Help answer me about buying anew SUZUKI TS185

[iat]

Hi first of all I want to say thanks to all of you for this wonederfull site.
My question is about if it is a good idea to buy abrand new (0.00 Km) suzuki (TS185 ER) (year model 1999) to use in long distances or not, it has been offered to me by asuzuki dealer shop for about (1600 $USD), and ther is also a suzuki (TF 125) (year model 2002) for (1750 $USD),so please help me make my mind, shall I buy any of them, or leave them for another (model/manufactore) cause this decision is very critical to me sence I do not have enough mony to spend in a (not good) bike.
please HELP me.
Thanks in advance.

iat



[This message has been edited by iat (edited 15 November 2005).]

[Grant Johnson]

The TS185 is a bullet-proof bike - very reliable. The 125 also very good, but not near as much power.

To answer your question though we need to know more about what you want to use it for! If you wanted it as a sport bike, mmm, maybe not a good choice!

Note that nay bike sitting that long may have some issues - e.g. gummed-up carburetor form fuel evaporating, rock hard tires that need to be replaced, perhaps other rubber bits too, such as carburetor intake manifold, fork seals etc. However, even if it does need some bits, it's a great deal - depends on whether you have the skills - and enough MORE money to give it what it needs. Spending your last penny on it won't work! You ALWAYS need some more money for minor stuff.

best of luck however you decide.


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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[iat]

Hi Thank you very much for your replay
and I am sorry for being so late to replay I was not in a good health last 2 weeks so please forgiveme for not responding in short time
About my using of the bike it is like most two weels lovers "riding it" ...a very short answer...! OK now the long one.
I want to say that I love to ride tow weels all the day long; I used to do that with my bicycle ; get my bicycle in a good shape and take all the necessary tools with me including puncture patchs,glue,chain repairing tool, and all the remaining normal metal and rubber stuff and go for more than hundred KMs each trip and then return. unfortunately my health did not allow me to go more than that in about 6 hours.
Now I want to upgrade my bicycle to a motorbike that will allow me to cruise all daylong (with the ability to travel off road if necessary)and give the opportunity to go more far from my house in long trips;I hope to travel from city to city then maybe RTW some day; my real problem is "The Mony" I do not have enough mony to spend but I am doing my best to get it to bring my dream to the reality;
Now I have saved this bunch of mony (1800 $USD) and want to buy a motorbike that allow me to travel on it for long distances (off road some times) without problems because I do not have a lot of experiance in motorbikes mechanics or the tichnical terms that most of you use it in your normal talk about motorbikes (but I will learn).
So for now I am trying to spend the 1800 $USD in a motorbike that will last with me (I hope) for at least 5 or 6 years before I can change it to a more power one; And I want this bike to has the enough power to travel (say 800 km) a day (despite my lackage in the motorbikes experiances because this lack in experiance may be learned by time but my little 1800 $USD may not) so I do not have the opportunity to buy any thing but only one bike that will fit my needs for 5 or 6 years even if I do not have the enough skils right now.
I tryed to search about the (suzuki TS185)and The (suzuki TF125) in the net to find any valuable informations about them but I did not find any; BUT finally I found the first valuable information about one of them the (TF125) in your sight and this informatin was a thread in the (SUZUKI Tech) whin a memmber called "andygray" posted a quistion in (17 August 2004)and the title of this post was "TF/TS gearbox problems" http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000078.html
after I red this thread I say to my self that may be the TF125 is a good choice to use in traveling long distances (like I red in the post); and since I did not find any informatin about those tow (suzuki TS/TF) in any othe place in the net I posted my quistion in the hope of getting more information about them;get some suggestions from the motorbikes travelers or get some links to any sight that provide such (information/problems) about those tow (suzuki TS/TF.
I realy appreciate your concern and I love this websight and its unique flavor;I hope one day I can go with my motorbike for (RTW);
maybe ..........
Thank you
best of luck
iat

[iat]

Hi I have searched the hupp for TS185 and TF125 posts and I have found 15 posts that has more information about both TS185 and TF125 and after reading all the posts I can say that the dicission to buy one of the two Suzuki bikes will be (( buying the TF125 )), since it has proved that it can go long distances reliabaly with less problems than thr TS185, the most important posts that helps me make my dicission are those:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000078.html
after reading this post I felt that this TF125 is reliable and can go long distances with little trobles like andygray trip (37000 Km) with tow TF125s.
the other post that helped me take the decission to buy the TF125 was this one :
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000443.html
specifically the (Nigel Marx) replay, he wrote: "There is no way I'm taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady. The two TS185s will be much easier to live with thru Asia. Andy who posts here sometimes, did a big Africa trip with two Suzuki TF125s he bought new in Kenya, that worked out so well, he and partner then rode them to India and back to Europe."
and after I red this from him I realised that he has tested the TS185 throughly and find that the TS185s can not take the trip that he was planning to do since 2003 and he changed his mind for some limitation in the TS185 that prevent them from taking this trip easily, So i decide to buy the TF125 for being tested in the reality ( 37000 km by andygray)and proved more suitablity for long distances.
thanks
iat

[Grant Johnson]

iat,

I read that a little differently - perhaps a language difference.

I read that BOTH bikes are fine, and that Nigel fully intended to take TS185's, not 125's on his trip.

Either bike is good - the 185 is faster, always a good thing on a long trip, and the 125 is cheaper to buy, which could be important. And that's about the only differences that matter.

------------------
Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[iat]

Hi all mates..
Grant,
Ok I understand your point of view,But,when I first read this post
"TS185ER Ultimate long-distance weapon??" that has been posted by (Nigel Marx)
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000016.html
I said to my self that "I maybe have found the suitable bike for my needs ((cruise long (Time/Distance) (on/off road) without problems)) and my few dollars (1800 USD$) (TS185 ER Model 1999 0.00 kms at aprice of 1600 USD$"
and I continued to read all the other posts and after I finished them all, I red them next day again just to get every piece of informatin from them and rearange them (maybe with respect to the [date & time] that they have been posted on) to get clear view of the meaning of the words with respect to each other words from other posts from other members (specially from Andy and Nigel),And after thinking of all the information,I found that the tow bikes are close to each other in many things including the price.
Despite that the (TF125 2002 ==> 1750 USD$) is more expensive than the (TS185 ER 1999 ==> 1600 USD$) in my country, I thought that buying the TF125 maybe better for me, and that is because I am after the reliabilty ,( I know that both are reliable ) but what I mean is that the TF125 was tested in a LIVE trip across africa, India, Iran, .....Greece, to Holand, and it proved that the trouble it had during the long distances was only of the (normal) type of trouble that can happen to any (more powerfull) bike, In the other hand when I red the Nigel's new poste that was posted (6 September 2005 02:00 AM):
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000443.html
I knew that he is not going to take the TS185s in the trip from "here in NZ to UK (except for the wet bits)" as he prewviously mentioned in 2003, Instead he will take tow F650s in that trip, he said: "There is no way I'm taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady"
so I knew that he has changed his mind and decided to take F650s in his trip that was planned to be taken using TS185s, and from this new information that has been supplied by Nigel, I knew that some limitations in the TS185s prevent him from taking the TS185 in his trip that was planned to be taken using TS185s previously in 2003,despite that he has mentioned in the same post "The two TS185s will be much easier to live with thru Asia", just changing his plan to take TS185 and deciding to take F650 instead ment something to me.
Grant,
I know that Nigel will not take TF125s in his trip and I understood from his replay that he will not take the TS185s also, he said (( There is no way I'm taking two F650s )), Is my understanding of his words wrong ?? tell me please. thanks..
And in the other hand, I saw that the posts from Andy about his trip with his mate on tow TF125s (37000 kms) were very encouraging to many of us (with tight budgets) to think that there is still a place for us in the RTW comunity even in 80 kms/hour .. it's not bad ... Am I right !!
Can this little bikes do it always? I hope.. Or, Was it only a strike for Andy to be able to do it successfuly !? information are desired here .. and greatly appreciated.
Good Luck for all travellers.
Thank you in advance.
really a great web site, I will always love it.
iat

[This message has been edited by iat (edited 28 November 2005).]

[This message has been edited by iat (edited 28 November 2005).]

[Grant Johnson]

hmmm, confusion/semantics here...

I'm confused!

"There is no way I'm taking two F650s " means he is NOT taking two F650's.

(no way = ABSOLUTELY NOT)

Also, speed is not a requirement for rtw travel. Many people have ridden around the world on 50cc and 90 cc bikes.

A brit recently rode from Alaska to Ushuaia on a 50cc scooter.

Personally, given a choice between a 125 and a 185 Suzuki, I'd take the 185. I think the larger engine will be more reliable over the long haul. I found my 185 to be indestructible in racing, with all sorts of hop up parts, but stock piston and crank/rod etc.

ymmv - make your own choice - both will do the job.

If anyone SHOULD decide to take a larger bike - for instance IF Nigel had decided on two F650's over the TS185, it's not because the TS185 is bad, or worse than a TS125 - it's simply because the F650 is a more pleasant, faster long haul bike - and he can afford it.

hope that's clearer,

Grant

[garrydymond]

I had a TS185 for about 4years. I rode it almost everyday to work and back about 60kms and also used it about 4 times a week to play in the dirt. I never had any serious problems with it. You can still buy them new here in Mexico City. Great little bike.

[iat]

Thanks Grant for the illustration...
I did not thought that I may fall in such a misunderstanding of somebody's English words, I always understand English perfectly despite my skills in writing that may not in the same level as my understanding this easy (to understand) language.
But you know (apart from whether Nigel will take the two F650s on his overland trip because of their more pleasant or for any other reason), I am still in doubt about what did Nigel mean by the paragraph:
"There is no way I'm taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady, The two TS185s will be much easier to live with thru Asia"
I understood this paragraph as:
"There is no other way than taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady, and not taking the two TS185s because the two F650s are more pleasant, The two TS185s are also good but not for an overland trip from NZ to UK, They will be easier to take them in a (not overland) trip to Asia"
This is the meaning that I understood from Nigel's paragraph, and depending on this meaning I conclude that he is not going to take the two TS185s on his up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK that he were intending to do using two TS185s.

Garrydymond,
Great to hear that from you, it will help me taking my decision. I am very interested in the TS185, but I want to hear from people who owned it for such a long time as you, to know their experience with this little nice bike, thank you.

Ok I like the TS185 appearance, power, and frame, but I also like the TF125 fuel tank capacity (13.0Liters),BTW I have a wonderment about the two frames of the two bikes (TS/TF) as you can see the two frames are totally different ... which is the stronger ?
Also I am afraid that the spare parts of both maybe difficult to find especially because when I tried to search the net to get information about them I have found NOTHING, Is it a great risk to buy a nice bike that you fall in love with despite the availability of its spare parts in the future?

Any illustration that may clear my fears about the spare parts or help make the choice between the two (TS185 model 1999 ==> 1600 USD$) and the (TF125 model 2002 ==> 1750 USD$) will be greatly appreciated, but please take into consideration that I do not have so much experience in motorbikes mechanics (meaning that the less problems bike is preferred) whichever is it.

I have downloaded the trailer link: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ima...hu-trailer.wmv and it was a great pleasure to see all those motorbikes riders, I really enjoyed it (which one were you Grant?).
Keep the good work going on.
Thank you.
Kind regards for all motorbike riders all over the world.
Iat


[This message has been edited by iat (edited 28 November 2005).]

[iat]

This is the Suzuki TF125 model 2002 and it coasts 1750 USD$, and it is exactly the same model and color as the one that I have found:

http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewBikeCata...uzukitf125.htm

And this is the Suzuki TS185 model 1980:
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/070623/
and if it was model 1999 as the one that I have found it would coast 1600 USD$, the reason that make me choose this picture to show you here is that it has the same feeling and the same color as the one that I have found.
But note that the TS185 that I have found is slightly differs than this image, specifically it is road legal and has all the needed stuff for road cruising.


[This message has been edited by iat (edited 28 November 2005).]

[Grant Johnson]

Originally posted by iat:
Thanks Grant for the illustration...
I did not thought that I may fall in such a misunderstanding of somebody's English words, I always understand English perfectly despite my skills in writing that may not in the same level as my understanding this easy (to understand) language.
But you know (apart from whether Nigel will take the two F650s on his overland trip because of their more pleasant or for any other reason), I am still in doubt about what did Nigel mean by the paragraph:
"There is no way I'm taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady, The two TS185s will be much easier to live with thru Asia"
I understood this paragraph as:
"There is no other way than taking two F650s on the up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK with my good lady, and not taking the two TS185s because the two F650s are more pleasant, The two TS185s are also good but not for an overland trip from NZ to UK, They will be easier to take them in a (not overland) trip to Asia"
This is the meaning that I understood from Nigel's paragraph, and depending on this meaning I conclude that he is not going to take the two TS185s on his up-coming overland trip from NZ to UK that he were intending to do using two TS185s.

Sorry, but your understanding is backwards this time!

As I said above:

"There is no way I'm taking two F650s " means he is NOT taking two F650's.

(no way = NO! - ABSOLUTELY NOT!)

So he IS planning on riding the TS185's because they are "easier to live with" than the F650's, which in this context could mean several things - cheaper, less hassle, lighter, etc.

Re the video - glad you like it! - I'm at the beginning in black tshirt and hat, side view.

Grant

[iat]

A very nice look Grant...
Thank you for the illustration again.
You know I really hope from the very deep of my heart that Nigel make his overland trip riding this little very nice bike, I really like it more than the TF125 because of its power and view. But I am still afraid about its spare parts; do you have information about this issue?
Also I am wondering about the frame, is it stronger than the TF125?
Thanks
Iat

[Grant Johnson]

I would expect parts availability to be similar for the two, and the frames should also be similar in strength.

good luck!

Grant

[iat]

A clever answer from an expert, Similar...
Similar can take two meanings, the first one is (similar in the ease to find the parts), and the other meaning is (similar in the difficulty to find the parts).
I think that my worry about the availability of spare parts is not an idol, and that thinking is because of the rarity of these two Suzuki model's presences on the net, and even on Suzuki website.
But even with this risk of unavailability of spare parts, I think it is still a great deal (1600/1750 USD$ for TS185er/TF125).
I think that garrydymond has the needed information about this point (the availability of spare parts), is it easy to find spare parts for the TS185 garrydymond?
Thanks
Iat

[Nigel Marx]

Hi there. I am sorry to have been the cause of so much confusion! I will start from the top.
1) I would definately put the TS185 at the top of the list for the ride I have planned. The TF125 is also a fine bike, and with the thirteen litre tank, would be a close second. However, I have two large tanks off the TF185, which used to be available here in NZ until recently, which I am going to put on the TS185s. These will give a range of about 280km. The TF125 has strong metal racks already built on, but I have also got racks off TF185s that will fit.
2) I still have two TS185s in my shed waiting for the trip, which, due to family reasons has been put back a year or two.
3)The TS185 has been made in two model forms since about 1971. The current model (TS185ER) has been in continuous production since 1978. You should be able to order parts from any Suzuki dealer, if you carry a spare parts number book for it with you and order by part number. But this is the same for the TF125. All I can tell you is that in New Zealand I have no problem getting any and all parts for it, both new and second hand. The TS185 is not for sale at present but the TF125 is the biggest selling Suzuki farm bike here.
4) Which bike do I think is best? Because i have already got bigger tanks for my bikes, I am completely happy to take the TS185s. If I didn't have TF185/TF125 tanks to fit, I would consider taking some sort of metal jerry-can for extra fuel and still take the TS185. TS185 is about 17.5 horsepower and the TF125 is 9.6 horsepower.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards

Nigel Marx

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"The world is a book and those who do not travel read but a page"- St Augustine