Author Topic: FT 500 Ascot (Read 8573 times)

scottly · « **on:** July 19, 2013, 08:54:23 PM »

I picked this bike up in the mid-to-late '80s from a friend for about $400. I liked the styling, and it was a decent commuter bike from my remote high-desert cabin to work; about 20 miles each way, including 2 1/2 miles of nasty washboard dirt roads.
In the early '90s, I used it as a test mule for an EFI experiment. The attached pic shows the throttle body; the rubber hose at the top served as an injector bung, which I plugged a Bosch VW injector into. It did run, but the control was extremely crude, and the experiment resulted in setting up a bench testing apparatus. The bike sat neglected in a shed for almost 20 years...

Greggo · « **Reply #1 on:** July 19, 2013, 08:55:35 PM »

Gonna resurrect it?

brooze72 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 19, 2013, 08:58:31 PM »

Ah yes, Honda's big thumper. We're all waiting for the rest of the story scottly...

scottly · « **Reply #3 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:07:41 PM »

The resurrection is already underway. A few months ago, I refitted the stock carb, repaired the rodent chewed wiring (the little bastards only chewed the insulation off the ignition trigger wires; maybe they liked the taste of the fabric insulation?).
I painted the swing arm, and replaced the 20mm wide needle bearings with 30mm wide bearings. Heck, even 40 mm bearings would have fit!?

scottly · « **Reply #4 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:17:01 PM »

Forgot to add that after putting the carb back on, squirting some oil into the spark-plug hole, repairing the wiring, and filling the float bowl with fuel, I fired the motor up! It seemed a bit quieter than I recalled, and a bit sluggish at revs, but after grabbing a handful of throttle, it blew large chunks of mud-dauber nest out of the exhaust! After that and burning off the excess oil, it ran fine.

brooze72 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:19:34 PM »

What a great way to rid the garage of mud daubers! Honda reliability once again.

scottly · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:27:42 PM »

The latest work has been on the rear brake; both the MC and the caliper pistons were stuck. The grease-gun trick worked for both. The paint on the MC was flaking off, so I resorted to paint stripper to remove what was left. BTW, paint stripper dissolves nitrile gloves!

scottly · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:41:39 PM »

Not to steal any thunder from the impressive 450, but I once got into a roll-on drag race with my buddy on his DOHC Honda 750: 80 HP vs 35 HP. I pulled ahead from the start, and he didn't catch up until about 60 MPH. I asked him later why he held back so much; was he giving me a head-start? His reply was that he didn't hold back at all.

Stev-o · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2013, 09:50:21 PM »

Very impressive! Has quite a weight advantage, the specs above state dry weight 350 lbs

scottly · « **Reply #9 on:** July 19, 2013, 10:08:34 PM »

The XR500, which shared the same basic motor, was more impressive. About 300 pounds, and 5-10 more HP? Of course, it didn't have all the extra weight of turn signals, electric start and the 12 pound battery to support it.

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2013, 12:57:40 PM »

I have been a fan of the FT since it came out in the '80's. I would love to add one to my growing collection.

70CB750 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2013, 01:08:45 PM »

Subscribed.

scottly · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2013, 09:22:50 PM »

Guess it's time to up-date this thread. The rear swingarm and brake caliper have been rebuilt and reinstalled, as well as the front caliper. Both brakes are bled and working. The bike needs a new chain, as well as a new battery before I can go any further.

Danny, what's the deal on the complete Ascot? If I had known you were thinking of swapping the swingarm or wheels I would have taken some measurements while I had it all apart.

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #13 on:** November 29, 2013, 08:13:34 AM »

Scottly,

When you get a chance, would you break out the tape measure and get some measurements on the swingarm for me? I am thinking of using FT wheels on my 550 project and perhaps the swingarm as well, which should make adapting the rear disk easier. I am wondering how it compares to the stock 550 arm.

scottly · « **Reply #14 on:** November 29, 2013, 04:19:33 PM »

Width of FT swing-arm at pivot: 9 1/4" (I measured a K7 750 and it was the same; it looks like the FT would bolt right on to the K7 frame?)
Length measured from the pivot center to the axle center at the middle of the chain adjustment range: 19"

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #15 on:** November 30, 2013, 10:02:22 AM »

Excellent. Thank you so much. I am also thinking a full front end swap might be worth while as well. The FT has the same 37MM tubes as the GL1000, and it has an integral fork brace.

There is a guy with a bike wrecking yard a couple hours from me with an FT in it. Time to see what he wants for the full front and rear ends.

I am bummed I missed a chance at a whole bike locally for $200. I was thinking it would be an interesting reverse swap. Replace the parts I want for my 550 with the ones FROM the 550. Repaint the engine silver, add a nice chrome muffler and go for a Goldstar look.

cb650 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 30, 2013, 11:38:42 AM »

Someone on the nitehawk site restored one a while back.

scottly · « **Reply #17 on:** November 30, 2013, 04:46:09 PM »

Yeah, bummer that you missed out on the complete bike!! I would have been interested in the leftovers.

The FT front fork is around 3'' longer than a 750 fork, which I believe is 1" longer than a 550 fork? The main issue is the height of the fork lowers above the axle. The top of the fork brace is 1.5" or more above the tire, and will hit the bottom of the triple under compression if the front end is lowered too much. The steering head on the FT frame is higher to accommodate the extra length.
The FT steering stem looks to be the same length as a 750, and I do recall using bearings that I had originally purchased for the 750 on the FT not long after I bought it.

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #18 on:** November 30, 2013, 07:46:00 PM »

I was wondering, it looked like the tubes were really long on the FT. Still, the wheels should work out fine.

scottly · « **Reply #19 on:** November 30, 2013, 08:22:10 PM »

The FT front brake rotor is larger in diameter than a 550; it *may* work on a 550 fork with a 750 caliper?

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #20 on:** December 01, 2013, 06:50:00 PM »

I measured one of my 550 swing arms today, the FT should fit fine. I appreciate the details about the rotor. Just one of those things you engineer around.

andrewk · « **Reply #21 on:** December 01, 2013, 09:25:12 PM »

Very interesting idea. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out!

scottly · « **Reply #22 on:** February 21, 2014, 06:23:45 PM »

The Ascot moved under it's own power today!

One of the time consuming issues was the air filter. The filter cartridge is no longer available, and the air-box is both heavy and bulky. My neighbor offered me a brand-new K&N filter for free, and after a few minutes of brainstorming, I had a plan. I cut down an ABS pipe cap to mate the stock air-box connector to the K&N.

joesmotos · « **Reply #23 on:** March 03, 2014, 05:49:21 PM »

Howdy..in response to the comment about a 700cc Ascot in another thread,i have no idea where that came from,nor the 82mm carb thing...i did at one time mix a Powroll stroker crank with a 540cc kit and made a 575cc Ascot but it wasnt near as fast as my 591cc version...

A company named Engine Dynamics makes that 591 stuff,thats what i used,with a Star Racing ported cylinder head,showed 60+ hp on a dynojet dyno back in the day(MId 80's)..i did run a 44mm Mikuni carb tho...Megacycle cam,Falicon crank...it ran strong,won alot of roadraces with that old bike..

Maybe one of these days i will ressurect it,still have an engine in the barn,who knows,i have so many projects going its not exactly on the front burner for me..had to stay on top of that thing,always poppin leaks somewhere,but when it worked,it worked well..not a bike you would want unless you didnt mind constant maintenance but thats racing,and i didnt like losing,lol

WERA Clubman Champion 1988 at Road Atlanta...

And the carb coming off thing happened at Roebling Road in Savannah,front straight,engine locked up,down i went,still got the scars from that one,never knew a bike could fly that high when it hit the dirt,i just remember it bouncing down on the front end,the doing a flip and hitting the rear,then smashing the whole right side...had to go get a frame from the salvage yard after that..

grcamna2 · « **Reply #24 on:** March 03, 2014, 08:29:38 PM »

Quote from: joesmotos on March 03, 2014, 05:49:21 PM

Howdy..in response to the comment about a 700cc Ascot in another thread,i have no idea where that came from,nor the 82mm carb thing...i did at one time mix a Powroll stroker crank with a 540cc kit and made a 575cc Ascot but it wasnt near as fast as my 591cc version...

A company named Engine Dynamics makes that 591 stuff,thats what i used,with a Star Racing ported cylinder head,showed 60+ hp on a dynojet dyno back in the day(MId 80's)..i did run a 44mm Mikuni carb tho...Megacycle cam,Falicon crank...it ran strong,won alot of roadraces with that old bike..

Maybe one of these days i will ressurect it,still have an engine in the barn,who knows,i have so many projects going its not exactly on the front burner for me..had to stay on top of that thing,always poppin leaks somewhere,but when it worked,it worked well..not a bike you would want unless you didnt mind constant maintenance but thats racing,and i didnt like losing,lol

WERA Clubman Champion 1988 at Road Atlanta...

And the carb coming off thing happened at Roebling Road in Savannah,front straight,engine locked up,down i went,still got the scars from that one,never knew a bike could fly that high when it hit the dirt,i just remember it bouncing down on the front end,the doing a flip and hitting the rear,then smashing the whole right side...had to go get a frame from the salvage yard after that..

That Ascot must have given you lots of memories joe...

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Author Topic: FT 500 Ascot (Read 8573 times)