Talk:Suzuki TS series

Since this was tagged for notability, I think it might make sense to combine this into an all-inclusive TM/TS/TC series page. They are essentially the same bikes with minor changes in running gear. While the TS itself might not be terribly notable, the TM250 was Suzuki's first motocross bike. I think that this fact alone lends at least a little significance to the series as something of a milstone in the company's history. Anyone agree/disagree?Caleb B. Wallace (talk) 06:58, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

I can't possibly see how someone could say the TS series was not notable. You're talking about millions of motorcycles sold worldwide over several decades. If the Suzuki TS series isn't notable enough, and you applied the same standard to car articles, half the car articles on wikipedia would disappear. I think whoever tagged it as not notable doesn't know what they're doing. Obviously the current article is poor and should be tagged with something. The problem is it's not going to be even easy to even list the many model variations and when they were made and what countries they were sold in. Just because such information isn't easy to find doesn't mean the series isn't notable though. Incidentally I'm a 35 year old from Britain and I am not familiar with the TM and TC series, but bikes from the TS series were a common sight on streets here in the 80s. 92.237.44.248 (talk) 01:34, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

We do need a ts/tc/tm page, there is already a ts/tc/tm fourm. on a side note, great bikes, there needs to be lots and lots and lots more info about them on wikipedia. If I had more time I could quadruple the current data. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.150.136.228 (talk) 21:21, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

A factory race kit was available for the TS90
This is what it says now: "A factory race kit was available for the TS90 which consisted of an expansion chamber,light piston and rings,carburetor and harder(colder range) plug and head which increased the size to 100cc."

I wonder if there is a better way to describe a cylinder head to accurately describe that it includes the cylinder, too. That is, if a car guy reads the above, he might wonder how changing a head and a piston can alter the displacement. Maybe something like, "cylinder head assembly" would give a hint that it was more than just a head like you would clamp onto a Chevy. Fotoguzzi (talk) 21:56, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Possibly the pick of the models was the TS185 which had the weight of the 125 and nearly the power of the 250 but with a much more free reving motor.
The TS185 dry weight was about 10 kg more than that TS125 and about 10 kg less than the TS250. The TS185 IS more free-revving than the TS250, but the horsepower and torque are pretty much proportional to the displacement. (And no, I do not recall writing that note in February 2012.) Fotoguzzi (talk) 17:25, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Porting a Suzuki TS 185.
The early model TS185 -up until 1974(75 in some markets)_ie the pre reed valve model, made a good dry dirt bike and even better road bike where it had plenty of power to sit on 55mph and still accelerate hard. With stock gearing the bike was just into its power band at that speed so acceleration was first rate for 17HP. The stock porting is conservative and it can easily be boosted a little. The first step is to make sure everything is in good condition -the bike should go to about 85mph without struggling -that's on the flat in still air with the stock bars. Set the points, clean the air cleaner and decoke the head and exhaust.Put in a new plug and battery. Check the chain tension. The easiest way to gain about 2-hp is to file a 2mm ramp on the piston crown. Make it nearly the full width of the exhaust port. NB it is only 2mm at the edge of the piston-gradually taper back to normal height over 10-12mm. The piston crown is plenty thick to take this. Do not alter the exhaust port itself. While you've got the piston out check the rings are free and not gummmed up. Check the piston has not got a lot of blow by. If it has, measure the bore to see if it is time for a rebore. If it is not too bad a new standard piston and rings may do. NEVER reuse the circlips for the gudgeon pin-they are only a few $$ get new ones each time. The std pipe is quite free flowing (read noisy) so dont alter it. Dont attempt to alter the intake length by removing the air cleaner (even on the road)-it destroys the harmonics and the bike will run poorly. A new gudgeon and little end bearing is good insurance.

I tried lowering the intake ports 2mm.This increased power with the expansion chamber on but the induction length became critical-would not run satisfactorly with the aircleaner off.Put back on the power was great with no stuttering at all.The same could be done by removing the same amount of metal from the back of the piston skirt ie the width of the induction ports.

"Porting "this way means the bore remains fairly standard, the rings are not stressed and you will gain a nice boost in mid and top range with no noticeable effect below 4000rpm (who rides there anyway!) You still retain reliability. If you dont like it just put a standard piston back in. If you improve the power more than this you will quickly run out of front brakes as its very small-so dont! This spec is tested for sea level and air temp no higher than 85 degrees. So if you are in the desert or at high altitude keep an eye on the plug-if it goes white or the engine start pinging, stop and cool it off. You could experiment by raising the needle 1 slot or going to a slightly bigger main jet if you ride full out in 100 degrees.

I have to admit I tried this set with an expansion chamber with virtually no silencing. HP was probably about 22- 24. Top speed about 92mph. It was VERY loud and the brakes could only do one stop before fading to nothing!!!Alarming! Acceleration was eye watering from about 6000-8500rpm. The pipe was not even made for the TS185 but it was close. The very light weight of the bike helps acceleration a lot. The pipe came off very quickly.

If you have stuttering, check the fuel is not full of crud, check the float bowl level is correct, check there is not too much slack in the GO cable. Check in the dark of your garage or basement the spark plug cap and or lead is not cracked and leaking sparks. Yes -that sparky thing that just gave you a shock.

Don't skim or shave the head. Compression ratio is not so important for making power as it is in a 4 stroke. Try to find some road tires if you use it as a commuter or fun bike. Good luck if you have the 21 inch front wheel model-plenty of 18 inch road rubber around though. Maybe a Battleaxe tyre in that size -that would be a good fit. Back in the 1970s1980s Battleaxes were used a lot in production racing for bikes in the (now) low Hp range of 20-45HP.

Dont try this on a later ER model- it was built and geared for mainly low speed running and had quite a different power band. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.62.226.243 (talk) 05:57, 6 November 2013 (UTC)