Need help
 

Hello. I was looking to buy a quad but I do not have alot of money. I have found a 1986 suzuki quadsport 230. It needs a carb clean and the guy says the valves need to be adjusted bad. the pictures dont look to bad and it comes with new front tires. I just need a little help on my descision. The guy wants 500$. thanks-alan

Those were good old quads, not fast but reliable if taken care of. You need to do a lot more checking to see if it is a good buy or not. They always need a carb clean but just cleaning hardly ever works...what is needed is a complete carb rebuild with a good rebuild kit!! Valve adjustment is not bad if that is all it is??? Many things can cause valves to be out of adjustment, some are minor and some could be major, so a deeper investigation is needed. Run a compression check, check spark. check inside gas tank for any rust or crud. Check diffs for lube and or water and rust. Parts should be availiable but keep in mind Suzuki parts are expensive, more expensive than other mfgrs. Don't know why but this has been there biggest downfall over the years. They make good equipment but replacement parts are just plain expensive!

Thank you. I will make sure to check those. How will I fix the valves? thanks

First things first... you need to check all the things I mentioned first..if the compression is good then we look at valve adjustment. I very highly recommend finding a factory service manual for this machine if you plan on buying and working on it. There is a cap at the top of the cylinder that is removed and the valve adjustment is there. You will need to know what the valve lash dimension is, you need to look it up. Turn over the motor and be sure they are going up and down, then you need to find TDC then set valve lash. If you not sure of what I am talking about then do lots of research. You need to know some things ( get specs) before you get into it. You don't want to get into a bad motor issue...way to expensive!

Honestly, it is tricky to do the valves. You may need to bring it in to a shop. But reed the post above for more info