Honda 250ES & 110

[bigreddaddy]

I need some advice.

Yesterday I bought two 3-wheelers. One is a 1985 Honda 250ES Big Red and the other is a 1980 Honda 110 ($500 for both).
The 110 is for my son. I want to teach him to ride, etc. The top end of the motor supposedly has been rebuilt. New rear axle. Pretty good shape but needs a pull rope, a kill switch, maybe a coil (the guy said when it warms up it will stop running).
Will a pull rope for a lawn mower work? If so, how do I go about wrapping it correctly? I am ordering some service manuals for both ATV's.

The 250 was in neutral. It needs rear brakes. I jammed on the foot pedal to see if it would stop the 250 from rolling, just to see. (It's not running).
Now either the rear brakes are locked up, or it maybe it is stuck in reverse. When I try to shift in neutral it will only shift up one gear then back down. I tried the button on the brake handle but it still won't roll.
What did I do? Could the rear brake pads be locked up on the drum or something? I don't know if its a shifter problem or a brake problem.
Any advice would be appreciated.


bigreddaddy

[big red 1985]

with the big red try rocking the trike back and forth at the same time move the gear shifter to change the gears , some times that helps! as far as the brakes being locked up just check the brake arm on the outside of the drum , if you can move this and feel some tension like spring tension then chances are they arnt locked up. i don know if you ever owned a big red but all the way down is neutral, using the button on the brake handle while shifting down from neutral once more will get it into reverse!

[Rex Karz]

You might need to take off the brake drum to get things loosened and lubed back up.

[bigreddaddy]

with the big red try rocking the trike back and forth at the same time move the gear shifter to change the gears , some times that helps! as far as the brakes being locked up just check the brake arm on the outside of the drum , if you can move this and feel some tension like spring tension then chances are they arnt locked up. i don know if you ever owned a big red but all the way down is neutral, using the button on the brake handle while shifting down from neutral once more will get it into reverse!


Oh yeah I've done some rockin'. I've owned several Honda 3 wheelers but never a big red. So reverse is new to me. To get it out of reverse you should just be able to push the button and shift up one, right? Well I've tried shifting every which way and just can't tell if I'm stuck in reverse or if its the brakes.
I can't move the brake arm. I guess when I jammed on the pedal I locked up the pads or something. I guess I'm going to have to take the wheel off and get in there.
The big red is a total fixer upper, I knew that when buying it. The 110 is the one that is supposed to need very little work.

Another question. Looking at the specs I see that compression should be at least 145psi on the big red. I got 90psi with 3 kicks. Do I need to get the electric start working to get a good reliable check of compression?

Thanks for the help.

[big red 1985]

well if you can kick it and it does not lurch forward than you are not stuck in gear! but it sounds like you need a top end rebuild, not to dificult but time consuming! with that brake arm, try knocking it back with a hammer towards the rear of the trike.