Like most outdoor-minded kids growing up in the ’90s, I developed an obsession with the idea of off-road transportation that didn’t involve pedaling. I spent countless hours daydreaming about go-carts, dirt bikes, and ATVs. I scoured old copies of Dirt Wheels Magazine imagining what the exhilaration of motorized freedom would feel like. Aside from the occasional opportunity to ride a friend’s or neighbor’s machine, I was left to long for what might eventually be.
As I neared 10 years old, my whole world changed when I inherited a well-used 1980-something Honda TRX 125 four-wheeler with no brakes, and a torn seat. Handed down to me from my older cousin, that little Honda wheeler became the center of my universe. Despite many close calls, I somehow managed to make it through the rest of my childhood intact, largely due to my father’s mandatory helmet policy.
Throughout the years, I’ve owned several ATVs, and have enjoyed them all, but one in particular stands out as a timeless favorite. It wasn’t the biggest, the fastest, or the newest, but that 1984 Honda Big Red was a real gem.
About seven years ago, I had just started to get serious about bear hunting, and the next season was still a few months away. My first proper bait site was only about a half mile away from my house as the crow flies. I had been lucky enough to secure permission from a generous landowner, and was excited to pour every bit of effort I could muster into the upcoming baiting season.
Located 75 yards or so off the back corner of a large blueberry field where the bottom of a steep beech ridge bordered a small swamp, the site was perfect. Access was fairly easy, involving only a three-quarter mile or so drive up the old dirt road from my driveway, then about a 500 yard walk along the edge of the blueberry field.
I figured lugging buckets of bait up the field day after day in the late summer heat would likely get old fast. An ATV would be a big help, and while I could have used the one issued to me by the Maine Warden Service, that somehow just didn’t feel right. Besides, the circumstances called for something a bit more nostalgic.
My recently built house sat on family land where I had grown up hunting, fishing and exploring. As a youngster, I tagged along with my father, uncle, and our neighbor, Billy, who had an enormous impact on me in the outdoor realm. Billy routinely found the biggest bucks, the biggest trout, and was the only bear hunter I had ever known in the area. I was often left awestruck by his success, and we all swore he could catch a fish in a mud puddle, or shoot a deer in a parking lot. Billy always seemed to know where to go, and he always rode there in style on his Honda 250 Big Red.
Billy had moved away a few years earlier, and it only seemed fitting that if I were going to take over as the resident bear hunter, I should follow in his footsteps. Besides, maybe that old Honda had been the secret to Billy’s success, and I needed all the luck I could get. So, the search began for one of my very own, but it wouldn’t be easy.
As it turned out, old three wheelers in good working condition had become a hot commodity. They rarely lasted long on the market, and were often well out of my price range. Eventually, I spied an ad for a decent looking 1984 Honda 200ES located in Mapleton, and after a text exchange with the seller, we reached a tentative agreement.
I made the long trip to the young man’s garage where I handed him $500 dollars and a well-worn Remington 760-30-06 carbine. In return, he handed me a bill of sale, then gave me a hand loading my new ride into the back of my truck.
The little three-wheeler worked like a charm that first bear season. I enjoyed every moment cruising my way up the dirt road, then bouncing along the edge of the field. Two weeks into the season I shot my first bear, and couldn’t help but think how proud Billy would have been.
As life went on, I moved. The old Big Red collected dust for years in my father’s barn, but later became a bargaining chip in a trade for another rifle that I just had to have. I was sad to see it go, but happy to know someone else would be able to enjoy it as much as I did. I love my nice, new comfy Polaris Sportsman ATV that does everything I need and more, but it sure is hard to beat an old Honda Big Red.
