250R Question

[1988R]

I was looking at a Honda 250R and I was told it ws an 88
then wasn't sure if it was an 87
Question
Is there any way to tell the difference besides swingarm
headlight,seat,a-arms, and the engine is polished and frame powder-coated
Any help would be great

[polabareus]

It's no newer than an 86. There is some controversy about if any 87 250rs even made it to north america at all. Same with the 87 350x. The only thing that even hints to their existence is a brochure that you can see at 3wheelerworld.com. But if by some twist of fortune you have found an 87 250r, for gods sake buy the thing.

[wilkin250r]

Am I missing something?


250r three-wheelers (known as the ATC 250R) where made up until 1986, but I didn't see anywhere in his post that indicated that he was talking about a three-wheeler.

250r FOUR-wheelers (TRX250R) where made between 1986 and 1989.

If it has the original plastics, the 1988 and 1989 had a fixed headlight mounted in the front plastics. In 1986 and 87, they were attached to the handlebars.

I think the 1988 was red, and the 1989 was white. Somebody correct me if I am wrong. Of course, all these indications are out the window if it has aftermarket plastics on it.

[madmac]

On 1988/89 trx 250r quads the v.i.n. number is stamped in the front section of the frame right in front of the radiator. on 87 models the v.i.n. tag is on the left side(shifter side) of the sub frame about 6 inches behind the counter shaft sprocket. There are other ways of determining but that is the surest way. on the 88/89 models it would be very difficult for the v.i.n. tag to come off (virtually imposible due to where its at and how its mounted in between two of the front frame sections) however the 87 tag could break off in a crash or somthing. Hope this helps.

[polabareus]

Wilkin, your right. What the hell was I thinking! For some strange reason I thought he was talking about an atc 250r. Maybe it was because I saw some guy riding one the other day, although that still doesn't quite explain my being so assumptive. You know now that I re-read the orginal post he even mentions a-arms, something a three wheeler wouldn't have. Im down right perplexed..............

[QuadRacer041]

swingarm on an 88-89 is solid across at the pivot bolt, 86-87 is split and uses a braket to mount to the engine.
i belive the seats on the 86-87 are taller then 88-89.
the 86-87 uses a longer swingarm as well and 1" longer then 88-89.
88-89 use a +1 forward a arm but dont know if u can tell buy looking.
i believe the 86-87 use gold a arms.
spindles on 86-87 are diffrent then 88-89.
86 has its own rear shock, 87 has its own, and 88-89 use the same.
86-87 use a headlight mounted to handle bars, 88-89 has it mounted to plastic.
86-87 foot peg mounts are differnt then 88-89 are are located higher(86-87) on the frame.
some 86-87's came with gold wheels.
86 came in red and white, 87 red and white or blue and white, 88 all red, 89 white with red seat.
there are some changes in engine specs as well.

[marksuttonjr]

Find the VIN #
10th digit = G for 86
10th digit = H for 87
10th digit = J for 88
10th digit = K for 89

Then there are all the other differences that were meantioned.


As for the 87 trikes that someone else mentioned several of them made it to the states before their sale was "outlawed", but I doubt that many of them were sold. I know where there is 1 sitting on a display in a Honda shop. It has never even been filled with fuel. Most that made it to the US were striped down and sold as scrap.:mad: :mad:

[deathman53]

pics, I want to see a pic of this "87 250r trike" what color are the plastics, gas tank, headlight. does it have a key swithch?

[kwatts400]

I saw a pick of the 87 atc 250r in a mag. back in the day. I don't remember which one. Ithink it had white plastics, a red tank, and a blue seat. I remember thinking when I saw the pic that it was SWEET. I think that it said in the article that it was only available in Canada.

[Dave83]

While you guys are on the subject,my buddy and myself recently came across a TRX250R that was fully disassembled.The vin is stamped on the top subframe rail on the right side of the airbox.It ends in"87250R".Is this factory?Also,I believe the 86 was the only frame with the bracing between the frame rails in front of the front motor mount.

[1988R]

I have to correct one thing -- the motoer on this R is not polished
and has a black bottom end and silver jug

[QuadRacer041]

well then unles it was repainted i would say the motor is probably an 88 or 89
im pretty sure they were black

[deathman53]

someone probably punched new numbers in, on the 86 and 87 trx's the vin plate in on the subframe about 5 inches back from the sprocket on the lower rail. Alot of time it came off from a crash.

[1988R]

I have a new issue one reply says that the vin on 88'-89'
is in the front and 86'-87' is on the left side and that is where this one is located
Now another reply says that the 10th digit tells the year. now the 10th digit in this vin is a K and that was said to be an 89'

[pteknique]

The 86 trx250r's are the only one that has the solid motor mounts. The frame part that is. The 86's a-arm where the bolt goes through the frame is a lot bigger. They take different bushings as well. The 86 intake tube is different as well. They have a drain flap on the first part of the intake tube. But the easiet way to tell if it's a 88-89 or a 86-87 is look at the rear motor mount. Is there a motor mount welded to the frame on the upper? And nothing going through the lower engine mount? Or is the motor mount on both the top and the bottom and held on by the swingarm pivot bolt? And yes on the 86-87's the vin# is on the subframe. And on the 88-89 it's like it is on the 400ex's. So many have changed so much stuff on them by now it's hard to tell if you don't know better. It's hard telling what year the motor is. I mean it could be any color. But, that don't mean someone hasn't change the crank out for a 87 up style. Or if it is a 87 up someone could have put a 86 crank in it. It's just hard to say. But, by what I listed above will tell you the year on the frame. Are the upper ball joints on the a-arms removeable? The 86-87 swingarms look like this.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pc88f810975ab310f242d7de46dfc9920/fa4a0b7c.jpg

[marksuttonjr]

Originally posted by 1988R

Now another reply says that the 10th digit tells the year. now the 10th digit in this vin is a K and that was said to be an 89'

You can tell the year oif any motor vehicle sold in the US by the 10th digit of the 17 digit VIN#. Make sure that all 17 digits are there. You might have a digit missing, and the K might realy be the 11th digit.
reguardless of the year of R it is the Vin # should go JH3TE###AAA######
#=some number
A= some letter
JH3TE ih how all of the VIN 3's on Honda quads started in the 80's

[marksuttonjr]

Originally posted by deathman53
pics, I want to see a pic of this "87 250r trike" what color are the plastics, gas tank, headlight. does it have a key swithch?

I'll get pics. next time I go to that shop and post them if I think about it. This one has the polished aluminum wheels, white plastic, red tank, red seat, and the frame is black.

[1988R]

ok thats it I was missing the first letter "J" so that means the 10th digit is "H" = 87'

[1988R]

How do you post pics on here?

[deathman53]

that bike is a custom bike, white plastics are availbable aftermarket, douglas makes polished wheels, frames can be powdercoated, the seat on the 87's was blue, very much doubt it is a "true 87", many of the bikes that we sold it 87 actually were 86 left overs that didn't make it to chopping ground. Maier makes a white headlight shorud for the 85 not the 86, so anybody could have bought that.

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p32432409a6bee9c0e1da5046691176da/f8cbe8d6.jpg.thumb.jpg

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p32432409a6bee9c0e1da5046691176da/f8cbe8d6.jpg

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/pdaf54f56cb049e0a68031121ec44326e/f8cbe8c3.jpg

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p8ec9520e7b94d666b74200cea6e57658/f8cbe8ca.jpg

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p884da094eb5cf42a7605ed862bcc9c11/f8cbe8df.jpg

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p42f205b2d039a8adfd7ac3757be43fa0/f8cbe8dd.jpg

[powerslider]

The frame is before 88 being the footpegs bolt on and the grabars have different spacing between the bolts, the motor looks to be 88 or 9 with the black trans and silver jug.

[1988R]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid115/p037809d327f3930253485a5f50b59cb6/f8cbe8cd.jpg

[1988R]

yeah thats what I've determined frame is an 87 now I would like to figure out if the motor is the same or newer
Its a little rough around the edges but give me a few weeks and I'll get it up to par

Wish I never sold my 88' a couple years ago

[250rmike]

hey where did u get that r from? i remember looking at one that looked just like it about 2 years ago for 4500.00

[1988R]

North Jersey

[250rmike]

if someone will post a picture i can put one up of the one i was looking at i think its the same one

[1988R]

If you have a pic send it to me
also where was this one you were looking at located?