own one now!!!
I rode a friends three wheeler once when I was maybe 10. I flipped it onto my back after 5 minutes and wasn’t allowed to ride anymore.. they are pretty sick.
@Ed post the description from the ebay auction you sent me. Its the best.
Yeah, those things and the Honda Fatcat are super cool. I wanted one of those as a kid. I also really wanted one of those Honda ATC’s super bad until they were outlawed for being dangerous motorized tricycles.
@alex
I added the eBay description at the bottom of the post ha
Here is what I know:
The 200s use a very similar engine to my old TW200. This is also very similar to the older xt engines. The TW is not modern however, as the TW debuted only 2 years after the BW did and has remained largely unchanged.
Even though the TW and BW both had excessively wide tires built on engines originally destined for use with skinny off road tires, they achieved the necessary chain offset in different ways. The TW used a long countershaft which was supported by an outboard bearing in the sprocket cover which was provided an oil supply from the engines usual oiling system.
The BW in contrast used a jackshaft in the swingarm which was tensioned using eccentrics. These sometimes go bad and there are no replacements.
People have taken the triples from BWs and put them on TWs and laced a TW rear rim (14×5) to the front hub and called it a TWW for Two Wide Wheels
you wont.
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/mcy/5006581644.html
The three wheelers have their own race series here and it is well attended.
My buddy has a 200 that I almost bought a while back, They’re fun as shit in the sand ( which is about all we have here in wilmington) and will smoke most other bikes through the mud, across creeks and such. They’re definitely fun for bouncing around on.
The ATCs are deadly little suckers, they stopped making them for a reason. It’s like handing a 16 year old with a pension for racing the keys to a jeep wrangler. They topple over easily and often, but sure are fun until that happens. Theres a lumber yard here that uses an ATC to get around the yard on, anyone who rides it is required to wear a helmet on the yard, and the yard helmet has a lot of scratches and dings on it.
Oh shit that ebay description is hilarious
@dcar… why u mad?!?1/ Sounds like you need a dirtbike. haha.
I gotta find that dude from ebay, he’s gonna be my new bestie!
Andrew, you’re out!
Growing up, all we had were three wheelers. They aren’t as dangerous as you think, even when you ride it like an asshole, which btw should be all the time. They have a thumb throttle which makes controlling real wheel spin super fun. They made them from 70cc all the way over 350cc. Simple and easy to repair. Kawi made some of the better ones though. If buying on craigslist beware of rusted out tanks and broken rear axles
Those ATC 250r three wheelers are the shit. I rebuilt an engine last year- definitely seemed ahead of it’s time (especially compared to the same year 4 strokes).
Epic Ebay description! Thanks for sharing this, I thought the TW’s were the only fat tire option out there.
7 of the Bw’s above are mine 2 are for sale. they are like new..not cheap..sixpepper at the big Y
Loved that bike, cushion ride with all the adventure and theatrics that you can imagine. I jumped with mine. Great for a stable well placed landing. Took it to the moon and came down tight.
I rolled a Yamaha 250cc in 2017 ended up with 21 staples in my head.going up hill out of creek I fell backwards landing on my butt laughing my self silly,some how the 3 wheeler fell back on top of me rolling over me somehow the handlebar got under my helmet and pealed my scalp like slidding a bar under a piece of ice.i had to lift my face back up to right spot.so yes can be deadly.