Suzuki TS250 what do you know about them?

[azr]

I'm thinking of picking up a Suzuki TS250, not sure of exact year yet but it must be a 78'-79', but know nothing about the old 2 stroke enduros. Any tips would be appreciated. As soon as the seller sends me some details and pics I'll post them up. I though it would be fun to have and enduro and take advantage of our local dirt, and not have to trailer a bike to get there, and still be practical to run around town with.

[GSX1000E]

Mine is the ugly green color like this one. It will climb most hills but don't expect them to be almost vertical or more than 45 degrees or so for very long. The rear suspension is a bit rough on the spine
if you choose to try and sit very long on a bumpy roadway. If ridden at all hard, expect to rebuild the top end like most all 2-smokers. Fun little bike without the transmission problems that plague the
Yamaha enduros of the same vintage. Not terrible on fuel mileage and can go almost 100 miles between fill ups. E-mail or call me for more details if needed.

[suzuki_dog]

Mine is the ugly green color like this one. It will climb most hills but don't expect them to be almost vertical or more than 45 degrees or so for very long. The rear suspension is a bit rough on the spine
if you choose to try and sit very long on a bumpy roadway. If ridden at all hard, expect to rebuild the top end like most all 2-smokers. Fun little bike without the transmission problems that plague the
Yamaha enduros of the same vintage. Not terrible on fuel mileage and can go almost 100 miles between fill ups. E-mail or call me for more details if needed.

I had an orange '73, back in High School. Bike was fun, I didn't climb many big hills, so I can't comment on that. The thing took everything we could throw at it, and kept going, rode it alot in the local stone quarry. I wish I had it, today.

Rode it at the quarry on the weekends, changed tires to street versions on Sunday night, rode all weeek to school, work, etc. Lot's of fun.

[GSX1000E]

Look for an upcoming refreshing build thread this Summer if my haters don't get their way. Or, THEY could always post some detailed Suzuki build threads themselves.

[hampshirehog]

Apart from the usual 2-stroke weaknesses of needing new small ends and rebores every 10k miles (it'll rattle if it needs small ends and clatter if it needs a rebore) the failing with this engine is the ignition side main bearing. The bearing can partially seize with the crank keeping spinning inside the bearing and running seemingly ok. The crank wears out pretty quickly if this happens. Check for main bearing play on the ignition side - that's the giveaway.

The front part of the exhaust will rot before your eyes unless you keep it clean and dry; even then it won't last forever.

That's the negatives out of the way.

In my opinion the 250 and the 185 (which I believe is still being made in Brazil, or was until recently) were the best lightweight trail bikes of the time.

[jabcb]

SuzukiCycles.org has a Cycle World review: http://www.suzukicycles.org/TS-TC-se...articles.shtml


If you are thinking about riding on the street with modern traffic, its worth remembering that the bike has a fairly small single leading shoe front brake.

[azr]

Great information guys, thanks a bunch. The 250 is quite a ways away from me and then just tonight I saw a 185 listed that's a lot closer, I sent him an email about. I was worried the 185 would be too small for the highway speeds to get to the logging roads, do you think that would be an issue?

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pml/mcy/4842903993.html

[azr]

Here's a picture of the TS250. I still don't know much about it he hasn't emailed me more pictures or details. I have met the seller before and he's a stand up guy that knows his bike. This is a bit of a blurb he posted to another site about the bike

"i was thinking $750. it has new rear tire, new sprockets and chain, new fork seals and rubber boots, new battery, new oil in engine and forks, new flasher unit, new front wheel bearings. every thing works. brakes are good. if the odometer is correct it has only 6000 kms. no rips in seat. tank has small dents and is very clean inside. runs great and goes thru all the gears good."

[habsdoc]

Hi, I had a mid 70's TS185 way back when I was in school. I drove that thing every where. Street, trail, logging roads, bush busting, and some short highway hauls. Buzzy on the highway, but great every where else. Never had a problem with it in 10 years. Changed the oil regularly and a couple of chains and sprockets. Ran till my younger brother needed it for a school rebuild project. It was his after that. I would and will get another one someday. Randy

[Notz]

A friend of mine had one, it looked exactly like the pic you posted. I quite liked it, it did everything well. I took it through washes and mud up to it's seat and it felt nimble on the trails. Had an oil injector (no premix necessary) and actually was stable and fast enough for the highways. I think you'll have a ton o' fun with it.

[azr]

I'm just wondering if the 185 will be fine enough for highway speeds? well I still haven't heard from either seller so we'll see what becomes of either one, if anything.

[GSX1000E]

185??? When did this TS250 (title of the thread) become a 185??? The 250 was barely capable and struggled to maintain 65 on the highway and would slow down on longer grades
of not much change in elevation. The 185 most certainly would be screaming for mercy at that speed and be even more dangerous.

[azr]

185??? When did this TS250 (title of the thread) become a 185??? The 250 was barely capable and struggled to maintain 65 on the highway and would slow down on longer grades
of not much change in elevation. The 185 most certainly would be screaming for mercy at that speed and be even more dangerous.

Good info to know. The original TS250 I am looking at is so far away from me in BC that it may be impossible to sort out, the TS185 came up for sale on CL yesterday and is well within pickup distance, that's the reason I was questioning the power of the 185. Our highway speeds around here are 50 Miles and hour.

[GSX1000E]

You should be able to get away with some cautious short trips on the highway at that slow speed. Just try not to get run over as accelerating out of harms way is not going to be an option.

[HamamatsuSuzi]

One thing to consider is the frame size of the two bikes. Is the TS185 akin to the TS125? If that's the case then you will be more comfortable on the 250. I don't know the top speed of both bikes, but I'll bet you will be happier with the extra 65cc's. About 5 years ago I had a similar experience only it was between two Yamaha RD's. I wanted a bike to ride in tiddler events so searched for a 250RD. A 200 RD became available in my town and was in nice she shape so I bought it. The darn thing was just too small and uncomfortable for my aging body. I come to find out the RD200 is made from the same chassis as the RD125 while the 250 is the same chassis as the 350. I rode a couple of tiddler events but sold the bike.