Buying Another ATC 200X

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Skipped a fair bit of reading, but it were me, I'd say get some stock plastics, paint them the scheme you want, work over the motor, and go. You're clearly buying this with the your heart and not your head. Plus at 200 dollars, there isn't much to lose. Even if it sits for a few years, you still have it!

Hell, I'm actually looking at sport bikes with bad paint jobs as an excuse to paint them a House of Kolors green I love to death.

Make it unique, but still instantly recognizeable to anyone that knows it
 
mustangGT90210
Skipped a fair bit of reading, but it were me, I'd say get some stock plastics, paint them the scheme you want, work over the motor, and go. You're clearly buying this with the your heart and not your head. Plus at 200 dollars, there isn't much to lose. Even if it sits for a few years, you still have it!

Hell, I'm actually looking at sport bikes with bad paint jobs as an excuse to paint them a House of Kolors green I love to death.

Make it unique, but still instantly recognizeable to anyone that knows it
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The problem is OEM plastics are really rare and hard to come by in good shape. These bikes are prone to general neglect.

$200 is still a lot for what needs to be done.

That's a good idea though.
 
I could look for OEM's but finding ones in decent condition would be a shot in the dark. Maier makes great reproduction fenders but they are a bit pricey. $73 for a front and $175 for a rear.
 
If I had bought a GS500 with fairings, just the side piece is about $250... so $250 for the body work is a good deal to me compared to what I'm used to
 
mustangGT90210
That ain't too bad if you think about it. $250 for all new body work
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True, but I mean really it's just 2 pieces of plastic if I salvage (and should be able to) the shrouds on the gas tank. They look like they are in really good shape aside from the usual wear and tear. Nothing a coat of paint won't fix.

cgg
There isn't much to the bodywork, that's the thing. It's only made out of plastic.
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This.

mustangGT90210
If I had bought a GS500 with fairings, just the side piece is about $250... so $250 for the body work is a good deal to me compared to what I'm used to
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Then again, this is a 28 year old three wheeler.

cgg
I suppose. I should be used to it as well with sidecar fairings.
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Agreed.


My friend sent me these pics after school today. I'm actually pretty surprised how good a shape this bike really is in after sitting for 15 years outside.


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Here is the rear axle. It needs bearings but for the most part I think I can either sand blast the axles or sand them down to get rid of the grime and rust and then give it a fresh coat of paint. I need to take a closer look but it doesn't appear to be bent, which is a definite plus.

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Here is the original steel gas tank. There is a dent in the side and some rust inside it but cleaning it up and painting it, along with a new cap and decals will work wonders if I can get the dent out.

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Original plastics, with the seat latch. Will be replaced.

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This is the downtube that connects to the engine mount and where the frame splits off at the bottom. At the top it merges with the steering mechanism. He says it started to crack but was welded, so it didn't completely brake. This frame might still be good.

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Rear end of the bike with the plastics off. It appears everything is there, and the original chrome grab bar is there also which is a plus. Swingarm appears to bee in good shape, again requiring a paint job and some elbow grease. The original nitrogen charged shock is there and is good as well, and the CDI and airbox all good too.

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Alternate side, opposite direction of the previous picture.

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Heres the from of the frame, also needing some elbow grease to get that grime and rust off. I think I may actually get away with cheap spray paint on this.



So there you have it. Still worth $200? I think so, but since it doesn't run $175 sounds fairer. I pretty much told him if I get the money it'll be around $150 in cash and he seemed cool with it. He said the 200S engine wasn't really worth it lol
 
After that, I'd go around $100. Unless you have an engine for it. Or wanna do something really cool... And put in the 250 V-Twin out of a Suzuki Intruder
 
mustangGT90210
After that, I'd go around $100. Unless you have an engine for it. Or wanna do something really cool... And put in the 250 V-Twin out of a Suzuki Intruder
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It comes with 2 engines, the original 200X engine and the engine out of a Honda 200S three wheeler. Neither run but the 200X has been rebuild, just needs a carburetor, which is like $30. The pictures he sent are just stripped down because he's been working on it. He wanted to show me the frame, don't worry everything is included and it's not missing anything.

250 V-Twin will NOT fit. Period lol that single cylinder 200cc that it has is a squeeze.
 
Either not buy it and knock the price down or rebuild it and sell it for $75. I don't need it since I got the X motor.
 
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I'm kind of up in the air about getting the S engine. I don't know much about them to be honest and I have to way to test and see if it runs after I rebuild it. No plug/coil/carb etc. Sure the money would be nice as it would go right into the 200X but I'm not sure it's worth the hassle to be honest.

The '83 is good to rebuild but unless parts swap off other years (which I'm sure they do), I'd stay away from it because right in the ad it says it's particularly hard to find in that year, which means buying parts would be a nightmare. However I don't believe much changed over the years so parts of differnet years might bolt right on and be fine. I'd knab it. Needs some work but for the most part it looks mainly like a seat, fender, handle bar grips and electronic stuff. Paint etc shouldn't be too bad. Get it.
 
Most parts are from 78 to 85. Plastics, engine, seat, handle bars, forks etc. My dad knows a paint sprayer anyway.
 
I've decided to pass on this one and get something that will require a little less cash. While I would like to invest in it, I simply don't have the time these days and paying insurance on it will be costly.
 
Bumping this as things are starting to change. I plan on getting several jobs here very soon and along with getting a lot of tools and cash from graduation etc I'll be heavily investing in them. Once that is done I'll be saving up a lot of cash to start working on these again. Might not be this particular one that I've been talking about but it will still be a 200X.

So excited!


Off topic:

My buddy just bought this 1982 Big Red for $150. Needs a seat but is otherwise solid.

downsized950511031112.jpg
 
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Double post, sorry.

I just don't know what I want to do. Be it OEM restorations (could care less about matching serial numbers just want it to look like it rolled off the showroom floor) or full on custom jobs. I want all but I can't have everything.

Any insight anyone? I find it hard to beleive that me and one other guy here are big into ATC's when there is 200,000 active users...
 
Well, it's not strictly yours, but you already have a stock bike, so a custom could be a bit of fun. Also, if you have unlatch ing serial numbers, you may as well go for a custom trike. It really depends on what sort of custom things you plan on doing though.
 
Yeah technically it's my dads but I use it. He wants me to get another chain for it but we haven't had time to use the toys lately and its the last thing on his mind. Right now his goals are to get my mom better and tear down an old shed to make my garage larger then rebuild the truck and black top my driveway.

The thing is I can make it look like new but the numbers wouldn't match and to me that's not all that important.

Good news though, I just did a run through on Ebay for parts prices for everything in the OP (this is just to get it driveable) and it's going to run me about $550, excluding shipping and including the price of the bike itself. This is using the original tac welded frame. With some touched up welds it should hold but just in case, a new frame would cost me about $25, which is dirt cheap.

Purchasing a frame, front and rear fenders, and a front fender brace would run me another $320. On top of this some guy doing the engine broke a valve guide on the cylinder head, so now it needs a new cylinder head and that is about $35. So theres another $355. So as you can see, the plastics are definitely the most costly thing of it all, even more than the engine itself in some cases.

Combined, just in parts, and cosmetics would cost me about $705. I'm factoring in about $100 in shipping charges, so it is up around $800. This is excluding the cost of the bike itself.

A full frame off restoration with stickers and paint will cost me, well I don't know yet. Haven't been quoted on paint. I may be able to get paint done (powercoating) for free if I scoop this bike up soon. Stickers are $34.99 for a set.

A headlight with the mounting kit and a gaurd will cost about $80.

So roughly estimated shipping, the cost of the bike, unsure on paint, and a full restoration should run me about $1,200, which is still cheaper than buying a fully restored one 👍

The question is now, wether I want to dump that kind of money into it or wait for a fully running one on ebay to pop up and rebuild that and possibliy do it cheaper..just don't want to know how much it would be to ship a 282lb bike lol.
 
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Yes a custom will cost more but you already have a stock one. So just slowly build it up to how you want it. You can make it really fast, and do what you want. It may take more time to come up with the funds but you would enjoy it more. Or you can do a original restoration. Which like you said you want it to look brand new like it did...
 
They are plenty fast as it is. Honestly I like how they look stock over customs for the most part. I'm a sucker for OEM looks. Regardless it's all going to cost a pretty penny. But every X bought is another X saved...


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Oh boy shipping is going to be crazy. Shipping just for a headlight gaurd is $18...this could put me at least $500+ in shipping. Ugh.

Boys over at 3 wheeler world are telling me it's my call if I want to go for it and that the price isn't too bad.
 
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I can only say the same thing. Personally, I'd go for a stock restoration, but that's just me. I don't like custom ATC's.






EDIT:

The frame I'm looking at now has two bids. I'm not worried though, I'm happy to go to £30-£40. Currently it's on £2.20. It really is a great frame considering the price. It's straight, un cracked, and has surface rust, so that might put off the light hearted restorers.







EDIT 2:

Now my dad seems to think that me building it isn't a good idea.He wants me to get a fully built one, that needs restoring, so I can strip it and re build it. Also, my brother is now backing my dad with that, so the chances of me getting it are reducing. I'm not happy.
 
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It seems like a good idea but in the long haul it will be cheaper buying from the frame up.
 
The right price has been in your face for the last 2 days.


Also, that 200X I wanted, they guy bought and replaced the rear axle bearings!!!! No more hard stuff =P Just needs axle nuts now.
 

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