With the exception of the day I tried to drive off in a Mustang II without anybody knowing it when I was about five years old and the occasional trip to the go-kart track in Colorado Springs, my first real experience with anything self-powered involved two wheels. Motorcycles is my true root for operating any kind of powered vehicle and the spot where I entered motorsports. It’s where I fed my addiction for the forces of acceleration and speed, where I learned respect for braking and handling, and where I learned that the fifteen-year-old human body is no match for the thick growth of the brushlands of the Pacific Northwest when you dump a bike after a big jump. I didn’t start out big…my first bike was a 50cc Honda monkey bike and I stepped up to a Honda Trail 70 shortly afterwards. After that it was a mix of Honda three-wheelers, Yamaha two-strokes, and various quads that took up my time, but one bike stood out because it was so different, so forgiving, and oddly enough, so fun: a Honda FatCat.
The Honda TR200 FatCat is a strange-looking thing, a dirt bike with fluffy ATV-style tires that was only produced for 1986-87. If you’re used to Honda’s four-stroke mills that powered the likes of the ATC 185 three-wheeler, you’d feel right at home on a FatCat. Why did it even exist? Well…honestly, I don’t know what to tell you. Honda was building bikes, trikes and quads just fine and the crackdown on three wheelers didn’t hit until very late in 1987, at the end of TR200 production. Unless Honda had four-stroke engines in stock and needed to burn down supply, the only logical conclusion was that they were testing to see if there was a market for a mellow off-road bike.
The FatCat is a very easy bike to ride. It’s forgiving, it’s plush enough (big floaty tires help) and the five-speed gearbox had an automatic clutch, so that was one less thing you had to mess with. Just kick it into gear and take off. It handled gravel fire roads, damp forest trails and rutted, stump-filled sections nicely, and as long as you remembered what you were riding (a two-wheeled ATV, not a dirt bike as you knew it) you could even show off a bit. I haven’t ridden a FatCat since the mid-1990s…but I’d take one again in half a second. And if you ever get the chance to try one out, do it.
eBay Link: 1987 Honda TR200 “FatCat”
(Courtesy: Bring A Trailer)
i think both honda and yamaha (tw200) were trying it out to see if they could capitalize on the popularity of suzuki’s rv series—suzuki came first with 90 and 125 sizes,two-strokes,of course,and i believe later a 50 cc for the little ones,though i’m not sure they ever imported them here in the u.s.—i still have my 125,bought decades ago,sold to a friend,and later re-bought—the motor actually lugs down pretty good for a 2-stroke,first being a crawler gear,but pull some revs and fan the clutch and it’s wheelie-time!—and while they have a tendency to follow deep ruts,make surprisingly good hill climbers—and they’re street=legal,to boot—not to mention having a super comfortable seat
Bryan mate – I wouldn’t publically admit to riding a Monkey Bike on America’s best Hot Rodding website if I were you!
I was nine years old. Doesn’t bother me a bit!
50 cc monkey bikes! those were awesome.
Fantastic bikes for running over your legs
The guy wants four grand for that thing? He’s friggin’ nuts!
Hey, anyone have a fatcat seat for sale?? I\’m looking for one.