Honda ATC 110

In the 1970s and early 1980s the three-wheelers that had been popularized by Honda were a common sight on beaches, in the sand dunes, and in many other locations popular with off-road riders. Due to the single front wheel and the lack of training undertaken by the average rider, the three-wheelers quickly developed a reputation for injuring their riders – one of the most common injuries was a broken collarbone. It would be the three-wheeled Honda ATCs that started an arms race among other motorcycle manufacturers to build their own versions. As the 1980s progressed the focus shifted to slightly safer four-wheelers, commonly known now as quads. The Honda ATC110 is powered by a 105cc four-stroke, air-cooled, horizontal OHV single-cylinder engine. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed dual-range auto-clutch transmission.

Osamu Takeuchi And The Power Of Three Wheels

In 1967 a Japanese engineer named Osamu Takeuchi was tasked with coming up with a new kind of motorcycle that dealers could sell in the winter.

He worked his way through a range of difference vehicle concepts, from traditional two-wheeled motorcycles all the way up to six-wheeled ATVs. Eventually he took some inspiration from pre-existing amphibious six-wheeled ATVs by borrowing their balloon tires that were perfect for use on snow and soft ground.

Takeuchi came up with a three-wheeled design that had a very low curb weight, it spread its weight out over three balloon tires, and thanks to its single front wheel it could break steered like a normal motorcycle without any complicated steering mechanism required.

Honda put the design into production as the Honda US90 and released it in 1970, it enjoyed some level of immediate success but the appearance of the US90 in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever in a nail biting chase scene seared it into the minds of movie goers around the world. Honda ATC110 Three-Wheeler 10

While the US90 had proven popular, the one minor gripe had been a lack of power from the 89.5cc single-cylinder engine.

A largely redesigned three-wheeler was developed with a more powerful 105cc four-stroke, air-cooled, horizontal OHV single-cylinder engine, it was named the ATC110 and it was released nine years after the original in 1979.

The ATC110 was a little bigger and a lot stronger than the smaller 90cc and 70cc models that had come before it. It was fitted with knobby balloon tires front and back covered with wide mud guards.

After the release of the ATC110 Honda would continue on the same path, building ever bigger and more advanced three-wheelers until production stopped in 1987, when they were replaced with the more stable four-wheeled “quad bikes.”

Source silodrome.com