1984 Suzuki TS185

[Brendonv]

I picked up this Suzuki TS185 today. Its in pretty good condition. It covered in a thick layer of dirt/grease all over but most of the stuff is still there. I dont really need to buy any parts. It needs a bit of work, mainly just a good cleaning and a bit of paint. So at the moment its not running. The tank was rusty so i filled it with nuts and bolts, a bit of fuel and swished it around for about 10 minutes. I did this about 3 times and its pretty good now.The guy i bought it off (benspoon) said it was running a while ago. It has spark but it wasnt getting fuel. So first job to do was to get it running so off went the carb which also meant taking off the fuel tank, air box and oil tank. While those were off i cleaned them up as well.

So here is the carb. It was in absolutely horrible condition but i gave it a good clean up so hopefully its good now. The main jet was clogged so badly but thanks to my little jet cleaners (well there actually MIG cleaners aka thin little wires with a texture on them. Great for cleaning jets) its all clean now. I cleaned the carb in the parts washer and then sprayed it well with compressed air. It came up pretty good.

Ive yet to start it up as after doing all of this i was buggered (i also cleaned out my horribly messy shed before picking up the bike which added to the tiredness) and it was late. The spark plug is giving a spark but pretty gummed up so i might grab a new one. Ill have to kick it over for a while tomorrow and try get it cranking.

Anyway, heres some pics so enjoy.

[Brendonv]

more pics.

[Geeza]

Great project!

[Brendonv]

Alright, good news. I got it running! YAY! After "cleaning" the carb and re installing it it still didnt work. I forgot to clean the pilot jet so off it came again and i cleaned it really well this time. Put it all back together minus the air box (ill get to that in a sec) and kicked it over for a good 10 minutes. After being totally knackered from kicking over an engine with bucket loads of compression it finally spluttered. This gave me hope so i progressed in kicking it over. After a short break to regain some air in my lungs i progressed in attempting to start it. It finally got it going and i rode around my yard. It runs great. All the lights work, indicators ect. However i removed the indicators as im not going for a road trial but i did cap them off and zip tie them out of the way for the future.

the air box is massive and just takes up to much room. Its very annoying to remove and re install so ive ordered a 42mm foam pod air filter. This will boost performance and doesnt take up much room. Not sure if ill need to re jet but ill see when i get it. With the added space i will now have under my seat im going to make a box to go under it for tools. Ill be able to fit many things needed whilst out off roading.

So now i no it all works it now comes the exhausting part of pulling the whole thing apart, lots of sanding, painting ect. I may get the frame bead blasted and then powder coated but ill see the condition of it when i remove all the dirt. Ill also going to strip back the paint on the engine and re apply.

It will be a big job but it keeps me busy and the final product should look nice.

Ill get a run video up as soon as my bloody iphone gets here.

Cheers,
Brendon.

[agrid]

not needed

[Brendonv]

Done a few things. Gave the bike a degrease and clean. Also sanded back the muffler. Still needs a paint with some exhaust paint.

Things to do:
Re paint front mud guard
Re paint rear guard
Re paint side cover
Clean everything real well
Remove engine, sand back, degrease and then paint with some gloss black engine enamel.
Other little bits and bobs

[Brendonv]

Stripped the bike back to a rolling chassis today. Not really hard at all just takes time. Making sure i put the bolts back in where they go and ordering everything really well. Disconnecting the engine was a bit tricky as there were a few sensors and things that needed to be disconnected.

Now the frame is bare i can clean it very well. Tomorrow ill get the bucket and car wash stuff out and try get off all the grime. The frame doesnt look as if it needs re powder coating, the mud layer actually protected the paint XD

Once the frame is done ill sand, degrease and paint the engine with some VHT gloss black engine enamel, ive used it in the past and it works well providing you prep it really well. The dremel will help getting into the small spots.

Once the frame and engine are complete ill re install the engine and neaten up the wiring as its a bit messy atm.

Once that is done ill sand back the plastics and re paint them. This is the only part that im a bit un easy about atm. Since they are plastics and will be bending a bit i dont want the paint to crack off. My mate said as long as i primer it it wont but im still not sure.

As i wont be able to get the right colour in a can (well i dont think i will) im going to get a colour match, prep the plastics and my mate will paint them for me with his gravity feed spray gun.

Once all of this is done i can put on the plastics, give it a clean up and all done.

Im a bit tempted to convert this into a road trial as all i need to do it is Mirrors, speedo, lens cap and indicators. All of this + pits and licensing will cost about $300. These can all be done later so i could convert it after wards (i probably will because once im done it will be to nice for offroading )

[Brendonv]

Started painting today. I first sanded them back to scuff the plastic so the primer bonds well. Then gave it a mist coat of primer, waited 15mins, did another coat, waited, another. I then gave it a little light sanding with some 1000 grit sand paper and laid down a mist of red and followed that with 2 more coats. The end result is pretty nice. I still have to put on the clear coat. I did buy some clear but its acrylic and my base coat is enamel so it wont go together. BUGGER! Anyway, its going to look really nice soon.

[brethren22]

nice work brendon, glad to see a few of the old 2T trailies getting some love! what's the plan if you don't bother to rego it?

[Brendonv]

what's the plan if you don't bother to rego it?

Ride it offroad like a grandma. XD

[Brendonv]

Alrighty so i finished painting all the parts. Still needs a clear coat. I then sanded back the engine and washed it really well. I then gave it a coat of gloss black engine enamel. Still needs another coat and then two coats on the bottom (its a little too heavy to hang up and paint XD). As you can see the paint on the plastics is a little darker then the tank. However in direct sunlight it doesnt look too bad so ill put it all back together and then see if it looks good or bad. If it looks crap ill paint the tank too but i dont want to mask up those stickers as it takes ages

I also gave the frame a wash, still needs a bit more cleaning but its pretty good. I test fitted some of the plastics and they flex well without any sign of the paint cracking. As you can see i had to remove the side sticker as it looked like crap anyway. I looked on ebay and its about 30 bucks for the bloody thing.

Anyway ill give the engine another coat tomorrow, give the plastics a couple coats of clear and clean the frame. Ill give the exhaust a coat as well and then hopefully have enough time to put it all back together.

[Brendonv]

Whacked on some clear coat, gave the engine another spray, waited till the arvo and then put it all back together. Got some snaps in just before the sun went down. The painted bits look so much darker in the photos. They're red not maroon.

[Brendonv]

The finished bike... sort of. Well im still going to paint the rear swingarm and wheel hubs and a few other little bits.

[Brendonv]

Painted the swing arm and rear hub.
Things left to do are:
Paint kick starter, pegs, rear brake pedal, gear shifter, kick stand, fit pod filter, paint tank (later on).

Then its all pretty much done. I may get the forks and triple tree sand blaster and powder coated later on but for now they're fine.

Ive decided to just keep it as a basher for now as to get it road legal will cost quite a lot. Maybe one day ill legalise it.

Note: Pictures taken with my new Iphone 4 Loving the camera on this baby.

[adsorption]

How much did you purchase it for initially?
We should form a grandma group.

[Brendonv]

How much did you purchase it for initially?
We should form a grandma group.

Under $300. It was a bargain buy.

[Brendonv]

I also post update videos on youtube. If you want to view them then here they are, more to come (you guys are more updated then my fellow youtube subscribers):

[Brendonv]

Got the pod today and fitted it on. I ordered a 42mm instead of a 48mm so rather then buying another one i used the trusty dremel to grind out the inside so its now 48mm Worked surprisingly well. Now i wont have dirt and crap in my engine i can give it a run and see what this baby can do. Ill have some footage soonish.