77 Suzuki TS185 (pics)

[TheMort]

This past weekend my dad picked up an old 77 TS185 dual-sport bike to get back into the sport with. The bike is in excellent shape, except for one minor ding in the tank and runs well. It's actually the same model bike he used to have as a kid when he rode then. The bike only has 5,128 original miles on it and almost everything on it is original except for the shocks and forks. The fenders are original but painted white. It's a pretty cool little bike and is oil injected. Anybody here ever had or have on of these? Is there anything we should watch out for or know with a bike this old? I got some pics of today with the digital camera and posted them here, http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1418303&a=11427226 . I'm looking forward to riding it, but it doesn't look like that's going to be happening anytime soon thanks to about 16" of snow which dropped here in CT yesterday

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Kyle - My Photo Page

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95 KDX200

[This message has been edited by TheMort (edited 02-06-2001).]

 

[Norm]

Hey Mort,

TS185s bring back memories for me. That was the first bike I ever rode on- when I was three, my dad would stick me on the gastank of his TS and ride me around. I'd always would burn my shoes on the exhaust!
Overall, I think it should be a reliable, easy to ride bike. My dad bought his in '72 and rode it until around '91. Always ran well with very little maintenance (I think he only replaced the topend once). Very user-friendly power - torquey and not peaky. Suspension isn't very good, but what can you expect from an old dual purpose. The good news is that there are still parts available for the old beast. Pistons and topend gaskets can be had through Wiseco, and I've also found that Boyesen makes reeds for it (a reed valve was on the later models, but I'm not sure what year they first included it). Barnett still makes clutch plates, and sprockets can be found through www.sprocketspecialists.com Hope this helps.

Norm

 

[OnAnySunday]

Nice bike!
Congrats to you and your dad.
It's nice to see more people out there buying / fixing up the old machines that made this sport what it is.
When i got back into riding (after a 10 year hibernation) i thought about the used vs new topic too.
The newer bikes were so much faster and "hightech", then i went shopping.
My beef was i felt like a midget on newer machines! (i'm 5'10" and about 210 pounds).
It's hard to trailride when you can't even touch your foot to the ground!
Don't get me wrong, new bikes are great!
I just don't think they are for me.

(hence my OAS screenname)
Here's an article that sort of sums up how i feel about dirtbikes.....

www.vintageiron.com/guest.htm

 

[Sawblade]

I had a 78 TS 125, in fact my dad still rides it today. He bought it for me when it was a year old. It has had only one top end job done on it. Those old TS's are bullet prove. Lord now's I put that ole 78 through its pace's. It never let me down! Enjoy, its a fun bike to ride, but limited to mild terrain riding.

 

[Jeff Allen]

Clean looking bike Kyle.
My 72 TS is not even close to being that nice, but for 100 bucks who can complain. I'm still in the stage of getting it rideable, Rusty tank, loose bearing, and just plain dirty.
Maybe I should go out in the garage now instead of being on DRN.

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Jeff
99 RM 125 "Mr Scary"
72 TS 185 "Mr Ugly"

 

[eldrm]

my buddy had one(same color!)way back when and he rode it with the mx'rs,any trails we rode our "dirt only" bike on and was usually in front of the pack.he was also a maniac, but the point being the ts held up well for him,enjoy and see you at thomaston when the snows gone!

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alpina 125,tm125,alpina 350,rm 250c,rm 250c2,back in the day,ridin into my second childhood 20 yrs later on a 95 kdx200,thanx KTelMo(squidward?)

 

[Wombat]

I used to have a 79 DS185, which was the dirt only version. Engine looked same as yours. The bike was extremely reliable, practically indestructable. I don't recall ever breaking down. I even ran some ancient outboard motor oil thru it once when I didn't have any proper oil. I only put in new rings once, and this probably wasn't even needed at the time. It is very stable handling. Can drop the forks in the triple clamps to steer a little better. Only thing I disliked was mud would collect in the countersprocket area behind the side cover when riding in deep mud. The whole area would just be packed solid with mud, I would often have to take the side cover off to get all the mud out.