Problem with TS185
 

Hello all,

I am a new member but have been reading your posts on this site about TS185s and they have been extremely helpful. I recently obtained a TS185 for $450AU and it runs a little rough so i'm trying to fix it up. I dont know a great deal about bikes so bare with me but i have been doing a lot of reading and have found out that these bikes are pretty tough!

Anyways, the bike runs OK after it starts however this takes a little bit of work. I thought it may have been the carby so i pulled that apart over the weekend and gave it a good clean with some carb cleaner but that didn't seem to make any difference. It seems to be a problem with the spark plug. I replaced it with a new one and it kicked over fine and i rode around on it for half the day but when i went to kick it over again the next day it wouldn't kick. After pulling the spark plug out it was black and covered in what looked like oil? I tried cleaning it but it didn't help. So i chucked a brand new spark plug in and it kicked over perfectly again? Does anyone have any suggestions of what it may be?

Also the bike is really really loud. It seems there is an exhaust leak at the front of the bike (i can feel air coming out of the motor when i place my hand near the front tyre). Is there some type of seal that connects the exhaust to the motor that i have to replace?

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks
Travis

Ts185
 

Great bikes, I worked on a ton of them but they are no longer sold in the USA. Check one of the online parts books and see if you are missing any seals where the exhaust goes into the cylinder. The US bikes had a tricky little seal and as the bike wears it will blow out and make lots of noise. If you can find any of the bits put them in with a layer of high temp silicone and see if that helps. The bike will use plugs occasionaly but while you have the carb apart see what number is on the main jet and idle jet. They are the two removeable jets you see when you take the carb float bowl off. Check with local shops to see what is a proper size. Clean and oil your air filter to see if it is clogged. Also check your transmission oil level to see if you have the propper amount. Sometimes a oil seal will go out and you can suck trans oil into the engine causing plug fouling. Run a good grade of injector 2 stroke oil in the injector tank and go have fun.

Hi Trasta,
I don't know about your TS and you certainly should get the right manual, but you might like to take a look at this thread:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...al-stuff-27640

'cos you say that you don't know much about bikes generally - I found it very useful for general advice; I wish I had had some of that advice before I started some jobs!!

:welcome: BTW.

Cheers,

Thanks heaps for your replies.

I have managed to dig up some new seals that are located in between the exhaust and the motor so ill put them in over the weekend and see if it makes any difference. I'm assuming it should give me some more power as well...

Ive already put the carby back together but it was pretty easy to pull apart so i may check the jets to see what number they are over the weekend as well. Does anyone know off hand what they should be?

Thanks again for your help!

Travis

Good progress then! Go careful with the studs for the exhaust - you would not be the first to strip a thread or snap off one or more studs (more posts in here about how to deal with it when it happens!).

I suggest you do a search in here for workshop manuals - there may be one available electronically for your bike; even if there isn't one here, you may find one on the WWW.

Hi I live in Mexico where the TS185 is still available new. I bought one last year and have been happy with it. The main jet on the carb should be a 195. This only controls the mixture at full throttle though. Between the one quarter and three quarters open positions on the throttle the mixture is controlled by the needle jet. You can adjust this by removing it (just take the top of the carb off and pull out the barrel) and moving the clip on the top of the needle up (weaker mixture) or down (richer). At idle (closed throttle) the mixture is controlled by the air screw on the right hand side of the carb. Anticlockwise (weaker) clockwise (richer), but don't take it out more than three full turns . Here I live at an altitude of 500m the bike was running a bit rich at 4000 rpm so I moved the clip on the needle jet up one notch and now it is much better. I have big problems with this bike when I go up in the mountains here. Anything above 1000 mts (some are 2000 ) and it runs really rich and lacks power. Pretty nasty if you are off road on a steep incline I can tell you. I think it really needs a slightly smaller jet even at this altitude as I think it is running rich at full throttle. Haynes produce a workshop manual for this bike which is very detailed and parts are still produced. Good luck

TS185 problems
 

Hi Travsta,

I have 4 TS/TF185 and I'm learning something new about them all the time. My latest machine blowes lots of blue smoke and fouls plugs. I removed the barrel and found transmission oil on the crank. This means the R/H crank seal has failed due to hardening/damage. I'd suggest yours may have the same problem. TS185 only blow small traces of blue smoke when they are running well.

First check your carb/oil pump alignment, gain access to the oil pump (behind the spront sprocket) by removing the left magneto side cover (4 screws) and then the oil pump cover (2 screws). Remove the small screw half way up the slide body of the carby on the left side. Turn your throttle (bike not running) and watch the slide move up. You will notice a notch in the slide. When the notch is visible through the screw hole, check the oil pump and see if the oil pump plate aligns with the line on the right hand side of the pump. If not adjust your oil pump cable adjuster just where the cable enters the crankcase.

Another possible cause of your bike chewing up plugs could be a bad exciter coil in the magneto assembly. If some of the turns of wire have shorted together due to insulation breakdown, the ignition will not deliver the correct voltage to the primary side of the coil, therefore the bike always runs best with a clean plug. A plug with carbon adds resistance which means a poor spark.

Well I replaced the seals on the exhaust last weekend and now its a lot quieter and seems to run a bit smoother but its hard to tell. However, the plug fouling continued. I had to replace the plug twice over the weekend so something is def wrong.

I wont get back up to the bike for another couple of weeks (it stays in the country) but when i do ill check what you said alfy. Hopefully that is the problem. I might even try and bring the bike back home until i sort out the plug fouling. Is it difficult to change the crank seal?

Thanks a lot for your advice everyone. Much appreciated.

I will keep you informed on progress.

Trav

It's a big job
 

Hi Travsta,

I have pulled a couple of TS185 engines apart to swap cranks and it was the sought of job that you definately need a manual. The Clymers manual suggest that you have to split the crankcase so head, barrel, clutch cover have to be removed. I'm not so sure because under the right hand clutch cover is the crankshaft and its drive gear. Take the gear off and you get access to a cover plate. Under the cover plate is the right crank bearing. Under the bearing is the seal. I'm not sure if it's possible to manufacture some sought of lever assy to remove the right hand crank bearing (this would be the difficult part because the crank is in place). If it is possible, you could easily remove the right hand seal and replace it with a new one. I can conclude that the only reason Suzuki put a cover plate over the bearing and seal was for ease of maintenance. Of course I haven't tested this theory. I'm going to try it in the next couple of days so I will let you know.

Maybe someone like Bill could give us some advice. Either way I'll let you know how I get on.

That cover is a bearing keeper to stop the mainbearing walking out along the shaft. There is no easy way that I know of to replace the seal other than pulling the cases apart. A service guide is a very good idea.
I'm still not convinced completely that it's a seal problem. What does the plug l;ook like when you pull it out? Is it sooty black, or tar oil black? What grade of plug are you using? I have seen a faulty coil, lead or cap do the same thing. Maybe the carb float is too high? And as someone said, the generation coils at the flywheel may be partially shorting, lowering the spark voltage. An auto electrician should be able to test the spark voltage.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

Nigel has got it right.
 

Hi Travsta. As Nigel has said on the previous reply, you have to split the case. It is a big job for someone with no mechanical experience but if you have played with bikes before, it maybe within your grasp. Get a manual and rule out all other possible causes as Nigel suggested. Also keep an eye out on ebay for another complete bike. It may come in handy for spares and some can be picked up for as little as $200 in resonable condition. Goodluck.

Unfortunately i have almost no mechanical experience when it come to bikes. I have worked on plenty of cars but this is the first bike i have owned. Therefore i may have to leave the crank seal to someone who has more experience, assuming that is the problem.

Nigel, the plug looks wet with black oil all over it. Even when i wipe the plug dry and clean it up it still doesn't start unless i replace it with a brand new plug. I have tried two different plugs and it happens on both. I have tried the NGK BP7ES and the BP8ES. Is there any other plug that i could use?

Its confusing cause the bike runs well and kicks over first time when you replace it with a new plug but after a few days of riding it just seems to die out of the blue and then will not start again...

Thanks
Trav

You should be able to tell if the oil is coming from the transmission due to main bearing seal wear by keeping a close eye on the transmission oil level. If it is dropping mysteriously then yes it is probably the main bearing seal that needs replacing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't another posibility be worn rings and or cylinder barrel maybe the oil is leaking past the rings.

Forgot to mention you could also try a BP6ES plug in my Spanish manual that came with the bike recommends this plug "if the normal one is wet". The BP7ES is the normal one.
Regards

Well ill be going up to the bike next weekend so ill have a bit more of a play around with it and try out some of the stuff that you guys have mentioned. I will try the BP6ES plug as well just to see if that makes any difference. Ill let you know how things turn out.

Thanks engmex
Travis