Suzuki TC90, the coolest $30 I've spent in awhile.

Picked this up today for $30. Its in good shape, but missing some parts. Im going to clean it up and get the parts to make it run to use around the farm. Might try to get a title later on for some light on road use.

Cute! I think I have an original service manual for it.

That would be real handy if you do. Ive been looking over it and it seems to be missing more parts than i may have thought. Would be nice to have a book to go by on the rebuild.

It looks like the end of the expansion chamber where the siliencer goes has been cut off, the carb that this bike uses a Mikuni VM19, if it is a tc90R version it uses a Mikuni VM20. if you are wanting a brand new carb bikebandit.com has the carb it is till used by kawasaki on some of their bikes, or a suzuki tc/ts100 uses the came carb and and choke cable setup. When you get ready to pull the side high/low range off could you look to see what order all of the washers, needle bearings, and other goodies are assembled in? That is my major hang up.

Hey that's a great find!

The TC 90 was one of my first bikes back in OZ in the 70's. I have fond memories of racing around the farm with my mates on that bike. In fact, while my TC was smaller than my mates bikes (TC/TS 125s), it was certainly faster in a straight line drag . Krikey, we took those bikes everywhere - rounding up cattle, through rivers, up into the bush in the hills, and 'racing' on motocross tracks. They were bullet proof.

However, I did have one big problem when the rotary disk valve disintegrated and got sucked into the engine. The countersunk screws retaining the rotary disk valve friction casing had vibrated loose until they rubbed on the valve and fractured it. When you strip yours down, check the condition of the disk valve, remove those casing screws and then loctite them back in place. Also, check to make sure the automatic oil pump is working properly before you get the engine running.

The high / low gear option proved to be useful in really snotty terrain and when rounding up cattle.

The bike you have found looks pretty original and would be worth keeping it that way if you can source the missing bits. Altogether, a super little bike which gave me a soft spot for Suzukis ever since. Good luck with the rebuild.

$30????? Scoooooooooooore!!!

I went back over to the place today with a buddy of mine that wanted to look at the junk bikes and got lucky. I was digging around the tire pile and spotted the airbox and cover for the carb. Went on a major search, but couldn't find the carb or anything else. Did manage to find a cargo rack and side cover for my Spree though.

Once the spree is done, im going to tear into this guy. My dad may have a source for the carb and some other bits. Im going to tear the engine down for a full go over. Its been sitting for years, so it won't hurt to go through it all.

This bike is cleaning up pretty well. I spent a few hours on the chrome tonight and it looks good.





Kitty approved.

Well it has made it up on the work table today. Ive got the engine out and found that the engine is missing more pieces than i thought. I was sitting there looking at it and wondering what other newer small engines would fit in there. I used to have a XR100 and it was a pretty good bike to take the beating i gave it. I wonder if the engine out of one would fit in the TC frame. I plan on useing it for an around town bike, so im thinking a nice reliable 4-stroke would be cool. 100cc would be fine to put around on. I remember the XR being pretty quick for its size.

What engines does suzuki make in the smaller sizes now? Pics will come soon.

That is a great find . When I was about 15 I bought a new 71 TS90 with my earnings from a paper route.

While you might be tempted to put a 4 stroke in there...please don't!!
2 Strokes are a dying breed and putting another one out to pasture doesn't do it justice.

Yea, ive been thinking more about it. It also looks like i would have to do some frame mods to get an XR engine to fit. My dad has one that he is going to bring over next week anyway to see if it will fit.

Ive been staring at its engine on the bench since i pulled it out, and im really thinking i will just fix it. It already has great compression, but theres alot of gunk in the bottom end. A gasket kit on ebay is cheap as are most other parts for it. The main thing that im missing is the carb and some cables.


Heres a pic as it sits all naked on the table.

Well i pulled the top end off tonight. The cylinder and piston look good. One ring is stuck, but it should come off. What is inside the bottom end is nasty. It looks like an oil/water mix. Going to split the cases tomorrow.

On the bench.



Head off.



Whats inside the case.


For an almost 40 year old bike, its not as bad as i figured it would be. The head came right off with no force needed, as did the jug.

There's a good forum for Suzuki enduro bikes. www.suzukits.com

Even though your bike is a TC, there's lots of informaiton there. That little bike isn't too far away from lots of ringin' and dingin', so keep on going!

Kent
www.backtrackvideo.com

Well ive been cleaning out the engine today. Used up alot of carb cleaner so far. Found that there is a drain on the bottom for the crank case, so that helped. Its nasty in there. I really don't want to split the cases since i don't want to mess with the transmission parts.

Looked a little harder at the piston and cylinder in the light and its scored. Looks like im going to be searching for the next size overbore piston for it. Ive still got to get a carb and cables for it.

There are overbore pistons on eBay most all of the time. Cheap.

Ok, so ive found another on CL for cheap that looks like it would be a good parts bike. Im going to try get it this weekend.


Its an ugly little fellow, but it should have what i need.

1st "real" bike I ever owned (not including mini-bikes etc...). I can't tell you how many times I dropped it only to pick it up and keep right on riding.

Great little bike that just ran forever.

Good luck!

Awesome, just got off the phone with the guy that has the other bike and its a go to get it saturday. Its a long drive to go get it, but it will be worth it for the parts. The owner said it just needs rings and a chain to get it going again, but i only want it for parts.

The Low reduction Gear Set "T Bar" is great. The Crank Induction. Is a great talking piont.
Look don't oversize to any more than you need. Oh, measure your end gap in the Ring down at the Port in the Barrel. This is where swell happens not the top.
Keep things gentle and small, ok? These are not Hot Rods! You Heat it it WILL Break. Stock they run around farms for 30 years. That Low Gear will Pull you up any Hills a same age 250cc won't. Gearing! Over size will give nothing!! Porting will,Tons! Been there done that x 2000 times. I love em! Lots of Snoozey stuff on the Net to buy. Watch your Rubbers on the Induction. Have fun they are a GREAT BIKE. Jim. ?