I started racing motocross on a 200 without suspension against guys on 250r's, still beat a bunch of them and I was the only one to jump the doubles, might have been the only one to try as well. Lots of bouncing on the landings without any suspension, but it made up a lot of time per lap. . And if you crashed you could pretty much expect it to hunt you down and jump on you. . It was much better after I got a 250r, a buddy of mine had the Tecate. Raced against Jimmy White a couple times, damn he was fast.
They were good, used to race a guy with a built motor. He ran the 1/4 mile on his one night when they were doing drags next to the MX track in Sacramento. Surprised a lot of people.
Don't be bad mouthing the ATC azzholes! 3 wheelers weren't dangerous. It was the idiots who didn't know how to ride them. Sounds like some of y'all. : ) Not to mention we ALL rode them well beyond they're intended purpose. Also, with no gear! : ) I had Blue Honda 110, 200x (built motor - bored over to 250, etc.), and my favorite the Honda 250ES Big Red. Always wanted the 350x & 250r, just never got'em.
The Tecate 250 was THE machine to have when I was growing up. We had trails and a huge sandpit by my dads house and a gas station right across the street that you could ride to. Dang those were the days!
Once a year at Haspin they have a weekend called trike fest. My brother and I happened to go there that weekend last year and ...... there must have been 500 3 wheelers there. Saw a bunch of kx 500 and banshee conversions as well as probably every other kind that was ever made. We spent more time checking them out and watching races than we did riding!
We started racing 90's and 110's at the shop I worked at in Davenport, IA, in the late '70's. Wayne Jugenheimer was crazy enough to give us all one as a demo! We sold the dickens out of them, and stocked tube frames, almost every big-bore kit and accessory available. Got a couple of the local D-22 tracks to let us race them there in the '80's. That's when another local fellow MX racer Jimmy White got on them... I often beat him on bikes, but I'd already been to Blackhawk Farms, Elkhart, and Mid-America in Wentzville by the time the 250 two-strokes came out.
On one of the TRX250Rs I did a full long travel A-Arm conversion, Elka Stage 5 Shocks from and Rear, Lonestar wider billet axle, CT Racing 330cc big bore with Ct Racing pipe,custom aluminum airbox, 450R front spindles and calipers, bead-lock rims and a set of BRAND new unobtainium stock body work, on the other 250R I'm having Tom Morgan at Millenium do a full build motor with 265cc , Elka Stage 5 suspension, powder coated frame, full stainless steel bolt replacement. The fucking crazy ATC 250R 3 wheeler is just a freshen up as I will never ride it again unless I truly feel the need to hurt myself.
TRX250X with the 350X motor and a 400EX front end, WP shocks front and rear. Long ago in another lifetime.
The 3-wheelers have the tendency to follow you and run over you a few times after you crash. I remember seeing a dude in a body cast at a Yamaha dealer convention. Yep, it was a 250R. LOL!
EBay is awesome for sourcing used and unique parts. If eBay focused on being the best eBay they could be instead of trying to ape Amazon, their revenue would be 5x what it is now. I don’t buy the Chinese junk, just used, return, new old stock etc.