"When one door closes another door opens" my Parents always say. This is true in life and how I came to buy my 1990 Honda Pilot FL400.
I grew up riding ATC's and when they were outlawed, and then I started riding ATV's. I started riding ATC’s in 1981 at 6 years old. I had a good friend Russell and his older brother Tony that rode ATC’s with me all over Paso Robles California. There were tons of riding areas and none of the neighbors called the Police or chased us away. Those were the good ole days!!!
Russell (same age as me) and his older brother and I would meet after school on Friday evening to go riding. Russell rode a brand new 1982 Fl250 Odyssey and his bother had an ATC 125. I rode an ATC 70 & ATC 110. There were about a dozen guys and girls that would meet up on the trails around San Luis Obispo County. I still remember the first time I got to ride on the back of an ATC 250r!!! That machine is a beast!!! I was only 6-7 years old!!!
After a while Russell decided to compete with his older brother. He decided he needed to ride an ATC as the Odyssey was not as nimble as those ATC's were. So we traded and I started riding the FL250 Odyssey. What a Blast!!! After that I was a huge fan of the FL Odyssey series from Honda.
My family moved down to the Thousand Oaks California/Agoura Hills California area for their careers, and sadly there were no local riding areas...however Pismo Beach was very close by, and we only went on a special occasion...since I was only 8-9 years old, dependant on my Parents for transportation, and my Parents were so busy then as they were preparing to move to the Middle East for their careers.
Fast Forward to 1985, my 10th birthday, and to my surprise I received a new 1985 Yamaha Moto4 80cc Quad. I was glued to the seat of that machine!!!! It was so much fun and easier for me to ride compared to an ATC.
By this time we moved to the suburbs of Washington DC (Maryland) and there were a lot of huge trails & riding areas back then in Anne Arundel County Maryland. We all rode on the old Nev-A-Mar plastic factory property (they made Christmas Trees & Formica counter tops) and there were miles of old abandoned Baltimore, Washington & Annapolis railroad (W.B.&A.) tracks from the early 1900's, to ride on. The rails and tracks were long since removed as scrap metal and these areas were considered great riding areas.
The State of Maryland built a new highway through the plastic factory property, and at the same time a huge 5,000 new home subdivision was built around the old riding areas. The abandoned railroad tracks/trails were paved for bicycle riding & runners (hiker/biker trails as they are now called) around the new subdivision and overnight the new neighbors complained and signs went up that ATV's etc were not allowed to ride there anymore.
We started going to West Virginia to ride ATV’s and that was 8-9+ hours driving time back then. That was before Interstate 64 & the Interstate 77 (West Virginia Turnpike) was finished. By then I was outgrowing the Yamaha Moto4 80cc quad that I loved so much.
At a Honda ATV dealer in Beckley West Virginia, I saw a brand new 1985 FL350r Odyssey for sale and it brought back memories of the FL250 Odyssey. The salesman did a nice job with his presentation of how the new FL350 was different from the FL250 (reverse, electric start etc) however Santa Clause did not bring one for me that Christmas morning. LOL!!!
I still found some local places to ride in Maryland too, and I was still a regular tire-kicker at the local Maryland ATV dealer. Back then it was only Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, & Kawasaki and they were all in one showroom!!! My how the ATV sport has grown!!!
In 1989 I had to buy some parts for my Quad and I went to a new "ATV superstore" They dealership was huge and had just about everything...looked at the Honda Fat Cat that sat unsold. I looked at the new 4x4 ATV's that were now on the market, and as I looked around the showroom of that huge ATV dealership, I saw exactly what I wanted, the new Honda Pilot FL400.
I still remember the first time I saw a FL400 Pilot in the Honda showroom. I was awe struck!!! My Dad and I inquired about the machine and the salesman (dealer owner) invited us back for a Honda Pilot Demo-ride day. What a day it was!!! The dealer built a hay bale track in the parking lot. I remember 3 Honda Pilots zipping around the small, flat track. The demo-ride was by invitation only, and there were swarms of people driving by, looking and asking how they could ride too. I remember the feeling of riding the Pilot FL400 and I convinced my Dad to go back a few days later to try and purchase a Pilot.
Oh, man I was so close!!! I was convinced by my parents that a car would suit me better than a FL400 Pilot. I was 16 and there were no local riding areas, we had to travel hours away to ride, and I needed a car since I was in High School.
So by this time, there were no more local riding areas in Maryland. We had to travel 5+ hours to West Virginia (some of the best riding on the East Coast) and I was getting busy with High School & preparing to go off to college. I decided that my Parents were right. So, I sadly sold my Yamaha ATV to a high school friend for $400.00
I put the ATV's, and any thought of buying a new ATV or FL400 Pilot on hold and focused my efforts on buying a car, graduating from High School and getting into a good college.
By this time (high school) I was in need of a cool car and I wasted a lot of time with buying a collector's car. After having the car rebuilt 3-4 times over to make it "right" I sold the damn thing, lesson learned. I was really disappointed with my beginning into owning a car...a cool collector’s car to boot, however it needed so much damn work as it was stored improperly. When I sold it my Parents knew that I was disappointed reassured my wise decision to sell it when they said "when one door closes another door (of opportunity) opens".
After college I moved, all over the place, following my jobs & career. It seemed as if all I ever did was work. No time for fun. So I decided to consciously enjoy the things in my life and to take time to stop and smell the roses, as they say.
I was wanted to do something fun on my days off. As I looked through the magazines at the bookstore & searched the internet/EBay for something to do, I thought about buying another ATV. I didn't know what kind of ATV's were available these days so I went to the local ATV dealer.
WOW!!! I was impressed. The new line-up from each manufacture was very impressive. There were new contenders on the market now (Polaris & Artic Cat to name a few) and I had a dozen factory brochures to read over after leaving the "power sports" dealer that day.
I decided to do some internet research. I looked on EBay for a couple of reasons. I wanted to see how much the new ATV's depreciated and how many of a particular model was for sale. I reasoned that if one of the ATV's I was considering to purchase was for sale in abundance on EBay, then they must be unreliable, dropping like flies, and the owners didn't want them anymore and I would not buy that model ATV. Sounds Simple.
While on EBay, I typed in Honda Pilot ATV by chance and to my surprise a few Pilot’s & a ton of parts were for sale!!! I read the owners description and I got a better understanding of how well made the machine was, and how much fun it was to own. The Pilots that were for sale all looked like there were in excellent condition and the owners went on to say that their Pilot's receive a full fluid change & maintenance after every ride.
I was interested and I wanted to own one. If I found a really nice Pilot that was well taken care of properly, I would buy it. The best looking Pilot, for sale on EBay that day, was only a few hours drive away,
I made arrangements with the owner to drive the 6 hours to come up and look at the machine and ask a Pilot owner what to look for etc.
After all, Pilots were now 17 years old and I didn't know what to look for, there wasn’t a buyer’s guide on the internet, and I had no idea how well they held up, or even if Honda still made parts.
I called my Dad for advice and he said "after 10 years after the end of production any company is not legally bound or does it have to continue to manufacture parts". "Great" I said, "not only did I miss the boat back in 1989, Pilots were just collectors items". I told my Dad that Pilots were only made for 1989 & 1990 according to EBay & the message boards on the internet. He said that there must be something wrong with Pilots for Honda to discontinue them and to do a lot of research before I purchased anything…and to keep the collector car fiasco fresh in my mind.
After driving almost 6 hours, just to look at the Pilot, I arrived at a very beautiful, nice, elegant, gated community full of large elegant houses. Once past the guard and arriving at the house, the owner came to the door and said, "I really didn't think you were crazy enough to come all of this way just to look. I sold the Pilot to the highest bidder and the auction is closed". I couldn't believe it!!!!!! I drove all that way!!!! I told him I was coming to look!!! How could this guy do that to me and not call me ahead of time????
I kept my cool and casually asked his advice about what to look for, when buying a Pilot. He invited me in and as we sat down in his beautiful home, he explained the difference between the 1989 & 1990 Pilots. Showed me the different service books, owners manuals etc. He went on about how safe they were how much fun they were, etc, etc, etc. and after listening to him talk about how wonderful Pilot’s are, I was sold on buying one!!!! He said that the 1989 he had on EBay was going to a new home in New York.
I asked it there was anyway that I could see the Pilot, since I drove all that way. He was very cool and said, "Of course, follow me!!!"
We jumped into his truck, and off we went. I thought to myself that I must be getting ready to be kidnapped or something worse. He took me to a very large warehouse inside of an industrial estate. He unlocked the doors and once inside he locked the doors behind us. "Oh Shit... I'm going to be on the back of a milk carton for sure" I said to myself.
The owner turned on lights and the room had 5 well preserved 1989 & 1990 Honda FL400 Pilot ATV’s!!!!!! I could not believe what I was looking at!!!!! There were other ATV's in that warehouse; I couldn't tell you what they were, as I was so focused on the Pilot's.
The owner said that he purchased a Pilot when they were new in 1989. (Pilot #1) He got married and his wife wanted a Pilot to go riding with him too. He looked and looked for a nice Pilot to give to his wife. He found a pair of 1990's for sale in his local area, and to get a nice Pilot for his wife, he had to buy two. (Pilot's #2 & 3) His brother-in-law saw Pilot #3 and offered to buy it from them. The Brother-in-law's wife wanted a Pilot too, so the search went on for another Pilot. The Brother-in-Law found two Pilot's and purchased them, both 1990 models (Pilot's 4 & 5)
So, the owner sold his original 1989 FL400 (Pilot #1) on EBay. The one that I drove all the way to look at. When I asked him why he sold his 1989 Pilot, he explained that he had purchased a new RZR to ride. He said that his wife was no longer interested in riding ATV's (since they never had time to ride) and that he was going to list his wife's 1990 Pilot (#2) on EBay. I told him that I was interested in buying it and to my surprise, he opened the door, showed me how to start it properly, and let me ride it around the industrial park a few minutes. I was sold!!!
A few weeks later, I flew back to his house on Southwest Airlines, rented a Penske truck and picked up my 1990 Honda Pilot ATV. To this day, I have yet to take it off road and ride it. I do start it every few weeks and I have purchased a trickle charger from Battery tender, which I hook up once every month.
Thanks to everyone here for (reading this long post) their great advice and technical information. Especially you Hoser, as without you & your enthusiasm, this message board, the Honda Odyssey & Pilot ATV legacy, and any outlet for these wonderful machines would not exist.
Sincerely,
Michael Pack
P.S. A picture of my 1990 Pilot was in the "letters" section of the September 2008 Dirt Wheels ATV magazine.
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