I got this bike and took it to the shop. The guy is gonna give it a tune up, adjust the carb, but because of the oil in the exhaust, he thinks it might be the crank seal. I'm a beginner, first bike, know some about old chevy engines, but nothing about motorcyle engines, but like this little 2 stroke and want to fix it up.

The guy at the shop suggested it might be cheaper to find another engine, rather than rebuild this one, if in fact, it has to be taken completely apart. It runs, but keeps dying and idles funny, on top of the smoke and oily tail pipe. After reading some of these posts, I wanted to be very specific to make it easy.

1. Is there somewhere to find a good rebuilt or solid running TS185 engine for a 1972 other than ebay or craigslist?

2. Is it possible to fit other engines on this frame? I believe the TS125 was the same frame, but was curious if a larger or later model engines would fit easily? Would I be able to fit a small 4 stroke engine on this bike? any suggestions?

3. How much should I be spending if I have someone rebuild this engine for me? I was quoted at roughly 1200US, which I half expected, but the shop i took it to is well renouned here and it is probably a bit more expensive. The guy does amazing work and knows old bikes, but if I could get it rebuilt at half the cost, that would be even better. Without comprimising quality.

Thanks for your help!

If you are willing to rebuild it yourself, Wemoto Home has a fair few parts. about $150 AUD would give you both left and right crank seals, all oil seals (kick starter, gear change, clutch, drive shaft) and a full gasket set (top and bottom end). From memory it is approx $120 AUD for an oversized piston and rings. The only other expenses are a bore/hone and possibly some machining (crank halves, barrel and head mating surfaces). Unfortunately, if you pay someone to rebuild it for you labour is going to be fairly expensive. I don't know if any other engines will fit the 185 frame. I have seen a ts400 engine put into a yz125 frame on ebay, but to register such a modification would probably be difficult. let us know how you get on

All good advice! Thanks! I checked the site you included, but didn't have my model / year. I'll keep looking. Any other resources you might think of would be great! I am considering a re-build myself to save money, just not sure if I would rather have it done right. My biggest fear is tearing it all apart, rebuilding, and never hearing the engine come to life...

Sorry, you're right, wemoto doesn't have a listing for the 72 model. Have you tried you local suzuki dealer for parts? You might get lucky. They still sell brand new parts for my 82 model ts. As for the rebuild itself, provided you have a basic understanding of what is involved (a service manual would be handy) there's not too much you can muck up. Most of the work involved is replaceing seals and gaskets. Any machining or boring/honing can be done professionally. I say go for it!