Resurrecting a abandoned Suzuki 230… i think

[SouthARriverRat]

I was given a quad 4 years ago. Before that it was sitting at the edge of the woods for 17 years. I think it’s a 86 230 quad but that’s just a guess I have. Never had much dealings with a Suzuki mostly Honda atc’s and Kawasaki. Anyways. The bike was sitting at the edge of the woods with weeds growing through it. I couldn’t see the wheels, nor the rear diff. A family member who had bought it in the early 90’s had it and ask he if I wanted it. I said I’m not interested in buying in but if it’s free sure. Might have some use for some of the parts on day. Well I drug it out the woods with a tractor. None of the wheels turned. I loaded it up bright it home and dropped it beside my shed where it sat for the four years I had it. Until…. 2 weeks ago my wife said I needed to declutter. I thought to my self. Well I haven’t even glanced at it since I had it. So I might as well see if it’s worth fixing, sale it, or scrap it. I knew the wheels wouldn’t turn. I soaked the intire 4-wheeler in penetrate oil, resparying it every few hrs for the next few days, aired up the tyres, and keep rocking it back n forth until it started to roll. The key switch was all to pieces and their was no battery. So I tried to pull the recoil. Nothing. I removed the recoil. Soaked it in a tub of diesel got it working. I put a wrench on the crankshaft. It did not budge. Hmmmm no good. Well I guess  better check the oil. Even tho I know it’s locked up. I could see water in through the sight glass. I pulled the clutch cover off. Rust and water everywhere. Mmm mmm mmm my favorite cocktail. I sprayed it all down let it soak. Took all the clutches n things apart, cleaned all the rust off. Lubed it up and put back together. I thought to myself. It’s going to leak without a gasket and I’m not buying gaskets until I know it’s worth the money. So I put a small bead of rtv around the cover and let it cure before I reinstalled it. Tired my luck again a spinning the crank. No luck. I had a hunch before I began that the piston or crank was froze because the seat has always been laying on the front rack as long as I’ve known and the air box cover has been missing exposing the air filter not connected to the intake tube. I pulled the plug finally. lol. I sprayed 3 cans of brake clean in the jug and screwed the plug back on. I let it sit over night. The next morning I filled the cylinder up with deep creep. And let it sit and sit and sit. For a few hrs. I slowly pulled the recoil. It moved!!! I moved it maybe 3/8” and I stopped pulled oil drain bolt drained the oil and fill the cylinder up with a mix of penetrating oil and gun oil. And let is sit for again over night. Pulled the plug out. Pulled the recoil a few times. It moved nicely no sounds of anything scratching rings and no hard spot while pulling. Next, I hooked up my spark tester. It was firing great. Nice fat white/blue spark. Now time for the carb. I unscrewed the throttle valve cap and the throttle valve was stuck. I unscrewed the choke nut and the choke plunger was stuck… I I sprayed it down with brake cleaner and penetrate oil. Screwed the cap back down and the choke nut and I let it sit again over night. Next day they came out like they should. So then I removed the carb. I could see the ethanol cancer before I even tried to remove the carb bowel. I put it in a coffee can of diesel fuel. After sitting I removed the fuel bowel. Here’s a tip I’ve learn on bowel screws a while back. Clamp the carb in a vice with a thin block of wood covering the jaws of the vice. Take a punch same size as the screws. Maybe slightly larger. And rap the punch with a hammer a few times. Not to hard lol. Works great on brake reservoir bolts. Never stripped nor broke one doing it like this. I got the bowel off. Their was so much dry crude I could not see the starter jet. I cleaned it without removing the jets. I took my Tourch tip cleaners and brake cleaner finally got the wire to push through the main jet and starter jet. I put the bowel back on. Put a fuel line on the carb and a small lawn tractor fuel tank full of fresh fuel. I turned the carb every way I could. Couldn’t get fuel… took the carb back apart except for the main jet, starter jet, or the mixture screw, and low idle screw. I let it soak. Could it blow threw the fuel inlet tube. I tried inserting the tip cleaner. No luck.. I took a old cloth hanger, cut it 2 1/2” long and ground it down to about have it’s dia. Then I drove it trough the carb with a hammer. It cleared the way. I put the carb back on the engine and hooked it all up except for the vent hose. Drained the crank and filled it with rotella 15w-40. Put in a new plug dipped in fuel. I pulled on the recoil and it started and idled on the second pull. I let it run for a minute or two. Drained the oil and refilled it. It started back up. I started driving it around and after around 5 mins I had to stop. I was out of oil. Major oil leak. Time to strip it down clean it up and start bringing her to life. I knew I could make it run again but never dreamed it would sound as good as it did. Let alone as cheap as I did. Brake clean and oil free from work. lol. Rtv $3.58. Fuel…$3.19 a gallon. The oil leak is a busted oil drain bolt cap cover. I’m also missing the box box lid. It would sure be a lot easier if I knew what kind of machine I have. I knew but not not know. I know years ago when the family member bought the bike a few months later it was stolen and returned with all the stickers peeled off and the wheels painted black. Who ever stole it also wrecked and bent the front rack and left Handel bar. I did not know until now that they removed all the serial numbers… stamped on the lower part of the cylinder jug is 229. That’s why I believe it’s a 230. And it resembles a quadrunner. It’s 2wd with reverse and hi/low. Shaft driven. I will upload pictures and a video. If anyone what’s to share any wisdom on this ol girl feel free. I like to know what it is and I appreciate any knowledge your willing to share. 

 

 

 

[Gwbarm]

Yes you have been busy, good work getting it running. I am not that familiar with Suzukis that old but if it s 229cc stamped on the engine it was probably sold  as a 250. Great work! I think it will be a fun little quad.

[Mech]

Good story Bro. Very amusing. Amazing it ran !

They do make a 230 and I think the service manual is in the manuals dept. If it's not there let me know and I'll upload it. They are very similar to 250 and they come in chain or shaft drive. Here's an extract from the manual telling where to find the frame and vin numbers..

output.pdf

[Mech]

If you get the engine number and it has some J4** or G4** number I can identify the bike(hopefully). I can possibly identify it off the vin too.

[Gwbarm]

You are right Mech there is a 230 there is also a 250 strange.

[Mech]

Yeah. Never checked it out in the specs but it's possible the 230 was the sporty and the 250 perhaps a bit more utilitarian. They aren't the same as the first of the LT250 we got here either.

[Gwbarm]

Im not really up on the Suzukis of that era, mostly riding hondas, but that makes sense.

[SouthARriverRat]

6 hours ago, Mech said:

Good story Bro. Very amusing. Amazing it ran !

They do make a 230 and I think the service manual is in the manuals dept. If it's not there let me know and I'll upload it. They are very similar to 250 and they come in chain or shaft drive. Here's an extract from the manual telling where to find the frame and vin numbers..

output.pdf 646.45 kB · 1 download

Yeah. I knew that on the gaskets and vin locations. lol. I just wanted to make sure it was going to be worth the money before hand. I gotta weld up the frame before I go to much farther. I’ll get pictures of the vin locations of the bike when I’m able to. But they are completely ground off. Ended up working 17 hrs today. So maybe tomorrow 

[SouthARriverRat]

33 minutes ago, Gwbarm said:

Im not really up on the Suzukis of that era, mostly riding hondas, but that makes sense.

Hondas all way been my go to. Daddy had me driving a atc 125m when I was 10. It lasted years. Buddys all had 4-wheelers and couldn’t go where it went. A few of them was swallowed by the swampy bottoms. But who could pass up a free bike. 

 

6 hours ago, Mech said:

If you get the engine number and it has some J4** or G4** number I can identify the bike(hopefully). I can possibly identify it off the vin too.

I will look and see what I can find

[SouthARriverRat]

6 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

You are right Mech there is a 230 there is also a 250 strange.

Do both share the same engine?  Or that same length and with frame? The frame should be different I would think? 🤷🏽‍♂️

[Gwbarm]

I would guess they would be the same maybe 250 has bigger valves or bore to get the extra 20cc, but im just speculating, the 250 was more setup for racing . I did read this bit of history about the quad

 

Suzuki LT 230

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article needs additional citations for verification.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Suzuki LT 230" – news · newspapers · books · scholar ·JSTOR  (November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Suzuki Quadsport LT230S (commonly referred to as the LT230 and also the "little brother" to the LT250R) was the first sport variety all-terrain vehicle sold in 1985.

It is powered by an overhead cam 2-valve 229 cc ("230") 4-stroke single-cylinder engine. It has a 5-speed manual clutch / manual shift drive train with reverse. The final drive is by 520-pitch chain. In 1st gear (stock) the quad would go: 16.7 mph (26.9 km/h); 2nd: 21.4 mph (34.4 km/h); 3rd: 32.2 mph (51.8 km/h); 4th: 41.9 mph (67.4 km/h); and finally in 5th gear the bike would go: 51.6 mph (83.0 km/h). It features hydraulic disc brakes front and rear, and independent double A-frame front suspension. The front A-arm suspension provided 6.3in of wheel travel. The rear is a solid axle. All the shocks are preload adjustable. The LT230features a side-kick style starter, a feature not commonly seen on any kick start bike. The LT230 weighed in at only 309 lbs. The original retail price for the 230 was $1,969. In 1987, Suzuki released a slightly altered version known as the LT230E. It featured a semi-automatic transmission that had a different shift pattern than other listed models, electric start and recoil pull-start backup. After the LT230S' discontinuation in 1988, the LT230E remained in production until 1993. Suzuki also produced, for a period of two years, the LT250S. The suspension on the LT250S is a progressive rate with more travel. The LT250S is also wider and longer. The LT250S, although meant to replace the 230, was cut from production in 1990, the second and last year of their production.

[SouthARriverRat]

15 hours ago, Mech said:

If you get the engine number and it has some J4** or G4** number I can identify the bike(hopefully). I can possibly identify it off the vin too.

No luck on the engine vin or the frame vin… both were removed along time ago

[Gwbarm]

Thats bad! No engine number either.

[Mech]

Bugger. Well you can probably figure out the exact model by looking through a parts place online, and I'd recommend Babbits because they have a more graphic index, or, by comparing wiring diagrams. They change cdi, and wiring plug shapes and colours from year to year and model to model.

[Mech]

The carb model might narrow it down too.

I'd look underneath that frame member further because the first of the LT250 we got here had the numbers on the lower frame but they were almost underneath, at an angle of about forty-five degrees form horizontal or vertical, and they used to get rubbed by grass and dirt etc so they were real hard to see. They weren't just on the top or side like we might hope and expect. And.. I'd use a scraper or knife to try and find the frame numbers. Wire brush and sandpaper don't work as well as scraping gently which sometimes shows up the slightly raised metal that's caused by them stamping the numbers in.

[Gwbarm]

Good idea ,carb could narrow it down by year, is it a Mikuni or a Kei-Hin carb.

[Mech]

Year and market. Canada quite often has different options than America.

[Gwbarm]

There may be some numbers in different places not so obvious that they might not have found to grind off, i would keep a look out for that. Wont be as specific as the Vin # but may help.

[Mech]

Yup. Anything that might have a sticker or printed number on it might help. I've found what things were off before by googling vague component part numbers that weren't the actual manufacturers part numbers,  but the number of the company that made the cdi/switch/coil for the bike manufacturers... (does that make sense !).

[SouthARriverRat]

6 hours ago, Mech said:

Bugger. Well you can probably figure out the exact model by looking through a parts place online, and I'd recommend Babbits because they have a more graphic index, or, by comparing wiring diagrams. They change cdi, and wiring plug shapes and colours from year to year and model to model.

That’s funny you say that. I was thinking at work about doing just that. Babbitts is a great scouce for parts. When I worked for a Kawasaki dealer and needed parts for a non kaw bike that’s where we ordered from

[Mech]

A few more posts and you'll be able to download the manual. The manual I've got does all the years 85-90 and all the models  for 230 and 250 of the same base model, so if the one in here doesn't seem to cover your bike yell out. There are 230E, 230G and 230S. The manual has all the carb details etc for the different models. You should be able to figure it exactly, especially so if you are used to checking parts out.

Edited October 24, 2024 by Mech

[SouthARriverRat]

Here is a close up. I don’t think anything natural leaves grinding marks. Maybe but I’ve drug quite a few frame crawling huge rocks when I was younger lol. Bad thing is it was his son who stole it. 

5 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

Good idea ,carb could narrow it down by year, is it a Mikuni or a Kei-Hin carb.

I will take a look. Just asking how could he make of carb determine the year? Did they stop using one and picked up another?

[Mech]

Yes they change carbs, and the cdi are different too. Just those two alone should narrow it down. Then if you have it apart, they change valve sizes and gears and all sorts of stuff.. 

Bloody kids huh.. Happily mine don't/didn't (they're grown now) nick my bikes. They used to nick my pot before they figured how to grow it themselves, but never anything else..  That I'm aware of ! And, little buggers they are, they'd have told me by now some time over a "few" drinks.. and laughed about it.

Also, on a lot of old bikes they used to rivet an aluminium plate to the steering head with Id on it..  I suppose that's gone..

Edited October 24, 2024 by Mech

[SouthARriverRat]

7 hours ago, Mech said:

Bugger. Well you can probably figure out the exact model by looking through a parts place online, and I'd recommend Babbits because they have a more graphic index, or, by comparing wiring diagrams. They change cdi, and wiring plug shapes and colours from year to year and model to model.

Yeah. Might be best place to start. I bet I could go back to the old shop and ask, would let me browse the old shop library. He was a Suzuki dealer and shop up until the side by sides became popular and swapped to Kawasaki and kubota tractors. He still has the original shop manuals, updates, n such of the Suzuki quads,tikes, and 2-cycle. 

[Gwbarm]

You might try taking an infrared photo sometimes that will bring out things that arent visible, im sure the I phone probably has a setting for that although i have never looked for it.

[Gwbarm]

This is the OEM carb # that came on an 86 LT230S. You might check it with the carb thats on it see if they match.

 

[Mech]

Have a look at this and see which regulator you have...

output.pdf

[Mech]

Or...

output.pdf

[SouthARriverRat]

12 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

Good idea ,carb could narrow it down by year, is it a Mikuni or a Kei-Hin carb.

Mikuni

 

Edited October 24, 2024 by SouthARriverRat
That’s a regulator not a carb

[SouthARriverRat]

4 hours ago, Mech said:

Have a look at this and see which regulator you have...

output.pdf 782.91 kB · 1 download

 

4 hours ago, Mech said:

Have a look at this and see which regulator you have...

output.pdf 782.91 kB · 1 download

Looking at the diagrams 1985-1986 LT230GE and 1986 LT-F230 match’s my wiring color