Suzuki TS185...Problems Thread

[TimSr]

The TC185 and TS were almost identical other than the TC had a dual range gearing selector as they were shooting for a "trail and street" bike at the time, and idea that never really succeeded to this day. Nobody made an aftermaket exhaust that Im aware of. The stock exhaust setup was great for midrange and trail riding, and better than the high rev MX bikes of the time. In the 70's it was common to pull the signal and tail lights off and add knobbies to make them a trail machine. I would not use a clamp on filter because its location is way too vulnerable to the elements, and as I said, I doubt youll see any gains from it with the stock pipe.

[Rm250RF900R]

I used to have a 1978 TS125. It had something wrong with it big time. We had it pinned and some ***hole the lives in the woods, with his dog was chasing us. So, long story short, the dog was biting our ankles. The top speed was maybe 30mph. the rings were shot and my other friend "****ed it all up." So thanks to him, we almost got ripped apart. Now that I know what was wrong with it, I wish I have the money to fix it. Arghhhh...

[robomatic]

Thanks for the info tim! I did decide just to replace the foam from the old air filter. Seems to run better, the old foam had gone nasty if you touched it it fell apart in your hands. The only strange thing is now, if you leave it overnight and try to start up the bike the next day with the electric start it kinda goes like chug chug chug slowly turning it over. I kick start it once, fires to life, and then after it's fairly warm theres no problem using the electric start. Do the electric starts just not like coldish weather or does it sound like somethings draining the juice overnight? Any idea on where I could get new, aftermarket grips that would fit this bike?

[robomatic]

I've been doing some smaller maintenance things lately, I tightened up the chain, lubed it up and the other cables and stuff. I have noticed that sometimes the gears go wonky and you try to shift it into 4th or 5th it jumps out and is hard to get it back into gear. My friend said this might be the shiftfork, could that be it? How would I get that fixed or fix it myself?

[kloby]

Make sure your clutch and everything is in good shape. Changed your tranny oil lately? Could possibly be the shift fork.

[MTS]

Could be the Shift Star little loose on the shift drum, if you pop the clutch side cover off you should see it, its on the end of a round drum sticking out of the case with a shifting mechism on it.

[robomatic]

I took the clutch side cover off, I'm not sure if it makes a difference because of the dual range tranny but the bike's actually a TC185. I couldn't see the star that you were talking about unless I was looking in the wrong place. On the cover there was a weird thing that the clutch cable attached to and it was connected to this spring thing. What's that? Is it the clutch but it goes through another mechanism into the engine, it was all gummed up with dirt, should I give it a real good de-greaser bath?

[kawasaki 550]

Hi,
I just traded for a 1982 TS185 and need to know

1. Can I run regular (power equipment) 2 stroke oil in it?

2. How full do I fill the 2 stroke oil tank and when do I have to add oil?

3. Do they take a battery? Mine dosen't have electric start but it has dummy lights.

5. Is the choke on when the choke lever is up or down?


Thank you,
Dan

[robomatic]

Hi,
I just traded for a 1982 TS185 and need to know

1. Can I run regular (power equipment) 2 stroke oil in it?

2. How full do I fill the 2 stroke oil tank and when do I have to add oil?

3. Do they take a battery? Mine dosen't have electric start but it has dummy lights.

5. Is the choke on when the choke lever is up or down?


Thank you,
Dan

1) Yes you sure can, but proper two stroke injection oil is better for engine I'm guessing

2) The oil tank fill is underneath the seat and you can check the level through the viewing hole or just makesure its near the top of the oil tank.

3) There is a battery on mine

4) The choke is off when down and on when up.

[kawasaki 550]

Can I run tc-w3 in it? Is that the proper oil? It says on the bottle it can be used in oil injected machines.

[robomatic]

I belive 10-40, oil injection is what's meant for the bike so if the specs match go for it!

[kawasaki 550]

I have 80 weight oil in the gear box so I should probably change the oil and add 40 weight right? The previous owner put it in.

[robomatic]

Yeah 10-40 is more suited for transmission oil, make sure it's meant for motorcycles and not car stuff because there is something that can make it slip in car oils.

[kawasaki 550]

I should probably change it to motorcycle oil. I bought car oil because I heard that it was ok if it wasn't energy conserving. I noticed a big change in how it shifted after I switched. Is their any adjustments on the 2 stroke pump? I seem to have a lot of oil that it just being spit out the muffler but it barely smokes. I am running yamalube 2-C in it. What is the adjustment to be on the jet on the R side of the carb?
Thanks,
Dan

[TimSr]

Run standard 10w40 or 10w30 in the tranny. The car stuff is fine. As for the motor, those are typically setup to inject at about 25:1, so youll want any 2 cycle oil that is rated for injector system. Yamalube, or most discount store 2 cycle oils are fine for this. Most premium racing oils, and synthetics are not designed to run as premix only, and not oil injection systems, with Blue Marble being one of the few exceptions. I dont know what TCw3 is, but Id at least stick with a national brand of 2 cycle oil.

The TS is equipped with a battery to assit the headlight, but unlike some of the old Hondas, it is not required to run, and you dont need it unless your ride at night and the 6v lighting system isnt doing the job well enough, which they dont. On a bike that requires a battery, you will not get spark without a battery, so its easily cheaked on any machine.