You then have this little beast of a ride—honda atc 70. A bit of nostalgia wrapped in tough appeal, but still a tiny dynamo under careful control. To be honest, though, preserving a vintage three-wheeler requires more than simply engine survival. It’s like caring for a bonsai tree; if the tree were designed to thunder down a rough rocky slope,
Long as your ATC70 is kept well-fed with premium oil, its engine is the heart that never misses a beat. But it won’t cut it just throwing in any old pot of gold. Every once in a blue moon fresh oil will keep everything slicker than the greasy spoon used at a roadside diner. Trust me; it loves a fresh round of lifeblood. About every 250 miles, give or take, is oil change time.
Now, with regard to love, those tires? They require somewhat more as well. Though it’s tempting to just kick them and call it a day, that’s like opening the refrigerator door hoping a turkey shows up. Check for air pressure; depending on your terrain, the manual advises between 3 and 5 PSI—cushioned ride or nail-biter? Keep those wheels clear of trash as well. A thistle in the side of your tire destroys a day like nothing else.
Then straight forward to the air filter! Before your engine swallows it, the unsung hero catches all the crud. An unclean air filter cannot breathe, much as a dog smelling through fog cannot. Like washing your favorite tee, clean it routinely with soap and water; rinse well and allow it dry completely before it returns to use.
Have you heard that the cleanliness of a chain determines its lifetime? Well, you now possess. Your ATC70 is kept merrily chugging along by a clean, greased chain. Use a specialist chain oil and think about it if you find a dusty film beginning to develop. The chain feels fresh new from a simple scrub-through.