Off To The Races - the build begins

[J6G1Z]

I wonder if the Hurricane forks will fit in your Ascot triple clamps. The inside measurement seems very close to being the same.
Just a thought.

J.

[J6G1Z]

Check out this listing.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/380785759994?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_155wt_896

For some reason unknown to me, I've seen better deals on Ducati or Aprilia front ends than Japanese front ends. Wierd.

Good luck
J.

[Kettle One]

After a lot of research I've decided to keep the stock triple trees and go for Honda Hurricane forks. Another option is Ninja 500 if Hurricane is scarce. Stay tuned!

[J6G1Z]

After a lot of research I've decided to keep the stock triple trees and go for Honda Hurricane forks. Another option is Ninja 500 if Hurricane is scarce. Stay tuned!

Were you able to determine if the Fork spacing is the same?

Here is something to taunt you depending upon where you live.
http://salem.craigslist.org/mpo/4216815462.html

I have a 91 cbr rolling frame with motor. bought the bike to restore it but it is a bit past my expertise. motor looks like it may have got water in it. this would be a great parts bike or if you are good, could be a runner again. no plastics. or tank but but everything else is there. 300 obo. call david. 503-9 three one-2263.

Good luck & let me know if you want to try to purchase this bike. I may be able to help.
J.

[Kettle One]

Picked up a very nice set of Hurricane forks off eBay. The stance is much better now. I can also use the Hurricane front axle by switching out the wheel bearings which is what I will be doing this afternoon after the mail delivery!

[J6G1Z]

Cool! That looks nice! Supposedly the Hurricane fork tubing has a thicker wall thickness to make the forks stiffer.

What year Hurricane forks are they?

What is the difference in length between the original forks & the new ones?

How well does the OEM wheel & speedo drive fit & do you need to make new spacers?

How about mounting the brake caliper?

Any other information that you can add to assist any future readers?

Keep up the good work.

Thank you
J.

[Kettle One]

They are off a 1990 Hurricane CBR600F. I believe the 88-90 forks are all the same. They are about three inches shorter measured from axle center to top of stanchion. Regarding the spacers, brakes, etc I haven't got to those parts yet but will post when I do. I am keeping the Ascot front wheel and single disc (at least for now). I will have to modify the brake caliper attachment but more on that to follow.

[J6G1Z]

Have you seen some of the "adapters" various guys have whittled out of 1/4" to 3/8" aluminum plate to mount the caliper to the fork leg?

I think I'd try to make one out of MDF wood first. Then when that design is finalized, transfer it to the aluminum.

Here's a few pics that I found earlier of what one guy did. (Hope you don't mind the pics in your post)

Good luck
J.

[Kettle One]

No worries J. Thanks for the tips/pics. The CBR600F front axle (20mm diameter) arrived today. It was a nice deal....came with the right side spacer and the speedo drive. I replaced the wheel bearings with Allballs replacements for the CB600F. The outside diameter is exactly the same as the Ascot so that was lucky. I found a suitable spacer in my spares drawer. So everything fitted up nicely except that I have about 1mm of space to fill (marked with the red arrow). I'll get some shims to take up the slack. Unfortunately the CBR600 speedo drive will not work with the Ascot wheel without some modification. I'm probably not going to use it anyway so it is in place as a spacer for now. Next step will be to see about fitting up the front brake caliper. I might just buy a used CBR600F left front caliper and see how that might work.
By the way, Santa brought me a Kendon lift (just fantastic) so its much easier to get at stuff without having to bend over!

[J6G1Z]

Very cool how everything is going together for you. Real nice how the bearing sizes worked out.

Hey Santa brought me a lift also. It's one of those Motorcycle, ATV utility jacks that fit under the engine. Should be quite helpful on my back.

Good luck
J.

[Kettle One]

Made an interesting discovery yesterday. The VT500E (European model) has different forks (center axle) than the VT500FT (leading axle). I also like that tank better than the FT offering.

[J6G1Z]

It also looks like the bike has dual exhausts.

Nice looking bike, but I prefer the original Flat Tracker look.

J.

[Kettle One]

Spent the last few days tinkering with the front wheel/brake setup. I flipped the front wheel around because I think it will be easier to mount a caliper on the right side of the Hurricane forks, not to mention the fact that the disc will look better on the right side. Through some detective work on Partzilla & eBay I managed to find a right side caliper to match the one from the left side of the Ascot. I'll ditch the speedo drive and go for an electronic setup.
I bought a tank off a Suzuki GS1100 which should arrive tomorrow. It has a pretty wide tunnel so will see how that looks. Stay tuned!

[Whata]

Cool project going on there !

Are you going to tune the engine also or will it remain stock ? I'm curious how much further this 'lil engine could go 


Wouter

[Kettle One]

Hello all and apologies for the radio silence. Regrettably my resources (financial & otherwise) have been re-directed lately so I've decided to abandon this project. I am putting the bike back together as I got it and will offer it for sale. If there's any interest let me now. She is a runner and the motor sounds very good. Great project or restoration candidate but alas not for me right now.

[J6G1Z]

Sorry to hear about your need to re-direct. I have been doing the same in a sense. Been working on building a greenhouse for the little woman & racing the weather, as spring is here. I'm hoping to be done in the next 2 weeks or so & then I can get back to working on the bikes.

Please consider posting a Ad in the "Classified" section if you are serious about selling. Make sure you include your general location. You might also want to post an Ad on the Yahoo VT500 Ascot Owners Group.

Good luck
J.

[Kettle One]

Will do J. Thanks for your advice & support. As soon as I get her reassembled I will take some more pics and put in a classified listing. I would really like her to go to a Forum Member. I am in Cary, NC.

[J6G1Z]

No problem. Just make sure that you hang on to that RD that is in your collection. I'm itching to take mine out & get a good dose of two-stroke power band.

Good luck
J.

[AscotDog]

I know from build threads on the cx500 forum that newer Honda Cbr front ends fit most older hondas without modification. Apparently Honda has not changed the headset diameter for the vast majority of their bikes in ages. Every writes "check the All Balls website" apparently there is a cross-reference chart between bikes. However because of this, and the popularity of cafe racer builds, the price of Cbr front ends is now higher!

[Joe D.]

This was exciting to read and I'm bummed it ended.

[J6G1Z]

This was exciting to read and I'm bummed it ended.

Yes, me too.

That's the way it goes with projects. Sometimes you need to cut one loose.

J.

[obriencj]

I'm the fellow that ended up with this bike (after someone else bought it first).

Just to keep you up to speed, so far I've:

• disassembled, dipped, cleaned, reassembled the carbs with new gaskets
• replaced the clutch friction plates. Some were worn to the point where the pads were just a minor discoloration and not much more
• replaced the cracked old coils with a new set (and subsequently new plugs)
• rebuilt front brake caliper with new seals and pistons, new pads, plus new line and master cyl
• bought and put a center-stand back on
• patched up the holes and cracks in the airbox
• swapped the drag bars out for something that doesn't strike the tank
• swapped the fuse box out for one that wasn't all corroded

When I first got her, she was running hella rough, the clutch slipped terrible even after adjusting, and her front brake didn't do much (weak pressure and badly fouled pads). She's running solidly again currently, though I'm having some issues with the battery. She sat through the winter, and I've only recently got back into working on her.

I've found an exhaust that still had the collection chamber (when I got her the collection chamber had been chopped and welded over). Bits of the tabs are rusty so I'll have to take them to a machine shop to see about having those bits removed and re-welded.

The wiring situation... is terrifying, but I'm slowly working on it, haha!

There's a bit of noise in the final drive on the shaft. It's on my todo list to dump that out and regrease. Or maybe it's just low on oil, I haven't even checked that yet. Todo!

I actually really like the unpainted tank, and I'm thinking of just cleaning it up a bit, hitting it with a protective clear coat, and sticking a pinup decal on.

Anyway, just thought you guys might want to know that the bike is alive and functioning, though it hasn't seen much road time since Kettle One sold it off.

[veetee500]

Sorry...
 

[veetee500]

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[veetee500]

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