Thinking about purchasing a 3 wheeler.Going to look at 2 tommorrow hopefully.Any advice on these? One from the pics looks great but he says it needs a top end but he doesnt know anything about them.Says we can probably push start it but it smokes.The other one supposedly runs great but its an ugly camo he painted it.The nice looking one is selling for 650,the camo one 550.

go to http://www.3wheelerworld.com/content.php they will help you out bigtime!

Mudbogger,I would think you probably have one of these in your stable
I ended up getting the red one,we push started it but it smoked bad and ran like crap.I'll have to try and figure it out.I was able to talk him down to 550 on it which is good.

Redskinman, When you got it started did it tick pretty good. Most of the 200x 350x's I worked on had a stretched cam chain and the valves were way out. A good leak down test would help with a valve leak /ring leak. As you apply pressure during a cylinder test listen for a leak in the exhaust pipe and the air cleaner. Most of the time new valve guides, seals and valves are required during rebuild. Hopfully the valve seat's are not to bad. Measure the clearence before removing the cam and head. Also take off the retainers and check for a broken spring. New springs are usally a must expecialliy with a new cam. If it popped on rev out and desel this is a sign of valve train damage. The chain looks a little saggy. Pulll up the front fork boots and check for leaks. The rear shocks tend to blow seals and fade if never been rebuilt for the age. If you do a bottom end and new clutches check the shift shaft they tend to twist and cause seal leak.

Enjoy your new ride there a blast from the past. Every chance I get to ride on of my old three wheelers I do.

Most of what you said is all jibberish to me don't know how to do a cylinder test or any of the other things you said.Im going to have to learn on the fly like I did on my odyssey.

I think he was saying that he doesn't know the first thing about what you were refering to... Not saying that you were talking jibberish Adnoh LOL
I talked to him today and suggested he remove everything that was in the way of the valve adjustments and take it to the Honda shop and have the valves adjusted per specs first off... Just to see if that is where the problem is...

Sorry redskinman. Heck some times I cant make head or tail out of what I write either. Enjoy your project and hope to see some pics of the rebuild.

love my 200x, I put all my new friends to the hobby on it, been a pretty tough machine. Been rolled down hills and drowned a time or two.

Just did a compression test,only got 30 psi,cant believe it actually ran with that little of compression.

wow me either, you sure your tester is good?

It's a four stroke. You can not check like a two stroke. Ahhhhhhh nothing like learing something new. Have fun and enjoy the new tools.

I was told by someone on the 3wheeler forum you could,so if you cant test it like a 2 stroke how do you test it? This is what I was told
"Get the manual first.

You can do a compression check just like the 2 stroke. Screw the gauge in the plug hole, hold the throttle wide open and kick it over a few times. Specs in the manual.

Clean the air filter and carb, adjust the valves, put in a fresh spark plug and see what happens. "

Just read the manual.It states:
warm up the Engine{cant do}
Stop Engine,remove plug,insert compression gauge
push the choke lever down fully
open the throttle level fully
operate the kcik starter pedal several times

not sure if the choke was on but I did everything else,if that's not the same as a 2stroke hows it different?

Explain the decompression spring tothese? Is there one in an old 4 stroke?

Mine is an 86 and it has a decompression setup so when you kick it the compression is lower and easier to kick, There is a little cable that pulls a lever on the right side of the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) .. A common problem on them is to not have the cable adjusted correctly placing much more stress than normal on the kicker and wearing it out. I bet you could intentionally loosen the cable to remove that function and get a better reading ...

one of my fl350s that had seized when I got it tested 70psi, I don't think there is anyway it could be as low as 30 and still run.

Mines an 85 and it says nothing in the manual about a cable or spring.Like I stated in previous post,those directions are straight from the manual on how to check compression.

Redskin man I miss stated the facts. Doing a cranking/kicking compression check is not a accurate in a four stroke as in a two stroke, Sorry. One reason for this is that at the top of the cyler is the head which has valves and the valve if miss adjusted, leaking or bent can cause a miss reading in the pressure measurement. I'm not tring to ba smart butt here just tring to expalin better. There is other facotres that may let the valves leak than adjustment or being bent. There could be carbon on the valve not allowing it to seal in the seat or valve pocket. When doing a leak down test air is used to pressure the cylinder and allow for a perecentage to pass by the rings giving a % which will a low % of loose if the valve train is in good order. When doing a leakk down test one would set the cylinder at BDC on the compression stroke which should let the valves seal if the valve train is ok. During a laeak down test one should listen to the exhaust pipe for an indacation of an exhaust valve leak, the air box if a intake valve is leaking and the vent tube for pressure bypassing the rings. Always make sure your crank case tube is open and not blocked as not to blow out a seal. A loose/stretched cam chain will alter the valve timing and cause hard starting and also could allow the valve to strike the piston and bend a valve. This is why it is important to know what the valve clearencers are and log them. As an example if you find it all of sudden its hard to start and the valve clearence has increased than a leak down could be herd thu the bent valve or wore valve seat,stuck valve ect. A bent valve or a carboned up valve if ran long will take out the valve guide or even bust the rocker arm on the 200x. This will also wear down the cam lobe. There is bunch more a leak down can tell you over a cranking/ kicking pressure test can on your 200x.

I knew you werent trying to be a smart ass,and neither was I in case you took it that way.
Do you do a leakdown test on this like you would the ody?

In most case due to the age of the bike a valve job will be required in order to restore it to good running condition. When you rebuild the Engine you most lily are wanting a higher compression piston and that will need a better operating valve train. Then most want a performance cam which will lead to more leverage on the valve. This will lead to the rest of the items. valves, the valve weight, spring and spring tension required. With a larger over lap a high compression piston is require to maintain the compression level. Kinda like raising the exhaust port then milling the head as a crud example. As you increase the revs you do not want a valve floating due to improper spring tension and smacking the piston nore do you want to heavy of a spring that will beat the valve seat in on the head. This will also increase the wear on the rocker or even wear the lob off the cam. Now factor in the cam timing chain which will need to be tight as not to allow to much valve timing shift within a tight valve spec. In a stock configuration a little loose is better than to tight in the clearences between the rocker and the valve tip. If a high lift cam had been installed at one point with improper components it lead to the valve tip wear being uneven and that tells you the valve seats and valve have too much wear. This is where on usually finds a broken spring and the rocker wore beyond repair. If the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) was smoking heavily than one leads towards rings and light smoke and smoke at high revs usually tells one that there is valve train damage. Hope this helps better than a simple inaccurate statement. I would recommend googling leak down test and read up on it. In a four stokes more attention should be given to vavle train for a good operating Engine. The cam and vavles timing should be considered just like a two stoke pipe and porting. Agian sorry.

Yes it is different than a leak down in the ody. I use a leak down tester from harbor freight. I use on my four stroke after ever ride just like a compression tester on the two stroke. They should have a cheap stethoscope as well that can inserted in the exhaust for leak down testing so you do not get dirty ear. My wife always tells me to wash my ear after coming in from the garage. She has no clue how it get there and laughs at me. Defend hit up the threewheeler board for more info on four bangers leak down and valve trains. I take no offence just do not to be offencive.

As far as the spring thing. Is is refered to as an automatic decompression lever holding open a valve a little allowing compression leak.