Really nice looking 185s I just picked up is fouling sparkplugs really bad... can ride the thing for maybe 5 minutes and the sparkplug is black and oily. How can I tell if this is a problem with my rings or my valves.

thanks

 

isn't the 185s 4 stroke??? I could be wrong but I know the 200s I had when I was growing up was a 4 stroke.

 

do u put lead additive into ur fuel if not thats ur problem becuase they were made to run on leaded gas back in the day and u can tell that there is a problem with somethin else cus on the plug little pieces of metal like glitter will show up

 

I run 10% ethenal in all of mine new or old and never seen were unleaded gas was the cause of any problem. If its fouling the plug within 5 minutes of riding you need to install a new piston and rings, if your going to have it apart anyways valve work does not cost much. If you shop around, most likely theres a racer or someone in your area that would do the work for you much cheaper then a repair shop, you just have to ask around untill you find someone.

 

you're problem is the are the rings and valves seals. you may also want to replace your piston for longevity maybe im wrong cause spark plug fouling is a problem that ocurs often in the 200 world its often caused by rings valves seals when bike smoking.. or sometime cdi can do that or your fire card in the base is gone lol but if u say u see particle its probably rings ,..

 

if it sat a long time the rings could be stuck. dump some sea foam in it and ride the **** out of it. mine was in storage for 10+ years now it runs as good as it did in 82