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Preparation1 min readTHE PANNIER PAPERS · NO. 23

Anyone near Teruel with a clutch cable for a TS185?

A brilliant little Suzuki, a cable left on the bench at home, and a solo Spanish trip proceeding at sitting-down speed.

A weathered red Suzuki TS185 with camping luggage, tools and a detached cable beside a dusty trail in Spain.
Fictional scene. AI-generated image.

Bit of a long shot. I'm doing the Spanish TET on my old Suzuki TS185 and the clutch cable has snapped. Currently off the track in the shade, bike's fine otherwise.

It's a brilliant little thing. Light enough to pick up, lovely on these tracks and you don't need a laptop to work on it. It is a little old now, admittedly. Mine's a late 70s one, although the bloke I bought it from wasn't completely certain which year.

The lever had been getting heavier for a while. I put some oil down the cable before leaving and it felt better, so I thought that was sorted. It did the whole ferry journey without any trouble, which felt encouraging at the time.

I've walked back to a village and shown the cable to a garage. Really helpful chap, but he hasn't got anything that fits. Found one online, although the seller wants a photo of both ends and some measurements before he'll confirm it. Earliest delivery is next week.

I'm travelling on my own. Thought that would make things simpler as I could go at my own pace. Currently my own pace is sitting beside a Suzuki.

I've got tools, spare plugs, tubes and plenty of two-stroke oil. No spare cable. There was one on the bench at home, but I left it because I was trying to keep the luggage down.

Does anyone know a shop round here that could make one up, or happen to be heading this way with something suitable? Happy to pay, obviously.

Please don't turn this into a modern bike versus old bike thing. She's been absolutely faultless apart from this, the fuel tap and the thing on Tuesday.

Photo from this morning. Still think she's awesome.

The Pannier Papers. Fictional story and AI-generated photography.