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1984 VT500FT Ascot
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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?
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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.
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The FT500 Ascot is a 500cc single. The VT is a twin.
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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!
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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.
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Er, yes, which is why I asked him whether he had a single or a
v-twin.....
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(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.
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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.
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It is like the top end of an XR500 with the bottom end of the VT500
(or something close) It is electric start engine.
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Quite how an air-cooled single has the bottom end of a water-cooled vee
twin eludes me.
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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.
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No worries. The VT is a lovely bike. Shaft drive, too. The FT is a dog.
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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.
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