Stored For Years: 1979 Honda ATC70
We have seen many three-wheelers roll through the doors here at Barn Finds over the years, but not many of the smaller bikes such as this 1979 Honda ATC70E. Most of them are its big brother, the ATC90. This familiar seller has this complete Honda ATC listed here on eBay in Vernon-Rockville, Connecticut, the bid is $1,000 and there is no reserve.
For the record, just because it has 20 fewer CCs doesn’t make this one any less dangerous for those folks who insist on riding them like lunatics, or without taking every precaution possible. As with almost anything, the vast majority of cognizant humans can ride these three-wheelers and have lots of fun with them and have absolutely zero issues with flipping over or driving over their own legs or whatever else happens.
Honda and safety organizations have said that thousands of people were regularly getting hurt on three-wheelers and it basically killed the industry, no pun intended. And, I’m not making light of the fact that many people actually died while riding an ATC but it was a tiny fraction of riders and owners. Enough with the boilerplate, let’s check this amazing little storage find out before it’s gone! This seller, Kaplan Cycles in Connecticut, has an unbelievable treasure trove of vintage motorcycles for sale, I’m sure that we’ll be seeing more of them as they have a huge eBay presence.
The Honda ATC70 came out in 1972 for the 1973 model year and they went away after 1985. It was Honda’s first “ATC”, at least in name, as the earlier Honda 90 three-wheeler was designated the US90 and that was in 1970. The seller always puts together a world-beating package of photos and a great YouTube video which is why there may not be a better seller on all of eBay, or anywhere else for that matter. And again, Barn Finds gets nothing from Kaplan Cycles but a nice stream of vintage and classic motorcycles to show here. They’re my personal favorite eBay motorcycle seller, I don’t know how they find all of these great bikes!
The engine on this one is Honda’s 72 cc single-cylinder and this one hasn’t been started in at least a couple of decades as it’s been in a collection of motorcycles that the seller just purchased. It pulls over and has good compression so I’m sure it would run again in no time after cleaning the carb and the rest of the fuel system. Have any of you owned an ATC that wasn’t a 90 cc version?
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Comments
And here come the cry-baby stories, nobody told me I could get hurt,,,sorry, I have little, if any empathy for those folks. Common sense should be the rule. “Never adult ridden” makes me a bit nervous, it DOES have the “leg guards” in front of the back wheels, helped some, but idgits are idgits, and people still took a tumble. Luckily, these didn’t go fast enough to get killed( although, I’m sure some did) but for what it was intended, I think it is a great, simple step saver, never intended to be jumped or raced. You know, that DRZ was a washout back in the hills, but I bet this would be great for an old man on slow rides. Just getting it back there would be the chore. I wonder why they went with a( lazy) pull start instead of the kick?
I just want to say, I don’t want to seem to unsympathetic to folks that actually lost a loved one on one of these. It’s the old man in me that says stuff like that, then, later on, my mom kicks in and I feel bad. In the wrong hands, they were plenty dangerous, mystery of life, I suppose, why some make it and some don’t. Many years ago, I was dirt biking with a friend, make a long ( and gross) story short, he hit a cable at speed, and almost took his head off. Killed him right there on the trail. Ironically, had he not been wearing a helmet, he may have lived, but he turned his head, and the corner of the helmet caught the cable, and broke his neck. MORE irony, he was supposed to get married THAT DAY, but postponed it until the next week, that never happened, obviously. It’s a memory that still haunts me some 40+ years later. I don’t want to turn this into some death thread, but I do apologize,,,
Wrong again Howard – people lots of them – even experience motorcycle riders were killed and maimed from owning these three wheelers. I speak from experience of owning and riding them – they weren’t safe at slow speed trail riding – one reason they went to four wheels.
What, do you just wait for something I say to find it in your infinite wisdom to call me out? YOU are MY Barn Finds nemesis, you know that?. It is YOU that are wrong, fewer than 100 people were killed a year on these, less than 1% of the riders, as usual, all attention on that, and not the 99% that had no trouble, or a little “Trail rash”. Aim your sights somewhere else, will ya? Slow riding what was what they were meant for, if you couldn’t handle them, that was your fault.
https://www.skillsetmag.com/three-wheeler-history/
These were all pull…90 was kick
I had a 110, 185s and a 200 and they were all pull rope start. I would much rather ride a 3 wheeler than a 4 wheeler because you could get around in the woods a lot better. Just like riding a motor cycle, you had to watch what you were doing or you could get hurt. I could get hurt in my side by side if not being careful.
Got a 200m and use it until snow comes,then the battery comes out and goes in the Polaris Indy.Carried a deer from the back of the property one hunting season.So the the deer lashed on the back and me way up front on the seat it was a slow ride:-)
Again the same seller as todays mini-trail 70.
I had a 110.
When I was 6 years old.
Yeah. Young, and Dumb Parents.
I saw it pull in brand new in the back of my Dads Ranchero GT.
Flipped it on Pismo Beach going into one of those circle tracks people made.
I recall flooring it by the water.
Well, I had a Helmet.
It was constantly abused and flooded to follow by my Dads co workers in his Auto Shop. Ridden through muddy grounds in E San Jose. Well, he allowed it. Dumb.
No WAY I would let my 7 year old ride something like This. Different Times.
Young and Dumb Parents.
I waited double their age to have kids, I wonder Why? 😆