Newbie on Ascots

[missinabie]

Hi guys. 1st post here. I'm going to start working on my buddys FT500 1982, which has been sitting for maybe at least 18 years. I've worked on Harleys and some Honda's but not these. Good thing he has a shop manual. I know about the starter problem and wondering if a rebuild kit would fix that for now. Carb rebuild no doubt plus calipers. Motor is not frozen. Any suggestions what to zero in on would be appreciated. Thanks

[J6G1Z]

Welcome to the forum. Another real good resource of information is the Yahoo FT500 Ascot Owners Group. They have a "FILES" section that has several articles on how to perform maintenance tasks & modifications. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/honda-ascot/files
Sometimes the "FILES" won't open unless you right click on them. Here is the "FILE" on Starter issues. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/honda-ascot/files/Starter%20Issues/

Glad to hear that you have a shop manual. Is it a HONDA Service Manual, or is it a Clymer?

Do you have a good battery that you can use to start the bike? If not, then that's not a bad place to begin. The FT Ascot draws a lot of juice to start, so you need a strong battery. (I don't recommend jumping the bike off of a car battery. Sometimes the car battery is too strong) I like to spend the extra cash to buy a "Made In The USA" sealed AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) battery. I buy from Batteries Plus. http://www.batteriesplus.com/t-storeloc.aspx
Ask about their "X2Power" line of batteries. These batteries are somewhat expensive, but they are sealed & don't leak corrosive fumes onto your bike, plus they last a long time. I have 4 or 5 years on one. You might want to pick up a "Battery Tender Jr." while you are at Batteries Plus. They have a $10 off sale if you buy a battery & tender at the same time.

Before you try to start the bike, I would remove the sparkplug & squirt some oil into the sparkplug hole. Then place the bike on the center stand, shift into 5th gear & see if you can rotate the rear wheel. This will force the piston up & down while lubricating the cylinder walls, rings, etc. If you can't turn it by hand, then try it with the battery & starter. Beware that oil is probably going to shoot out of the plug hole. After rotating the engine, replace the plug, check the oil & replace it with some new motorcycle specific oil like Hondalube, Yamalube, Golden Spectro, etc. Change the filters & go around performing pre-start checks. Remove the old gas & provide fresh, then try to start it. The FT Ascot is basically a gussied up Honda XR/XL-500 & is a fairly simple bike to work on & maintain.

How are the tires? I'm guessing that they are shot. So you probably need 2 new tires. I like Avon Road Riders & recently bought a pair from Amazon.com for a bit less than $200. There are many other tires to choose from, I just like the Avons.

How is the chain? How many miles are on the bike?

Then work your way around the bike while checking all nuts & bolts for being tight. Grab the handlebars & forks & shake them back & forth, side to side, etc. You're trying to determine if there is excessive play in the steering neck bearings. Do the same with each wheel & the swingarm pivot. Everything should feel firm & operate smoothly. No clunks or binding spots.

I happen to own 2 FT Ascots. One has less than 10K miles on it, while the other has about 29K on it. I have yet to need to service the starters on either one. I don't know if a previous owner did or not, but they are both working fine. You want to avoid using the starter any more than is required & don't crank on it endlessly. The FT Ascot has a carb with an accelerator pump. Every time you turn the throttle, a small squirt of gas is pumped into the carb. This is a great feature for a couple of reasons. When it comes to cold starting the FT Ascot, I use the choke at 100%, plus I rotate the throttle about 4 or 5 times to prime the carb, then I hit the start button. Usually it fires right up without a lot of cranking.

Well, that should give you some form of direction or ideas. Of course you need to give the bike a thorough bath after sitting for so long. Hopefully it was stored inside. Tell your buddy that he has a great bike. I'm sure he will enjoy it.

Good luck
J.

[J6G1Z]

Here's another thing for you to consider. You need to read the "Ascot Essentials" article.
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=10.0
If & when you rebuild the carb (It may not need rebuilding if it was drained), you should perform the jetting modification that every FT Ascot needs. You need to change 2 jets. The main jet is easy to get to & to remove. The low-speed jet is a bit more difficult to get at & the screw driver slot can be stripped out easily. I use a long slender gun-smithing screwdriver to remove that jet. You can buy these jets from Mark at Thumperstuff. Here is the web-site & contact info: http://www.thumperstuff.com/FT500.html  Phone: (360)805-0272

You will also want to order a 16 tooth countershaft sprocket to take advantage of the additional power that the new jetting has provided. A 17 tooth countershaft will fit with some light clearancing in a few locations & is recommended if you plan to do a lot of freeway riding.

Please feel free to fire away with any questions that you might have.

J.

[missinabie]

Thanks very much for this useful info. The bike has been stored inside and was taken care of pretty well. I didn't know him back then. Being in Canada makes buying some parts a bit of a hassle sometimes, hopefully it won't need much. In any case it will no doubt be a winter project so I've lots of time and probably questions.  Cheers

[Lefty]

I'd just like to say that the starter maintenance on the FT is real cut & dry. Once you have it apart,you'll see what you have to do.
I read quite a few posts about it on the Yahoo site, & it seemed a bit more difficult in text, as did the balancer chain tensioner adjustment, which is also a snap once you remove the clutch side case cover.

[thumperdh]

I'd just like to say that the starter maintenance on the FT is real cut & dry. Once you have it apart,you'll see what you have to do.
I read quite a few posts about it on the Yahoo site, & it seemed a bit more difficult in text, as did the balancer chain tensioner adjustment, which is also a snap once you remove the clutch side case cover.

That's great to hear, those are both coming up on my to do list.