An incredible collection of almost 100 vintage Honda ATVs has gone up for sale. Many are described as museum pieces but the biggest prize of the bunch, what the consignor calls the “holy grail” is a 1986 Honda ATC250R that has remained “crated” — meaning it’s been stored in the box it was shipped in — for nearly 40 years. That one was sold ahead of the other pieces in the collection for a whopping $200,000.
The introduction of Honda’s ATC250R in 1981 represented a historic first in the world of powersports as the first three-wheeled racing ATV. Prior to its debut, the burgeoning sport of ATV competitions saw racers riding the balloon-tired ATC models designed for off-roading. But the 250R used a two-stroke single cylinder derived from the CR250R dirtbike.
The ATB250R lasted three generations, until Honda and other manufacturers “voluntarily” decided to cease production of three-wheeled ATVs at the behest of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Apparently they had a nasty habit of rolling over and crushing inexperienced riders.
As such, this crated third-gen 1986 model represents the last of its kind. Notable upgrades from the previous generation included a water-cooled engine and 6-speed transmission. Europe and Canada reportedly continued to sell them for another year, but by 1987’s end the fate of these three-wheelers had been sealed.
The sale, discovered by The Drive, is being handled by a Louisiana shop called D&A Restorations, which specializes in vintage off-road bikes and ATVs. Owner Travis Gisclair says that the crated 250R generated so much interest that they had to limit the offers to only ones above $100,000. The $200,000 offer came in quickly and the seller decided to accept and end the bidding.
The collection contained two other crated machines, a pair of 2006 Yamaha Banshees, one in yellow and one in black. Those were sold too, but the price wasn’t disclosed. The rest of the ATVs, which include several assembled ATC250Rs, will be auctioned off February 22-23. The $200,000 winning bid is likely an all-time high for such a vehicle, coming impressively close to a Honda NSR500V race bike that was never ridden, which was one of 20 ever built.
P.T. Barnum was right.
The issue was that the “inexperienced” riders were often kids under the age of 16.
Gee wiz! What an incredible collection. I can see these being put to good use by a tour company buying the lot and instantly having a fleet of beach/jungle buggies for slow group tours along the white sands of a remote island in Southeast Asia or through lush rainforest, almost like a Jurassic Park-esque tour. That’s what I would do, anyway.