Suzuki Dirt Bikes Forum

Hi,
I'm brand new to the forum, so excuse me if i mess up.
A friend just brought over an old Suzuki 2 stroke 175 dirt bike that is in serious need of attention. We're out in the Hawaii sticks where there aren't a whole lot of resources.
My frist challange is to identify what model it is. It looks to be from the seventies, with drum brakes front and rear. It also has a headlight and speedo and signs that there was other street stuff at one time. I know it's a 175 because the big decal on the side says so. Other than that there are no obvious identifying markings. Is there a resource that can help identify this old bike? I can take a picture and email it if that would help.
Thank you and ALOHA,
Rick  

does it have a metal tank?  
--------------------------
'05 yz125
go blue and you'll need a wheel chair

If you have a serial number you might be able to e-mail suzuki and see what they say.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It takes a real man to say a 230 is a nice bike - Will12546

try this Vin numbers  

Hi,
Thanks for all the great replies.
I've come to the conclusion that it's a TS185. It does not have a VIN, so that indicates it's a pre 1980. That is helpful. Maybe the next step is to pressure wash it to try to find a SN. Should be one, right? Are there any sources of parts for such an old beast besides eBay? My wife is visiting her family in Thailand right now. I wouldn't be surprised if parts were currently available there for it.  I'll have to send her out looking!
Mahalo & ALOHA!
Rick  

bikebandit.com  

Hawirick:
Hi,
I'm brand new to the forum, so excuse me if i mess up.
A friend just brought over an old Suzuki 2 stroke 175 dirt bike that is in serious need of attention. We're out in the Hawaii sticks where there aren't a whole lot of resources.
My frist challange is to identify what model it is. It looks to be from the seventies, with drum brakes front and rear. It also has a headlight and speedo and signs that there was other street stuff at one time. I know it's a 175 because the big decal on the side says so. Other than that there are no obvious identifying markings. Is there a resource that can help identify this old bike? I can take a picture and email it if that would help.
Thank you and ALOHA,
Rick

You sure its not a TS-185 Suzuki Sierra?  I don't recall a street trail 175 Suzuki?  They did make an enduro 175 called the PE-175.

Here is a pic of my 1975 one:
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/yz250dad/ts185.jpg  
Dave H 2006 YZ250
(2008 YZ 125 son)

Welcome to the board!!!! Nice poc dave. Can you take a pic of your bike Rick?  
--------------------
Ruff!

That pic was from 1977 as I recall.  Had replaced the rear steel fender with a Preston Petty one (a short time later I put one on the front).  I had already taken the turn signals off and had a "Hooker Header" along with a port job.

Ahh, those were the days.  5" of travel in front and a bit less in the back; but seat height wasn't an issue  
Dave H 2006 YZ250
(2008 YZ 125 son)

Sweet ride Dave!  
--------------------------------------------------------------

I want an old bike, abit newer then 77. I would like to attemped to fix it up.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------
It takes a real man to say a 230 is a nice bike - Will12546

I have a 1973 suzuki TS100 Honcho and a 74 TS400.  On both bikes there is a stick on tag an the neck where the forks go through, it gives the date of manufacture and some other info.   Sometimes these tags fall off.  Also located nearby is a series of #s stamped in the frame.  It is possible that someone ground off the #s.  These #s are the vin, as your bike is older like many of mine these vins were stamped before the Standard set of #s we use today which I believe are 18 characters long.  If you can locate the set of #s I think they are somewhere between 6-8 characters in length an older dealership should have a manual that lists a range of #s and gives a year. EX ts185 776 8809 to ts 990 7658 could indicate say a 1976 model.  Anything in that range would be a 76.  These are just made up #s for an example.  Good luck I own several old bikes and getting the exact year can sometimes be a pain.  

Just another thought I had.  if your bike has a marking that says 175 on it it could be a PE175.  This was a suzuki enduro.  I believe the 1st year of production for the 175 was in 1978 and it would have a plastic gas tank.  The 1st PE bikes were produced in 1976 if memory serves me correct and thay would have aluminum tanks until 78.  Thats not all that important because 76-77 no 175s exist.  If your bike is a PE and has the origional headlight there will be a gaurd over it with 4 horizontal bars bars.  i dont know if any of this info will help you but good luck.  

I apologize for the bad information. The bike is NOT a 175. It's a 185. Don't know where that came form but buttom line is, I screwed up!
I pretty sure, at this point, that the Suzuki is TS185 Sierra as someone suggested. Here's a picture of it with my DR beside it for scale. As you can see, it's pretty rough (I've since gunked it and pressure washed it). Missing a bunch of parts... It's going to be a challange to restore. All of the right hand controlls are gone. No lights except the headlight.
BTW, the gas tank is steel, as are the control arms. I did find a lable, of sorts, on the righ control arm but it's covered over in black paint. Can't read anything on it.  I'll try to clean off the paint somehow (maybe a mild solvent. Don't want to mess up any information that may be on it.
How can I add a JPEG photo or two to the post? It's not obvious to me (thus not picture).
ALOHA,
Rick  

Upload it to photobucket and copy the IMG coad and past here.  
--------------------
Ruff!