Hey there,
I am the original owner of a 1985 Suzuki 230 LT Sport. I acquired it at the ripe age of 2 months old, haha. I have been told that there is something special about this quad, that it is a limited edition, or something like that. Is it just that it was the first QuadSport? Any information would be helpful, thanks so much!
~La

 

I don't think anyone was doing limited editions at that time. '85 was the first year for the venerable Quadsport and the Quadracer 250 as well. Personally, I think if you compare it to a 250 Raptor it is still a pretty impressive little machine for being 30 years old!

 

Sounds like tough and very reliable old machine, its production lasted for 8 long years.

 

Nah, production only lasted for four years for the sport. Then came the lt250s sport for 2 years. I think the quadrunner went longer.

 

Though the sport only lasted 4 years, the basic design for the engine went a long time. I think they may still be making engines (ozark 250) with parts that will swap into the original 85 version. The design spans several models throughout the years, like the LT4WD, king quad 300, 250S, and a few more. Even the 83 125 and 84 185 had the same head, cam, rockers, valve cover, and who knows what all for sure.

But, I don't mean to imply they are particulary tough. The rods and rod bearings are kinda weak, the cam chains stretch fairly easy, and in my opinion, the head studs are weaker than what I would like. If you keep the oil changed and a nice air filter in place and be mindful of the weak points, they're not too badly designed.

The 85 quadsport may have some value to a collector one day after all the others have filtered through ebay several times before finding their way to a junk yard or landfill. There were a certain number of early 85s that had a smaller crankcase oil capacity and I would think those would be the most valuable, especially if everything is original and not cracked or dry-rotted.

I would hang on to it, since you've had it this long. It's something that has some claim to fame about it and a nice conversation piece.