I recently picked up a 1983 Honda ATC 185s from a buddy of mine that had it sitting in his shop for about 6 years. Once I got it home and off the truck I gave it a quick wash and started looking it over. All the fuel had been drained out already so decided to remove the fuel tank and give it a inspection. It had a little bit of rust inside but nothing bad at all. I cleaned it out with vinegar and it worked pretty good. That's when I found a couple of fuel leaks. The petcock was leaking and was a small leak from a repaired area.

Ordered a new petcock and cleaned up the previous repaired area to apply some JB Weld Steel Stick and see if that would seal up the pin hole leaks. Still waiting a couple of more days of dry time to test it out with water. Doesn't look pretty but just need it to work.

I removed the carb and inspected it. Was pretty dirty and realized it was not the factory carb so just ordered a cheap one from amazon for $20. Checked the air filter and it was still good along with the oil that was in the engine.

Carb arrived so installed it along with a new spark plug and rigged up a spray bottle with some fuel and a nipple to see if it would fire up. After a couple of pulls it fired right up and ran pretty well. At this moment I'm just waiting for the petcock to arrive and get the fuel tank where it's good to go so I can hopefully take it out for a ride.

Here are a few pics along the way.

Don't flip it over.

^^^^^Hard not to. That's why they're gone. I was riding one many years ago and hit a rut that was covered by grass. Flipped over and on top of me. To this day I still don't know how I kept from breaking some bones. The thing landed on top of me. I don't think there's any way to be too careful on one of those.

Gonna try my hardest not to.

Fun project and yes don't flip it.

I had a couple of Honda 3 Wheelers years ago. The last one I had developed some leaks in the gas tank. I couldn’t plug them, so I looked for a new one, which was very expensive. I rethought my options and realized that old Harleys would have the same problem, so I found a Harley repair shop run by old guys. I felt a bit nervous going to a Harley shop with a Honda gas tank, but no problems. They welded up the leaks, got rid on the rust, and I never had a problem with the gas tank again.

Those carbs are prone to plugged jets, which was a problem I encountered a lot, so use good gas and a stabilizer liquid.

And stay out of Louisiana’s gumbo mud. It’ll jam between the front struts and the tire if it doesn’t get slung off. That’ll bring you to a stop.

Clean old bike. Should be nice when done.

The wife worked for an oral surgeon for years. They repaired more broken jaws from people flipping these than anything else. Not if, but when! Get a good helmet.

That is looking good. I owned a 185 back when they were popular and pre 4 wheeler. It took me some places I should not have gone including crossing a creek that was flowing and deeper than the tires. By balancing very carefully it would float and using very little throttle, the rear tires provided propulsion to cross the creek. Don't put your foot down when making a sharp turn!

Broke my collarbone just seeing the pics…but I do love restorations of machines!

That one is in great shape, especially the plastics and the headlight. It's hard to find one that doesn't have them cracked or missing. I love the models with front shocks too, makes the ride so much better. Re-paint those wheels and that sucker will look almost new. Nice work!

There is one good crack on the plastics and I'm looking at how to plastic weld it. I'll probably get the fuel tank and front forks repainted Honda red. Will also paint the wheels and any other easy access parts.

We have one sitting in a barn that's a 1985 model. I think it's a 250cc. The plastic is cracked and the seat is in somewhat poor shape. My FIL used it on their farm to help move cattle around, and in later years my MIL would ride it side-saddle and idle along to walk her dogs. Maybe I'll have to take a look at it and see what it would take to get it operating again.
Yours is in overall better shape, though.

They are pretty simple to work on. You should definitely pull it out and get it going.

I know of one lady that got killed on one and another teen that got hurt bad. Get rid of it.

I enjoy my heath and my life too much to ever ride one of those again.

You couldn't give me one of the POS

They're definitely less stable than the 4-wheel models, but to a very large degree I think it's a matter of using common sense. Most of the injuries are probably due to excessive speed and a bit of recklessness. I certainly wouldn't take one out into the Arizona desert and run it wide open.

I remember running all over a deer lease is South Texas on one of those back in the mid'80s.

I never flipped any of my 3 wheelers, and I didn’t drive like a crazy man. My youngest brother, on the other hand, drove like a wild man. I should ask him if he ever rolled one. Dad tried to float one over a small creek, but that didn’t work as planned.

Young guy from back home (many years ago) ran under a low wire and cut his head almost off. And a BIL’s younger brother ran over a ground hornet nest (also many years ago) and when trying to outrun them, he flipped his Honda 3 wheeler, broke his leg and was stung to death. Not sure a 4 wheeler would have saved either one.

I'll be certain to wear lots of bubble wrap just to be on the safe side when riding it.

I think it'd be fun just to putter around on it.

This is the plan. Have no plans on going fast or anything like that.

I did a lot of crazy crap on one of those as a kid and lived to tell about it. Gotta believe I could stay alive on one as an adult now. I want one.

That 185 is a fine score. Looks to be in really nice shape compared to most out there. I have had at least three of them when I was younger. I did a lot of crazy crap as well and tore them up. Not just playing in mud, but sand and snow too. Gosh it was fun. It's a wonder I did not kill myself on one. Snow blinded I once narrowly escaped beheading myself on a barb wire fence while riding in deep snow. The ATC200ES I have now I limit myself to just using it to get from point A to point B and putting around at the leases. No fast crazy stuff. Not just for safety reasons but so I don't break anything on it and don't wear out any parts. Many of the parts range from difficult to impossible to find so I want to take care of this one. Headed to East Texas with it later this evening to check on things for the new hunting season.