Good morning from the east coast

[thumperdh]

So glad to have found an active resource on the FT 500. Anyways, my name is Sam and I have a 1982 FT 500 that I bought as my first street bike when I was 16.
As of right now it is bone stock and used just as my commuter bike, but I would love to give it some nice modifications (CBR front end, rear wheel, new rear shocks, re-jet the carb, exhaust and a few other tasteful things). Can't wait to get started.
Cheers.

[J6G1Z]

Hey Sam,

Welcome to the board. That is a great looking Ascot! Very cool that you bought it when you were 16 & have managed to hang on to it for so long. That so rarely happens in life. You definitely want to change the main and low-speed jets to #145 and #58 respectively. Then change the countershaft sprocket to either a 16 or 17 tooth sprocket. These two simple mods really help the bike perform. Hagon or Progressive Shocks are a nice addition to the rear end. You don't really need to do the whole CBR swap route to make the bike handle well. I'd be tempted to leave the bike as original as possible. Just add some Progressive springs to the forks, change the rear shocks & a pair of sticky tires makes the bike handle real well. They already stop pretty good, but some Galfer or Spiegler braided stainless steel brake lines & some more aggressive brake pads will really stop you quickly.

If you're dead set on the CBR swap, you want to find an early Hurricane with a 3.5" wide rear rim. That's all that will fit in the FT swingarm. The early Hurricane or Interceptor forks will slide right in to the Ascot triple clamps. The Interceptor has a 16" front wheel though instead of the more preferred 17".

I found an FT that had been dumped lightly & used it to do the CBR swap. The CBR running gear really lowers the bike & the oil sump is in danger of speed bumps. My other FT500 is a fairly clean & low mile bike. That one I'm keeping as stock as possible other than the common mods described in the FT500 Tech Section.

Please feel free to jump on the board & fire away with any questions that you may have, or post any stories you'd like to share.

Take care
J.

[thumperdh]

I should probably add that 16 wasn't as long ago as you might think. The bike predates me by ten full years. The little Ascot is still in good condition after all these years, only two things are amiss. The trip meter reset knob was broken off before I got the bike and the exhaust heat shield fell off while riding one day. Other than that the bike has been a real workhorse these past five years. Just under 15,000 miles on the clock right now and still running like a top.

When you changed your jets to the #145 and #58 was that with an upgraded exhaust and air filter or is the rest of the bike bone stock with that jetting?

As for the front sprocket, I was actually thinking of going down to a 14 tooth because I rarely ever go over 60mph (mostly 45-50 around town).

I'm not dead set on the CBR swap, I'm going to try the progressive springs and heavier fork oil in the front and progressive or halogen's in the rear. It would just be nice to have a set of 17" wheels under me and the thicker walled forks that come with the CBR front end.

First thing is first, i will probably rejet the carb and add in a less restrictive exhaust. I would love to find a period correct F1 or Jemco pipe but i'll probably just run a generic short megaphone or reverse cone until I can track down a period correct exhaust (or find a nice Supertrapp). On top of that i'll be preforming some cosmetic changes too, clean up the rear of the bike (tail light assembly and plate holder), change the headlight or at least lower it down and then adjust the riding position to be a little more aggressive.

Can't wait to get started and contribute more to this forum, i'll be sure to keep build pictures updated.

[J6G1Z]

I changed the jetting with everything else stock.

Have a look at these posts to get an idea of what can be done.
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=10.0
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=5.0

J.

[WTF304]

Sam, where on the east coast do you live ? ..... not by a shop is it ? ...... if I'm not mistaken then your the one i bought mine from. The area looks familiar and the guys name was sam.

[thumperdh]

Sam, where on the east coast do you live ? ..... not by a shop is it ? ...... if I'm not mistaken then your the one i bought mine from. The area looks familiar and the guys name was sam.

Unfortunately, it's not me. My FT is sitting in my garage and I haven't had another.

[WTF304]

Ok, wasn't trying to freak anybody out..... sry if i did.