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Motorcycle Forum / General / Technical / July 20071984 VT500FT Ascot
Recently asquired this Ascot with 11.6K miles. Don't know anything about the Ascot other than it had a short window of manufacture (83-84). Looking for some restoration help mechanically. Is there a group for the Ascot or will this forum work? >Looking for some restoration help mechanically. Is there a group for >the Ascot or will this forum work? Use google to search for ALL forums that have ever discussed the VT500 Ascot. You can pick and choose what you want to believe. Use every resource you can find, and avoid getting embroiled with the argumentative troll in here. Unless you like debating with a drunk. You can tell who the troll is. He likes to pick messages apart and answer them, line by line. If you don't already own a Clymer's or Chilton's manual, get one. www.partsfish.com and www.bikebandit.com have OEM parts. If you go to www.denniskirk.com and enter your year and model information, it will list all the parts they have. Same thing with www.mawonline.com and partsunlimited.com https://www.carbkitscapital.com has carburetor kits. So does www.oldbikebarn.com. > Recently asquired this Ascot with 11.6K miles. Don't know anything > about the Ascot other than it had a short window of manufacture > (83-84). > > Looking for some restoration help mechanically. Is there a group for > the Ascot or will this forum work? It's a nice little bike. In the UK, we got the 'straight' VT500 Ascot, which is mechanically identical. It's a v-twin, with two plugs per cylinder. Convetional screw and locknut tappet adjustment. The weak spot is the clutch, whose working parts are effectively the same as those used on the 1970s-1980s CB250 Super Dream model. So it tends to slip early. Stronger clutch springs help here. Other than that, very very solid engine indeed. I know someone who's got one here in the UK: a private import from the US.  SignatureBMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3 BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells..... ************************************************************* >> Recently asquired this Ascot with 11.6K miles. Don't know anything >> about the Ascot other than it had a short window of manufacture [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >Other than that, very very solid engine indeed. I know someone who's got >one here in the UK: a private import from the US. ****************************************************************** The FT500 Ascot is a 500cc single. The VT is a twin. (A friend has one. It was supposed to be the basis of a production based flat tracker. Relatively light and nimble, it is a sweet little bike. It is like the top end of an XR500 with the bottom end of the VT500 (or something close) It is electric start engine. > The FT500 Ascot is a 500cc single. The VT is a twin. Well, this guy is describing it as a VT500FT, so maybe it has one and a half cylinders? Oi! Berniepound? Is this a single or twin? Get your model names sorted out! > (A friend has one. It was supposed to be the basis of a production > based flat tracker. Relatively light and nimble, it is a sweet little > bike. The FT single was an utter disaster: looked nice and funky, but had an engine that produced no power whatsoever (it was no faster than the 250 single that we got in the UK), and the electric starter clutch exploded regularly and frequently. Many people converted them to kickstart, as the engine was basically the XL500S lump, detuned. > It is like the top end of an XR500 with the bottom end of the VT500 > (or something close) Quite how an air-cooled single has the bottom end of a water-cooled vee twin eludes me. SignatureBMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3 BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells..... >> The FT500 Ascot is a 500cc single. The VT is a twin. > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Quite how an air-cooled single has the bottom end of a water-cooled vee >twin eludes me. Pardon me. I stand corrected. I went and looked, and saw that it was, indeed, mostly a XL500 engine. (with electric start.) I didn't know that the VT500 was water cooled. I appreciate the info. > >Quite how an air-cooled single has the bottom end of a water-cooled vee > >twin eludes me. > > Pardon me. I stand corrected. I went and looked, and saw that it was, > indeed, mostly a XL500 engine. (with electric start.) I didn't know > that the VT500 was water cooled. I appreciate the info. No worries. The VT is a lovely bike. Shaft drive, too. The FT is a dog. SignatureBMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3 BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells..... >> >Quite how an air-cooled single has the bottom end of a water-cooled vee >> >twin eludes me. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > No worries. The VT is a lovely bike. Shaft drive, too. The FT is a dog. I had a VT500 and regret selling it. It was the bike I perfected my rattle can painting technique with because the body panels were so easy to remove and install. I painted that bike four different colors before I settled on a nice bright red. Then again, I regret selling every bike I've ever sold, especially my cherry 1983 GS650-G. ed >> The FT500 Ascot is a 500cc single. The VT is a twin. > >Well, this guy is describing it as a VT500FT, so maybe it has one and a >half cylinders? Oi! Berniepound? Is this a single or twin? Get your >model names sorted out! Honda had more than one Ascot (at least in the U.S.). The first one (FT) was an air cooled single with dual exhaust ports (and two pipes) that fooled people into thinking it was a parallel twin. It was a real dog and disappeared after a year or two. That was immediately followed up by the the V-twin (VT) Ascot, which was a much better bike, but also had a very short run. John > Honda had more than one Ascot (at least in the U.S.). The first one (FT) > was an air cooled single with dual exhaust ports (and two pipes) that fooled > people into thinking it was a parallel twin. It was a real dog and > disappeared after a year or two. That was immediately followed up by the the > V-twin (VT) Ascot, which was a much better bike, but also had a very short > run. Er, yes, which is why I asked him whether he had a single or a v-twin..... SignatureBMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125 GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3 BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells..... |
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