TS 185 gas tank

lascsteve · 04-10-2007, 07:50 PM

I pulled out my brother's old Suzuki TS 185 (1973 or '74 model, I think) a while back, got it running, then jumped on for a little fun riding around the farm. After just enough time to get the engine good and hot, I looked down to notice a pin hole leak in the tank, peeing a tiny stream of gas on the muffler!

Stopped and jumped off as quick as possible so as not to turn myself into a crispy critter in a ball of flames, then put the bike back in the barn after draining the tank.

So, does anybody know where I might get a CHEAP replacement tank? I don't want to spend much on such an old machine that I will only play with occasionally. And I'm not sure I'd trust a pour-in liner-type fix, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

The Flyin Hawaiian · 04-10-2007, 08:06 PM

Try this place http://www.bikeboneyard.com/
I just got a rust free tank from them for my g/fs 74 TS 185. The inside was perfect and rust free and the outside had a small ding in it.

pjheckel · 04-10-2007, 09:18 PM

how funny to read this. I had a 1972 TS 185 that had a pin hole leak in the fuel tank too. It was right along the pinch seam on the bottom, like usual, where the water sits when it gets in there. anyway I hit the bottom of the tank with my sand blaster which opened up a whole bunch of other rust holes that existed. But anyway sandblasting it gave me a super clean surface to epoxy to. I used a 2 part epoxt mix from the hardware store that cost about $5. I just spread it along the pinch seam on the exterior. I used the bike every day while my car was broken and after 5000 miles it was still holding fine.

the trick is to sand blast it really well untill all you have is clean metal. no paint or rust. then apply the epoxy the same day before the steel has a chance to oxidize or rust. Thats what they told me at tap plastics and it sure seemed to work.

El Hombre · 04-11-2007, 07:40 AM

Didn't they have fiberglass gas tanks, way back when? Sheet the bottom after sand blast.

04-10-2007, 07:50 PM	#1
lascsteve ^OP Adventurer Joined: Feb 2006 Location: Between the two Pee Dee's -- South Carolina Oddometer: 80	TS 185 gas tank I pulled out my brother's old Suzuki TS 185 (1973 or '74 model, I think) a while back, got it running, then jumped on for a little fun riding around the farm. After just enough time to get the engine good and hot, I looked down to notice a pin hole leak in the tank, peeing a tiny stream of gas on the muffler! Stopped and jumped off as quick as possible so as not to turn myself into a crispy critter in a ball of flames, then put the bike back in the barn after draining the tank. So, does anybody know where I might get a CHEAP replacement tank? I don't want to spend much on such an old machine that I will only play with occasionally. And I'm not sure I'd trust a pour-in liner-type fix, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

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04-10-2007, 08:06 PM	#2
The Flyin Hawaiian Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Feb 2007 Oddometer: 222	Try this place http://www.bikeboneyard.com/ I just got a rust free tank from them for my g/fs 74 TS 185. The inside was perfect and rust free and the outside had a small ding in it.

04-10-2007, 09:18 PM	#3
pjheckel Adventurer Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Marin county, CA Oddometer: 65	how funny to read this. I had a 1972 TS 185 that had a pin hole leak in the fuel tank too. It was right along the pinch seam on the bottom, like usual, where the water sits when it gets in there. anyway I hit the bottom of the tank with my sand blaster which opened up a whole bunch of other rust holes that existed. But anyway sandblasting it gave me a super clean surface to epoxy to. I used a 2 part epoxt mix from the hardware store that cost about $5. I just spread it along the pinch seam on the exterior. I used the bike every day while my car was broken and after 5000 miles it was still holding fine. the trick is to sand blast it really well untill all you have is clean metal. no paint or rust. then apply the epoxy the same day before the steel has a chance to oxidize or rust. Thats what they told me at tap plastics and it sure seemed to work.

04-11-2007, 07:40 AM	#4
El Hombre Banned Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Alta Coma, California Oddometer: 1,536	Didn't they have fiberglass gas tanks, way back when? Sheet the bottom after sand blast.