Dutch FT project

[FT500R]

Hi guys

As a great fan of the yahoo group I had to check this forum out as well. I do think a forum is better for ongoing threads like projects.

My name is Paul a 27 year old mechanical engineering student from The Hague in The Netherlands.
I've been riding motorcycles since I was 18 and they were getting faster and faster, last year however I bought a ft500 as a commuters bike to save my zx6r a little.

I've completely fallen for the little thumper and even take it out on the fun trips in the weekends instead of my zx.
As a fan of fast and good handling bikes I do want to improve the FT's suspension a bit and also change the looks a bit more to my liking.

Enough about me, it's FT time.
I've bought my yellow '82 as a non runner. It had been standing for about a year because the PO had trouble starting it. After the purchase I replaced the battery, did the starter maintenance as described at the yahoo.groups and did a full fluids and spark plug change. It immediately purred like a kitty.
I did have to replace the starter spring with a homemade ballpoint one but it functions perfectly.
How the Ft looked when I bought it:

Ofcourse this is a project thread so what am I going to do with it.
I really wanted to change the front suspension, since I have a spare CBR900rr front end lying around, this is going in!
The steering stem is exactly the same as the FT's so no adjustment needed there.
Here is a picture of an original FT fork compared to the CBR:

The front axle is 20mm thick while the FT's is only 15mm.
At first I plan to run the cbr forks with the ft wheel so I ordered some new wheel bearings for the FT wheel with the correct axle diameter. Later I plan to install spoked wheels.
I then made some spacers to centre the wheel correctly into the forks.

I really like the upright position on the FT so I want to keep the original handlebars, this means adepting the CBR top yoke, I've bought a couple of risers from a salvage yard to mount to the CBR yoke.
I've had to shorten the stuts of the risers and rethread them because they were really long and had a strange non-metric thread.

Ofcourse I strenghtened the original yoke with some thick steel plates.

This is were I'm at so far, as soon as I have time I'll try a mock up to check the ground clearance and see what kind of spacer or adjustment plate I have to make to mount the front brake caliper.

It's in!

I've had a couple of struggles along the way, for instance getting the original bearings out of the FT wheel was ridiculously hard.

As you can see the front brake caliper isn't mounted to the forks yet, I haven't figured out how to do this just yet and if spacers on the calipers or the wheels would be a better option. I'm also thinking of changing to a 4 or 6 piston caliper. If I do that I don't have to bother with the stupid sliding bracket of the ft.

I took it for a spin around my block, the suspension is a bit to hard at the moment but I didn't have immediate problems with the ground clearance. of course I haven't ridden it hard or took it round a real turn but we'll see how it works out.

I've bought a BMW F650 rear wheel to fit in the bike as well.
And I bought a CX500 tank, a quick mock-up of how that would look on the bike:

I'll keep updating this first post.
Any comments, both on my project or faults in my English are welcome

Has been a bit quiet here sorry. I've been crazy busy with an internship and will be busy for the rest of the year probably.
Did make some time to fabricate a bracket for my brake caliper. The cb spoked wheel will have to wait till I have more time.
A quick picture of the (quick) bracket I bodged

Next up is new seals for the forks

Got both my wheels now. so eventually these bad boys will go in the ft


update 4/10

Got the fireblade forks out of the bike to see if I could fit the spoked wheel and bigger brakes.

I had to get new bearings for the wheel and fabricate some new spacers.
Right now the wheel is perfectly centered between the fork legs. However the brake faces on the hub seem not to be completely centered.
Any thoughts on this?

well, time for pictures I guess 

the wheel centered with the new spacers

nicely centered

with disks in the forks

lookin good


cheers Paul

[J6G1Z]

Welcome to the board Paul. Sounds like you have a great project on your hands. I've heard that other Countries received Ascots in yellow & blue. Here in the USA we only had a choice between black & red. I saw a picture of a Canadian Ascot that had a dual disk front brake that was supposed to be original equipment. It would be interesting to learn of the various configurations & colors that different Countries received.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your bike & seeing some pics.

J.

[FT500R]

Hi J.

Most of our Ascots are red or black as well, mine is the only yellow one I've seen so far. No blue ones as far as I know.
The color also gave it its current nickname, the banana.
Dual front disks on an Ascot is something we do not have here. The front wheel can be easily fitted with another disk but the forks do not have another mounting point.
I'm thinking of installing dual disks on mine since I have a spare disk and the CBR forks do have the mounts.

Cheers paul

[FT500R]

The fork is in!

[J6G1Z]

The fork is in!

Cool!

It looks like you have some rough working conditions. Are you working outside on the street? I like your flower pot/motorcycle stand.   Dedication & motivation will get you through it. Looking forward to hearing a more detailed ride report.

Good luck
J.

[mike]

Ah... I live just round the corner from you and I've got an Ft500 on-going project too...

[mike]

heres another pic of mine

[mike]

Since buying it for €350 a year ago with just 20000 on the clock I have changed the cam chain, fork seals, steering head bearings. Cosmetically, I fitted a bottom mount bates style headlamp... fits very easily onto the steering lock lug once the steering lock is removed. I removed a big chunk of the rear subframe and fitted a short rear mudguard with BSA rear light and sawed off the back of the original saddle and stretched the cover back over which I think looks surprisingly good. The handlebars were also replaced as were the clocks for little stainless steel items found on ebay. New indicators fitted nicely onto the original rear bodywork mouting lugs. I too ride it more often now than my other bikes... it's a great little around town bike and perfect for short blasts up to the beach here in The Hague!

[FT500R]

Hi Mike,

great to see another Dutch FT'er here, did you read my post on motor-forum or are you a regular at the yahoo groups as well. If you need any spare parts let me know, I have about 2 whole ft's in spares.

I think I've seen your bike once or twice on the Elandstraat (right around my corner).
I like what you've done with it so far, more plans for the future?

For me the top priority now is to get the front brake reassembled. The distance between the original caliper mounts on the CBR forks and the brake disc is really big. I don't know if I should put a bracket between the caliper and the fork mounts or a (big) spacer between the wheel and the disc. I've also scored a couple of 4 cup calipers which I would rather install than making a bracket for the shitty original caliper. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of time and just as J pointed out I'm working in the street.

Cheers pau

[mike]

yes that would be me popping in Albert Schwein... I have some LEDs that I'd like to mount as odiot lights and wouldn't mind getting rid of side panels etc... Are you going to this Retro Wheels Festival in Scheveningen on 15/9?

[FT500R]

wow that is right around the corner, I did have some other plans which I might have to cancel now 

[mike]

I should be there around 2.30 ish... not sure whether to take the triumph or the ft??? decisions decisions!

[FT500R]

I've been crazy busy and unfortunately enough not with the FT.
Did make a bracket for my front brake though so its rideable.

cheers paul

ps. Mike, I think I saw you passing by in september when you were on your way to that meeting. I was unfortunately not able to make it.

[FT500R]

bought some new wire wheels for the ft.
Don't know when ill have the time to install them but they will look nice.
The front hub has the same spacing as a lot of semi modern sportsbikes so I'm actually thinking of installing dubble big brakes!

[Whata]

Hey chanceless, werktuigbouw ftw 

Nice work going on there 
I really like what you've done with the front end.
Though I'm curious how it will affect the bikes handling, as the shorter fork changes the rake angle.
If it turns out well, I might even try it myself   

Keep up the good stuff !

Wouter

[FT500R]

thanks wouter,

defenitely werktuigbouw ftw! almost done myself now so ill be calling myself in a couple of months
the ground clearence with the cbr forks is actually quite good. no complaints from me. I've still got the 19 inch front tire wich is huge, that helps a lot for ground clearance.
unfortunately my ignition switch developed a little issues so im looking for a new one or a way to mend it.

[J6G1Z]

What is the ignition switch doing, or not doing?

I've repaired one before & had to replace one before. The one that I had to replace was broken in half & & the top half was missing. I ended up finding another ignition switch, gas cap lock & a key on eBay for not a lot of money. Think it was in the $30 range. I just unplugged the old switch & plugged in the newer one & all was well.

On the one that I repaired. It wasn't making electrical contact when in the ON position. I took it apart & lightly cleaned the small brass contacts with some extra fine sandpaper & contact cleaner spray. I then took an ice pick & carefully made several indentations in each brass contact. This raised some of the material around the indents. I then lubed up each contact with a dab of dielectric grease & re-assembled the unit. It worked fine after that & is still working.

Good luck
J.

[FT500R]

i have excatly the same problem as you describe, no contact when the ignition switch is in the 'on'postion.
Traced it down to a faulty connection for the red wire, can't open the ignition switch though. Maybe I haven't tried hard enough
how did you get it apart?
i've allready ordered a new one for 30 euros including a gas cap lock but having a (working) spare cant be bad.

cheers.

[J6G1Z]

I can't remember exactly which bike I repaired the switch on. I seem to recall bending a few tangs & the switch seperated into several sections.

There is a fusible link hidden in a plastic box by the battery that I recently discovered on my project bike. I haven't looked at the wiring diagram to determine where in the scheme that it falls, but you might want to check that out also.

Good luck
J.

[FT500R]

you mean That fusible link in the starter relay housing? That can cause problems aswell, Im well aware of that.
I've replaced mine with a normal car fuse.

I've removed the complete ignition switch to measure it and thats when I discovered the problem so it can't be anything else.

I'll try to get it open, its already busted so it can't get any worse

[colosseumrat]

Hi kansloos161,

I'm working on my custom FT as well. I was wondering what's the source of those nice spoke wheels that you intend to install. 

Cheers

[hondapartsman]

You have my greatest respect young sir, I at least have a small back garden in which I can park ( although access is a little difficult) and work on my bikes on a hard if slightly sloped standing. I'd not want to do all you're doing, but then maybe you have youth on your side. My older bones find working on bikes on ground level to be a bit of a strain these days, I dream of a garage, or even a big shed like I used to have. I must talk to my friend who owns a workshop and see if he'll be happy for me to do work there, sometimes. Anyway, I'll be watching to see how this goes. All power to you.

[FT500R]

@ hondapartsman
Thanks, so far I manage with the space in front of my house, I would really like to have a shed or back yard too, would really speed up the whole process and the fun in doing it.

@colosseumrat
The front spoked wheel is from a Yamaha xs650. I do not know if its the original rim. The front hub is great, it gives the oppertunity to install dual brakes and the hole pattern is very common.
The rear wheel is from a BMW r650 funduro. The BMW uses it the other way around (sprocket on the right hand side) but since the tire has to be replaced anyway that shouldn't be a problem

[colosseumrat]

@colosseumrat
The front spoked wheel is from a Yamaha xs650. I do not know if its the original rim. The front hub is great, it gives the oppertunity to install dual brakes and the hole pattern is very common.
The rear wheel is from a BMW r650 funduro. The BMW uses it the other way around (sprocket on the right hand side) but since the tire has to be replaced anyway that shouldn't be a problem

Thanks a million for the sharing. I wish you good luck and I hope to see you around in NL or at Rust swap meet, in May in Amsterdam.
I'm based in Amsterdam.

Cheerio

[Whata]

Hey cool I'm going to the rusty swap meet aswell