Nice! 👍 I think you’ll like a video I have planned for the next week or so. The snow melted enough that I can get my 185 out. I want to ride it on our snow trails during this spring.
@@brianu33 Hopefully one turns up! In my town the small Suzuki dealer at the time sold 80 some Quadrunners in ‘84 and they ended up selling the most Suzuki quads in the whole state. It’s amazing to think about considering my town was only around 5000 people at the time. I remember the 125 and 185 Quadrunners being everywhere in the mid 80’s. We had two 185’s and my friends and other kids I knew in school had 125’s and 185’s. The 250’s were a lot less common. I still occasionally see one running around but they are generally shit hammered.
@@brianu33 I never got a chance to ride a 250. They were wider and had a different front suspension, bigger tires and bigger and heavier all around chassis wise but came with front brakes. I think the 185 was probably the best model for all around fun since it was so light. No rear suspension on any of them so very rough riding. But the 125 & 185 were very simple to maintain.
It’s makes a ticking noise and it’s not good for it as that lever is partially opening a valve. I’ve had it accidentally get depressed by branches and nothing seemed to happen as far as damage so that was good.
I remember riding a brand new, ‘85 Polaris Trail Boss at our local Polaris dealer in the snow and liking it but it was so weird with no shifting, floor boards and the dumb single lever brake for all the wheels. A year or two later we were riding down at the ocean and watched a group of three guys on Polaris quads cross the creek towards us. One of the guys had the new Cyclone. I remember their belts got wet and they couldn’t make it across and they had to get off and drag them. All the while we were pointing and laughing at them. I remember they were bragging about their quads earlier so it was pretty funny. I don’t mind food shift quads. The CVT”s are better in the snow and mud and my Grizzly 450’s CVT has been flawless. But it’s fun to shift.
I had one as my second 4 wheeler... I was 14 it.. It was *okay*... the lack of suspension in the rear REALLY sucked.. and it would be impossible to start when it got hot. I didn't miss it when I sold it and got a Suzuki 160 with electric start!
I know that feeling! I got my 185 when I was 13 and I remember pulling and pulling on it to get it started in the middle of a ride at times. I’ve not ridden this quad since making the videos as the hard tail rear end is so uncomfortable. I remember those 160’s, I believe they also had rear suspension, so nice!
That was my first quad too. If the oil was fuel saturated it would die like that when it was hot. Try an oil change? 🤷🏼♂️ Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I’m trying to remember if I had changed the oil in it or not before I took it out that day? I’m sure it could use an oil change going into this summer. I’m glad you enjoyed the video! 😀
i have a alt125d and its pretty cool we put on the back rack from a lt185 my dad had as a kid and its pretty handy. my dad and his cousins and brothers up at the cabin would drive the lt 185 in a pond and float it. the old lts are very cool!
Nice! Good to hear another 80’s Suzuki is still be ridden around. 👍 We used to ride our 185 in water all the time, wheeling them in deeper spots but the air intake was under the seat so we’d drown out all the time. The Honda 3-wheelers air intake was behind the headlight and they could wheelie through much deeper water.
@@thatalaskaguy yeah its pretty cool the whole back half is the exact same as the lt125 so parts are available. heck on amazon theres a rebuilt kit for the alt and lt125s lol. only wierd thing is that it sits up higher then my atc 110 its like riding a mule.
Ive got a 1995 300 king quad,like my VK,simple,tough.Triple range transmission has surprised a lot of people with its grunt pulling power.Its all in the gearing.Like a pitbull,small,strong and capable.The world is needy and spoiled,everybody wants bells,no thanks.
I owned a King Quad 300 for a little while and liked all the gear range options that were available. It was a very good work quad and extremely capable of towing heavy items. I didn’t like how difficult it was to work on and mine had the terrible drum brakes all the way around that didn’t work hardly at all. I discovered that it wasn’t very capable when climbing a big pile of loose pea gravel or sand out in the gravel pit as you couldn’t shift it fast enough to keep the power up. My Wolverine could fly right up the same pile. I hear you about belt drives. I used to be very skeptical but my thinking has changed as I’ve had zero issues with my ‘07 Grizzly 450 that I’ve owned since new. But I only like the Yamaha and Suzuki belt drive systems. Polaris and Can-Am don’t use a wet clutch and squeeze the belt from neutral like a snowmachine. The auto is super nice when in snow or mud as you can just pinch it and not lose momentum from shifting. I towed around a Genie TZ-34/20 size man lift with my Grizzly to work on my house and it was way to heavy for my quad and had it squatted out. But it towed it and didn’t burn the belt, I was amazed. I had to use 4wd as otherwise it just spun the rear tires trying to get started. I’d never do that again but at the time that’s all I had available to get the lift behind my house. I bet the King Quad would’ve towed it as well. I just bring it up because that style of belt system is pretty bulletproof.
Could be any number of things but chances are it’s just something simple. Check the connectors to the kill and key switches to make sure they aren’t unplugged or something weird.
@@thatalaskaguy funny you say that because I had a wire come unplugged and it caused a stall, couldn't figure out why it wasn't running until I had someome come out and look it over. Turns out a wire came loose somehow. Always something wrong with these old machines seems like. Can be a pain but still fun when they are actually running
@@christopherrogers1555 I think back on all the machines I had back in the 80’s and while they were more simple mechanically and didn’t have a lot of electrical on them, they seemed to have more small issues. I try to only buy the most simple, plain Jane, base models of new dirt bikes, dual sport bikes and ATV’s. I’ve had my ‘07 Yamaha Grizzly 450 for 17 years now and it is still using the original battery! It and a bunch of my other year 2000+ summer machines have been very reliable. I think I need to get this 185 back out and ride it around again, it’s been a long time since this video. 👍
@@markeithpeacock222 the gas tank is on the right side of the chassis. It should have a cap with a locking latch. If the cap is missing I can see why it’d look like two filler necks.
@@markeithpeacock222 first make sure you have spark. Then make sure you are getting fuel as it uses a fuel pump and it’s possible it’ll need to be rebuilt or replaced. We replaced ours because it was really cheap.
I had lt125 for years and it was unstoppable. Climbed mountains in PA and never once got stuck. Regret selling it
Nice! 👍
I think you’ll like a video I have planned for the next week or so. The snow melted enough that I can get my 185 out. I want to ride it on our snow trails during this spring.
@@thatalaskaguy I’ve been checking online daily for an 185 or 125. I’m looking for best one possible
@@brianu33 Hopefully one turns up! In my town the small Suzuki dealer at the time sold 80 some Quadrunners in ‘84 and they ended up selling the most Suzuki quads in the whole state. It’s amazing to think about considering my town was only around 5000 people at the time. I remember the 125 and 185 Quadrunners being everywhere in the mid 80’s. We had two 185’s and my friends and other kids I knew in school had 125’s and 185’s. The 250’s were a lot less common. I still occasionally see one running around but they are generally shit hammered.
@@thatalaskaguy you are Dont see the 250 much. One was for sale but to far from me. It was in great shape.
@@brianu33 I never got a chance to ride a 250. They were wider and had a different front suspension, bigger tires and bigger and heavier all around chassis wise but came with front brakes. I think the 185 was probably the best model for all around fun since it was so light. No rear suspension on any of them so very rough riding. But the 125 & 185 were very simple to maintain.
What happens when you pull the decompressiom lever when on??
It’s makes a ticking noise and it’s not good for it as that lever is partially opening a valve. I’ve had it accidentally get depressed by branches and nothing seemed to happen as far as damage so that was good.
The lever on the right is a compression release
I can see why Polaris came out with the CVT transmission . Shifting in the bush sucks and so does pushing them home. I remember those days. YUCK.
I remember riding a brand new, ‘85 Polaris Trail Boss at our local Polaris dealer in the snow and liking it but it was so weird with no shifting, floor boards and the dumb single lever brake for all the wheels. A year or two later we were riding down at the ocean and watched a group of three guys on Polaris quads cross the creek towards us. One of the guys had the new Cyclone. I remember their belts got wet and they couldn’t make it across and they had to get off and drag them. All the while we were pointing and laughing at them. I remember they were bragging about their quads earlier so it was pretty funny.
I don’t mind food shift quads. The CVT”s are better in the snow and mud and my Grizzly 450’s CVT has been flawless. But it’s fun to shift.
Automatic is for a wussy
I had one as my second 4 wheeler... I was 14 it.. It was *okay*... the lack of suspension in the rear REALLY sucked.. and it would be impossible to start when it got hot. I didn't miss it when I sold it and got a Suzuki 160 with electric start!
I know that feeling! I got my 185 when I was 13 and I remember pulling and pulling on it to get it started in the middle of a ride at times. I’ve not ridden this quad since making the videos as the hard tail rear end is so uncomfortable. I remember those 160’s, I believe they also had rear suspension, so nice!
That was my first quad too. If the oil was fuel saturated it would die like that when it was hot. Try an oil change? 🤷🏼♂️ Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I’m trying to remember if I had changed the oil in it or not before I took it out that day? I’m sure it could use an oil change going into this summer. I’m glad you enjoyed the video! 😀
i had an 85 ALT 185 completly rigid. Best fun ever!
Nice! I’ve never seen one in person, I don’t think they very common when new and quite rare nowadays.
3 wheels was a learning curve
guessing you got rid of it?
i have a alt125d and its pretty cool we put on the back rack from a lt185 my dad had as a kid and its pretty handy. my dad and his cousins and brothers up at the cabin would drive the lt 185 in a pond and float it. the old lts are very cool!
Nice! Good to hear another 80’s Suzuki is still be ridden around. 👍 We used to ride our 185 in water all the time, wheeling them in deeper spots but the air intake was under the seat so we’d drown out all the time. The Honda 3-wheelers air intake was behind the headlight and they could wheelie through much deeper water.
@@thatalaskaguy yeah the bigger cc's the 110s you will sink before you float lol
@@kollinspencer847 Wow! Your Suzuki 3-wheeler is likely pretty rare? I’ve never seen one in real life. We had the Quadrunners here, lots of ‘83 125’s.
@@thatalaskaguy yeah its pretty cool the whole back half is the exact same as the lt125 so parts are available. heck on amazon theres a rebuilt kit for the alt and lt125s lol. only wierd thing is that it sits up higher then my atc 110 its like riding a mule.
Ive got a 1995 300 king quad,like my VK,simple,tough.Triple range transmission has surprised a lot of people with its grunt pulling power.Its all in the gearing.Like a pitbull,small,strong and capable.The world is needy and spoiled,everybody wants bells,no thanks.
I owned a King Quad 300 for a little while and liked all the gear range options that were available. It was a very good work quad and extremely capable of towing heavy items. I didn’t like how difficult it was to work on and mine had the terrible drum brakes all the way around that didn’t work hardly at all.
I discovered that it wasn’t very capable when climbing a big pile of loose pea gravel or sand out in the gravel pit as you couldn’t shift it fast enough to keep the power up. My Wolverine could fly right up the same pile.
I hear you about belt drives. I used to be very skeptical but my thinking has changed as I’ve had zero issues with my ‘07 Grizzly 450 that I’ve owned since new. But I only like the Yamaha and Suzuki belt drive systems. Polaris and Can-Am don’t use a wet clutch and squeeze the belt from neutral like a snowmachine. The auto is super nice when in snow or mud as you can just pinch it and not lose momentum from shifting. I towed around a Genie TZ-34/20 size man lift with my Grizzly to work on my house and it was way to heavy for my quad and had it squatted out. But it towed it and didn’t burn the belt, I was amazed. I had to use 4wd as otherwise it just spun the rear tires trying to get started. I’d never do that again but at the time that’s all I had available to get the lift behind my house. I bet the King Quad would’ve towed it as well. I just bring it up because that style of belt system is pretty bulletproof.
No spark 185 susskki four wheeler 1985 year
Could be any number of things but chances are it’s just something simple. Check the connectors to the kill and key switches to make sure they aren’t unplugged or something weird.
@@thatalaskaguy funny you say that because I had a wire come unplugged and it caused a stall, couldn't figure out why it wasn't running until I had someome come out and look it over. Turns out a wire came loose somehow. Always something wrong with these old machines seems like. Can be a pain but still fun when they are actually running
@@christopherrogers1555 I think back on all the machines I had back in the 80’s and while they were more simple mechanically and didn’t have a lot of electrical on them, they seemed to have more small issues. I try to only buy the most simple, plain Jane, base models of new dirt bikes, dual sport bikes and ATV’s. I’ve had my ‘07 Yamaha Grizzly 450 for 17 years now and it is still using the original battery! It and a bunch of my other year 2000+ summer machines have been very reliable.
I think I need to get this 185 back out and ride it around again, it’s been a long time since this video. 👍
Oh when u got a flat.
Where did you get your parts from in about to guy my first 1985 185
Well dolly I’m in alaska to wasilla
I was able to order everything from Amazon. I was glad to see that UNI still makes new air filters for the 185.
@@thatalaskaguy do you have a link?
@@jaydengillmore5670 it is a Uni NU-2442 ST air filter.
What's the top speed?
I don’t know? Probably around 50mph? I think that’ll make for a good video next summer. 👍
about 30 mph
My good friend he got that I messed up brand new I messsed up my back riding on the bsck with my friend my back still messed up
Huh, wha…?
What is the 2 tanks under the seat
It has just one gas tank under the seat. The other thing I’m thinking you are looking at is the snorkel on top of the air box
@@thatalaskaguy I just got it today it's under the seat too rite
@@markeithpeacock222 the gas tank is on the right side of the chassis. It should have a cap with a locking latch. If the cap is missing I can see why it’d look like two filler necks.
@@thatalaskaguy why do you think it's not firing
@@markeithpeacock222 first make sure you have spark. Then make sure you are getting fuel as it uses a fuel pump and it’s possible it’ll need to be rebuilt or replaced. We replaced ours because it was really cheap.
Need to adjust your cam chain tensioner it will make that engine run sooooo much quieter I just did the same to my 125 yesterday
Thanks for catching that! I remember making that adjustment to my original 185 back in the 80’s.