READER’S SPECIAL WITH BRIDGESTONE!
CMM reader Dean Faria took two years to restore this 1984 Suzuki TS185 ERX for his wife Nicola (and himself!)
Welcome back to our 2020 search for the best special/resto with Bridgestone tyres!
Isaid to my (now) wife Nicola in early 2018. “Do you want that sorted for next summer?” I was pointing at the TS 185 ERX that had been languishing in her dad’s shed for about 20 years. “Okay,” she replied in a dismissive way, challenging my manly ability to undertake such a project.
Four months later, I drag the bike out into the weak spring sunlight and find that things were a bit worse than I first thought: the headlamp/surround was non-standard and the wiring had been butchered, the frame was rusty and the motor didn’t look too good either.
I started stripping it down and putting subassemblies into zip-seal plastic bags. I got most of the bike apart, but the swingarm pivot bolt was stubborn. There followed literally weeks of spraying the area with GT-85, ACF-50 and WD-40. If a can had a number on it, I sprayed it on there. I had to
give in and ask Pep from Pep’s Motorcycles.
He’s a Suzuki trained mechanic of many years’ experience and if he can’t do it, it isn’t possible. A week later it’s out.
I now got parts ready for blasting and powder-coat. The steel rear, inner mudguard support came out badly from the blasting process with several large holes. Fortunately, I sourced a NOS part from the internet. The assorted parts came back looking pretty good, but the coater had not bothered to mask up or blank off the various threads. My fault for not checking first and assuming it would be done. I purchased a cheap tap and die set, which just about did the job.
I sent the complete wheels off to Central Wheel Components to be rebuilt with stainless rims and spokes. They will also powder-coat the hubs in satin black. It’s right at this point I decide that I am not going to keep a tally of how much I am spending!
A pair NOS of side-panels appeared on the ‘net with the correct part number and correct colour code. Unfortunately, they were in America, so postage and import duty added a bit more cost. I hit the plastic to buy them… I saw a NOS fuel tank on the internet for £300. I couldn’t say no. Hello credit card again! I consoled myself by imagining that I could resell the old tank for £75.
As luck may have it, my brother-in-law had a brand new headlamp surround in the correct colour. So now I had all the body parts. The mudguards were colour-matched to the headlamp surround and painted at a local car body shop.
I ordered new decals for the side-panels, but try as I might, I could not make them fit. The seller admitted that he had sent me the wrong size! I got the new ones on with only a few bubbles – I was happy, but my vinyl-wrapping/designer son wasn’t – but as he lives 300 miles away, I couldn’t get him to do it during lockdown!
With the swingarm in the frame I needed to make a decision about the rear shocks. Pattern parts can be had for less than £50 a pair, genuine shocks are £139.99 – each, but they look the part. Ulp. Credit card time... The forks went off to Pep for him to work his magic. Once apart, I polished the legs. I was aiming for the slightly brushed original finish. The stanchions have a little pitting at the top, but it’s not bad enough to warrant re-chroming. New seals were fitted and the legs filled with oil.
I am afraid of electical spaghetti so hello to two new Suzuki wiring harnesses. The exhaust was in remarkably good shap, but both parts were given a few coats of high-temperature satin black in my outdoor spray shop.
The engine: Looking through the exhaust port, you could see that the piston had suffered some scoring, so I got the barrel off and sent it to Grampian for a 0.5mm oversize re-bore and a new Japanese-made piston and ring set. The crank and main bearings felt good, but Pep said I should change the main bearings as I was splitting the engine to check the gearbox and re-paint it. I used more VHT satin black.
All the gears looked good with no chipped teeth or dogs, and the selector forks were well within tolerance, so they went straight back in. It was a bit of a juggle with the gear shafts and selector mechanism, but it all went together. The new clutch friction plates had an overnight bath in gear oil and were put in with the old plain plates, as they were well within tolerance. I had previously lightly filed the clutch basket fingers to ensure smooth
operation. Before putting the barrel and head on, I placed the engine back into the frame, but it wouldn’t just settle into its mounts like a good engine should. I realised that the powder-coating needed to be filed off from the inner surfaces of the brackets before the engine would fit.
The original carburettor wasn’t too bad, but the starter (choke) lever was held with a ball and spring arrangement. At some point in the past, the ball had got stuck, but the mechanism was still being operated. I could have tried a repair but a new carb was so cheap, I could just double-check that the jet sizes and float height were correct and pop it on. I fitted the re-sprayed exhaust parts and bought a nice (yes, you guessed it) new chrome heat shield.
With the battery charged and new clocks fitted, I checked the spaghetti. Hmm… the flashers barely glow and they definitely don’t flash. I check the earths and I took off one of the indicator lenses to check the bulb was seated correctly and found a 12 volt 21 watt bulb. The TS is only 6 volt... pattern parts! I ordered the correct 6 volt 18 watt bulbs. This solved the problem, but at the MOT, Pep told me I should use 10 watt bulbs with a 10 watt relay. I bought these bits for about £15 and the indicator brightness is a lot better, especially at low revs.
The moment of truth – ignition switch on, kill switch on, fuel on, starter lever on. Kick… kick… kick… this goes on until I am out of breath and my leg is hurting. A rest and another five minutes sees it show signs of life. Eventually it fires up properly and I am incredibly proud that I have managed to complete this project. Well, I was until I checked the lights. Everything is fine until I put the lights on, at which point the stop light is permanently illuminated, along with the head-lamp and tail-lamp. Ahhh…i haven’t checked the voltage of the tail light bulb. It’s 12 volt. With this bulb changed, everything works. I book an MOT at Pep’s place and Nicola and I have a few celebratory laps around the garden.
I set off a bit early for the MOT. Riding it is pleasurable enough. Carburation seems absolutely spot on, which is as it should be bearing in mind that the carb is new. It's small and light and it feels a bit nervous on the road, but I love it!
I’m still waiting for the V5 to come back from Swansea, so I’ve only done the 20-mile round-trip from the MOT station.
I am happy with how the TS has turned out and it has taught me quite a few lessons. My wife loves it and says it’s so pretty. She is frightened to ride it, in case she drops it. So now I have to get her something else, but hopefully not another ‘quick’ two-year project!