It was a farm kid’s dream: those fast-running little three-wheeler ATVs that any farm youth from the late 1970s and early 1980s used to buzz around the farm, chase cattle and cause havoc. And that’s exactly why we don’t see them anymore.

Looking back, we found an ad for a Yamaha Tri-Moto on page 59 of the Sept. 5, 1981, issue of Nebraska Farmer. The ad shows a farm kid pulling a wagon load of small, square alfalfa bales with a Yamaha three-wheeler opposite to a photo of the same kid pulling the same load with an open-air Oliver tractor with duals on the back. The idea behind the ad was that the Oliver tractor was much more expensive to operate, compared with the Yamaha Tri-Moto.

This ad touted the many benefits of the Yamaha. “Maintenance is quick and easy because there’s virtually nothing to maintain or adjust,” according to the ad. “No points. No valves. No cam chain. A tune-up is as simple as changing the spark plug and the filter.” It also noted the toughness of the three-wheeler, its traction in tough conditions.

“Now, we’re not suggesting that our little Tri-Moto can put your big tractor permanently out to pasture,” according to the ad, “but there are dozens of other tough jobs it can tackle.”

Popular three-wheeled craze

The early ’80s were a zenith for three-wheelers, but it also was the beginning of their demise. First released in 1970 by Honda, three-wheeler ATVs originated from the US90 ATC (All-Terrain Cycle) marketed as a recreational vehicle in the U.S. This model gained popularity in the James Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever” and in TV shows such as “Magnum P.I.” and “Hart to Hart.”

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REMEMBERING: This ad promoting the attributes of the new Yamaha Tri-Moto three-wheeled ATV on the farm ran on page 59 in the Sept. 5, 1981, issue of Nebraska Farmer.

It was developed by Honda engineer Osamu Takeuchi as a new product that dealers could sell that would operate in the winter and in snowy conditions better than motorcycles, with flexibility to be used in the summer as well, unlike snowmobiles.

Because of the energy crisis of the 1970s, these three-wheeled ATVs became more popular for some tasks with farmers because they were cheaper to operate compared with pickup trucks or tractors. But there was a problem.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission started looking into death data around ATVs in the mid-1980s. The number of deaths from ATV operations was going up fast. In fact, several sources reported three-wheeled ATVs associated with 1,000 deaths between 1983 and 1988, and as many as 300,000 injuries, with a high percentage of these accidents occurring with youth or adolescent riders or passengers. There were far too many instances of accidents from overturning or running into obstacles such as fences, creeks, trees and buildings, with many of these accidents coming from misuse of the machine or failure to take proper safety measures in its operation.

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Banned by decree

So, on April 28, 1988, ATV manufacturers in the U.S. signed an agreement with CPSC, known as the Final Consent Decree, expanding ATV safety training, effectively marking the end of three-wheeled ATV production and sales in the country.

By this time, Suzuki and others had brought four-wheeled ATVs on the market, with Suzuki introducing its four-wheeled QuadRunner 125 in 1982. Honda followed with the introduction of its first four-wheel-drive FourTrax 350 4x4 in 1986.

Today, we have numerous four-wheel ATV manufacturers producing high-performance, rugged models that are used every day on farms and ranches, not to mention newer UTV side-by-side models with features such as cabs with auto heating, air conditioning, display screens and other aspects of use like a winch and sizeable cargo box.

These models are a far cry from that Yamaha Tri-Moto advertised in Nebraska Farmer in 1981, plus they are more suited for safety and performance for farm-related tasks.