3 wheels vs 2 - Honda Big Red vs Yamaha Big Wheel

[bucket]

I am very torn on a decision and hoping to get some input. Hoping to hear positive / negative experiences to make a decision..

Looking at both an 85 Yamaha BW200 Big Wheel
http://i.imgur.com/MbYJQF5.jpg

and an 85 Honda "Big Red" 200 ATC.

http://i.imgur.com/rXaCqYO.jpg


I want something to cheaply and quietly carry me around, run some roads and get to the access points. Obviously moving game would be possible on the 3 wheel, lot harder on 2.

Mainly hunt deer, black bear and hoping for moose this year too.

I think the bike would be quieter. The ATC has a winch and more room for meat..

Thoughts ? Cautions ? Thanks!

[russm]

Id go with a trike, they're not all that loud when you're just cruising along, you can carry stuff on them, not crzy heavy if you get stuck, i hunted with a dirt bike for a couple season, had to wear my back pack on my back and my gun across my chest, slippery conditions made things pretty dangerous, theres no cargo space and if you do shoot something you can't just load it on your bike and head for the truck.

[nature girl]

We use to have a 3 wheel. The bike was good for only 1 person. Do not do what we did and have 2 of us on 1 you go up a little hill or a big crossditch and we would usually tip it so I got pretty good at bailing off of it. I was the passenger. Some people put a milk crate at front and put a cement block in it to keep it a little heavier so it would not tip as much. But you will tip it at sometime. So wear a helmut and don't drive to crazy on it and watch steep hills and the 3 wheel may be good.
The one thing atleast it wasn't to heavy. We had it as we used to put it in our boat to where we took it out to go bear hunting and deer hunting as the way to only get there was by boat. It used to be fun in the snow.

[Buck TraX]

make sure if you do go for the trike to try to get a 85 250es as that year and later have a rear mono shock and the 250cc motor and kickstart backup and the headlight is removable and has a 20 foot chord
the one in the pic is a 200cc hard tail with pull start back up still a good machine though

[tomahawk]

big red is way more functional, rode 2 and three guys lots, hauled dozens of deer, moose and elk miles on it. you need to know how to ride it, what its limitations are and don't put your feet down like a 2 dirt bike . still got my 83 big red but not as nice lookin as that one. used it from 83 to 2007

[swampthing]

I think the big red is probably better for your needs. Those big wheels are cool though. I always wanted one just because.

[Squamch]

Dad has a BW200. Parts are a total bitch to find. It drives like a tank. It steers like a grumpy donkey, and weighs about the same.

[Barracuda]

not sure if its a factor for you but the BCWF insurance does not seem to cover bikes and trikes only quads,utv,and argos.

[brian]

I remember every farm seemed to have trikes back in Manitoba, then they made them illegal... too many of them were rolling over forwards and breaking peoples necks. After that you mostly saw quads. I rolled a trike once, I still have that memory of how easily it pitched forward when the angle was right. Now I am not the most capable rider but the trikes design is inherently not as stable as a quads. Personally I would go for the bike or a quad.

[allan]

Dad has a BW200. Parts are a total bitch to find. It drives like a tank. It steers like a grumpy donkey, and weighs about the same.
i agree with this stmt!
Three wheelers are not the safest for side billing and cross ditches but if used cautiously they will get you there. Wear a helmet.
My brother and I were tearing down our driveway around a corner , his bike went wide and smoked a fence post.
It got him an air lift to Vancouver , 6 hr surgery am metal plate in his leg and skin grafts to replace the impact damaged skin on his shin. As well as a sore leg for the rest of his life. That was almost 25 years Ago...

[xcaribooer]

I had a 200 big red trike years ago, fun and reliable but they suck on any kind of sidehill. I had mine upside more than a few times. Im not sure of your budget but I would really try to find a 4 wheeler in the same price range as that trike. even if it just a 2wd quad its an upgrade over the trike. Ive always thought those big wheels were cool looking too but apparently they don't steer that great , front tire slides out if you corner too aggressive especially in wet conditions.

[barry1974w]

I'd go with the trike

[Ferenc]

As temped as you are... Always ... Leave your feet on the foot pegs with the trike !!

[luckofthedraw]

big red. I have one. Use it. Love it.

[hunter1947]

The big red is the way to go but it can roll over very easy so take care when turning on a hill or ditch if you don't it will tip and roll over..

[sawmill]

As temped as you are... Always ... Leave your feet on the foot pegs with the trike !!

Lots of guys ran it up their leg when they put a foot down to corner. I have a rhino, much better all around.

[russm]

If you go with the trike it helps with steering if you use your legs to push the back end around corners.

[Busterpayton54]

ive got no experience with the big wheel but I do with trikes and quads. I'll take the trike over a quad any day.

Nothing compares to the reliability of those old Hondas, period.

Get a quad stuck in mud or high centered... Have fun with that, at what 700lbs?
Get a trike stuck... The average man could lift it out with one hand and not even need to set his beer down.

4wd will take you where the 2wd trike won't...
Again that comes down to weight and ground pressure.
Those big reds float for f sakes, so you can only imagine how much less they sink in mud and snow.

Debris strewn logging slashes... You can tip/balance on two wheels around/between stumps... Quads can't.


I hae hae a couple trikes, always have, been riding them for 32 years now and I'll never stop. Sometimes my trikes piss people off because their new quads with all the bells, whistles, lift kits, tires and power can't follow me.

Truth be told, in snow we always seem to get stopped at about the same time but when we hit boggy trails I'll drive through places leaving 3 slight depressions then the quads sink to the racks in my tracks. We hit the trails and the quad guys need other people for ballast, pulling winches out while I literally ride circles around them with a beer in my hand.

I can litterlly ride across still water of infinite depth albeit a bit tippy.

[Bugle M In]

As temped as you are... Always ... Leave your feet on the foot pegs with the trike !!

this^^^^^^ if you don't, you'll only do it once!

[swampthing]

Bald tires are your friend on a trike!. I hated mine after I put new rubber on it. They need to "slip" to work well. As buster says, they can be very effective but you must be skilled to utilize that. I remember running circles around stuck quads in the snow with my tri z 250, with bald tires.

[huntcoop]

As temped as you are... Always ... Leave your feet on the foot pegs with the trike !!

.....Amen!

[fuzzybiscuit]

Dad has a BW200. Parts are a total bitch to find. It drives like a tank. It steers like a grumpy donkey, and weighs about the same.


I had one in the early 90's for a short period and I would have to agree with Squamch. Absolutely awful things to ride to the point of being dangerous going 30 down a logging road because the big tires just floated along and it kind of went where it wanted.

Trike all the way for me. You have to learn how to ride them but they do have some advantages over quads.

[guest]

As temped as you are... Always ... Leave your feet on the foot pegs with the trike !!

And wear a helmet, when cornering shift weight to inside rear tire, don't speed, have friend bring spine board and tie down straps.

Direct line to Ambulance.

[steel_ram]

I was a fairly cautious rider but still ended up under my Big Red a couple of times. They are tippy on canted terrain and if your doubling someone, you'll end up on your butt on anything steep. They are not very good in anymore than a few inches of snow. Still, I had fun with mine. Hauled out lots of deer and a few moose quarters. Just have to take it easy. I could load mine easily into the back of a P.U. without ramps.

[Sharpish]

when cornering shift weight to inside rear tire

Actually you need to transfer your weight to OUTSIDE rear tire. Sounds backwards, but if you lean into the turn,both rear tires stay planted and you plow straight forward.

[Squamch]

I had one in the early 90's for a short period and I would have to agree with Squamch. Absolutely awful things to ride to the point of being dangerous going 30 down a logging road because the big tires just floated along and it kind of went where it wanted.

Trike all the way for me. You have to learn how to ride them but they do have some advantages over quads.


Yep. I like dangerous motor sports, a lot. And that thing is too dangerous for me. I'll take a cr500 over a bw200 for safety.