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.

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Dave

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

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

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

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

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.