YOUR CLASSICS
CB reader Tracy Atkinson tells the tale of the extraordinary transformation of her TS100
Suzuki TS100 transformed from rustbucket to show-winner
A WEEK BEFORE my 17th birthday, I got my first bike – a Marble Red 1981 Suzuki TS100 ERX. I loved every minute of riding it, whatever the weather. I even lent it to a friend so he could pass his test on it, but some years later I sold it. The thing is, as time went on I regretted selling it more and more – to the point where I roped my husband Kevin in to help me look for another example of the little Suzuki that had started my addiction to riding bikes.
After looking for some time, scanning newspaper ads, ebay and so on, in February 2018 we found and bought ATL 88X – a 1981 TS100 ER (albeit a blue one) in Norfolk. I had a good chat on the phone with the guy selling it, and after he told us we could practically ride it home, I was buzzing with anticipation – even though it would be quite a trip from our home on the Wirral and back to get it.
When we arrived to collect the bike, it was a different story – we found it with perished tyres, rust everywhere, holes in the tank, a missing chain... the list of faults went on and on – but at least the frame was in decent condition. Ride it home? No way – in the van it went! As soon as we got home, we took it apart and it went into boxes ready for our restoration. Then time flew by, as it does, and before we knew it autumn had arrived – with the bike still in bits, untouched in its boxes.
It was only after we’d had the bike for nearly nine months that we decided we’d like to take it with us to the 2019 Manchester Bike Show on March 23
and 24 – that gave a new sense of urgency to the project. We always visit the Carole Nash Stafford bike show twice a year and took the freshly-polished hubs with us to the October show, determined to find someone there who could build new wheels for the bike. On a promise that they’d have them done within six weeks, we gave them to Central Wheel Components of Coleshill, Birmingham.
After many calls and discussions, it became obvious that the original tyre sizes were no longer available, but they eventually managed to find ones that would fit: a 19 x 3 for the back and an 18 x 4 for the rear. We only got them back in the first week of January, and when they turned up it was glaringly obvious that the back tyre was far too big – there was no way it would fit within the swingarm, and it was fouling the mudguard. Luckily, our good friend at Mike Hose Motorcycles in Wallasey managed to find a slightly smaller rear tyre –18 x 3.75 – and arranged for delivery that same week. Phew, with the tyres and wheels sorted, now it was time to start on the bike itself...
We knew the best plan was to look for a donor bike. Finding something that was salvageable and wouldn’t cost a fortune proved really difficult, but luck was with us and we found an American import complete with VOSA paperwork. It was the same colour as the bike from Norfolk; it almost seemed that I was destined to have a blue bike, but that was definitely not going to happen – I wanted a red one.
The American-spec donor bike was in really good condition, with only 2346 dry miles on the clock. We checked the compression on the engine, put in a bit of petrol and she started up first time – it was good to know that we had a decent engine ready to go straight into the bike, after a little attention and detailing from Kevin. We had decided to use the frame from the original Norfolk TS, which was in really good condition considering the overall state of the bike, but the American swingarm was much the better of the two, so that went in. The frame and swingarm have been painted, as we prefer this finish to powder coating.
The donor bike provided most of the running gear, although the mudguards, hubs and seat base (now fitted with a new cover – a very good replica copy) remain from the original Norfolk bike. The handlebars, headlight, side panels and footpegs are from the US bike. The exhaust front pipe is the one fitted to the Norfolk bike when we bought it (we think this was replaced on the bike and not the original one, as it was in too good a condition), while the rear side back box was an NOS part bought from ebay.
The tank is a hybrid – the majority of it is from the US bike, but the fuel cap on this was flat, so the top of the UK tank was taken off and welded onto the base of the US tank, job done! Kevin painted the engine, detailing all the fins on the cylinder head. The clocks were from the US bike; the throttle cable, brake cable and handlebar grips were all NOS parts from ebay. The US brake pads were used and they are really good, hardly worn – a great result. We bought a new chain and Kevin painted it red for the show, but we’ve since changed it for a gold one.
The restoration started in the second week of January and Kevin (who’s a paint sprayer by trade with 48 years’ experience) and our friend Shawn Murphy worked tirelessly on it most nights after working all day. It was like Christmas every day in our house, with bits arriving daily. Saturdays and Sundays were dedicated to the bike, and from the last week of February till it was finished, Kevin worked only on this project, with Shawn joining him after work. Determination and hard work from the pair of them have made this bike truly amazing, with the hours of labour that went into this project far exceeding expectation.
We got lots of info from a great Facebook site (Suzuki TS guys) and parts from cmsnl.com, which specialises in Japanese classics. We have met and spoken to some really enthusiastic people – Tony at B&B Motorcycles in Lincoln for NOS parts, Vic at Star Chrome for the chroming, Image Works in Derby for decals and many others – they’ve all seen
‘IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY IN OUR HOUSE, WITH BITS ARRIVING DAILY’
Teenage Tracy with her first TS100 (left) and recreating the same shot with the new bike (above) pictures of the finished bike and are made up to have helped us along the way.
The bike was finished on Thursday, March 21, taken to Manchester the next day (setting-up day for the show) and was placed centre-stage on our stand. On Sunday morning we noticed that a card had been put on the bike to say that it had won an award, with the award ceremony at 4.30 in the afternoon. We went along, in the hope that we had won either a first or a second in ’80s bike class – but they both came and went, as did the awards for best paint and best chrome... then they got to the last award and called my name. This little beauty had only gone and won the coveted ‘Bike of the Show’ award. What a weekend!
The bike has now been checked over by Mike Hose, had the carb set up and the oil pump checked and she’s passed her MOT. Now to get out and play...