VT500 Resto-Mod-Tribute

[Luke]

Hey everybody!

I have been lurking around here for a few months now ... figured I should introduce myself or more importantly the Ascot

This gal was the first street bike, bought new from the dealer by my best friend when we were 16. It is also the first on road bike I ever rode.

Matt was a heck of a guy, a true friend and eventually an excellent example of the cop that you would want to pull you over, if it had to be done

He went on to own several other bikes including a beautiful VFR750 that he raced through the police force... even went to Europe to race!

Sadly one evening when going off shift (in his truck) he was killed instantly by a drunk driver at only 27 years of age. This, of course had far reaching and very sad consequences for many, including myself. His Dad (my 2nd Dad) recently passed and much to my surprise he willed the bike, Matt's favorite, to me.

What an honour! ... and oh just a little pressure to do it right!

I had begun disassembling her with a view to full restoration. Then I found you guys and all your amazing ideas and have decided that a resto-mod would be closer to my vision. That back end needs some help. The gas tank is off being professionally repaired due to the rust issue, but aside from that she is in pretty good shape. Just lots of refinishing and paint to be done. So... off with everything!

Thanks for all your collective info! It helps a Jeep guy get a handle on something a little smaller.

Cheers,
Luke

I couldn't even wait to start tearing into her before I remembered to take my first pic. lol

[Woodguy]

Hey Luke, sorry to hear about your friend.

Look forward to seeing pictures of your restoration!

[J6G1Z]

Welcome to the forum. I too am sorry to hear of your friends passing. I have also lost loved ones due to drunk drivers.

How many miles are on that bike? It looks real clean! What condition is the paint in? I'm a firm believer in trying to maintain the original paint whenever possible. They are only original once, after that... Well, it's just another painted bike. If the paint is already too far gone, then have at it.

The tail section offers many ways to clean it up. Only limited to your imagination.

Be careful tearing her down & take plenty of detail pictures to help jog your memory at re-assembly time.

Good luck & please keep us posted. We like build posts.
J.

[Lefty]

Welcome aboard Luke, looks like a pretty clean VT!
Looking forward to your build, Lefty.

[Luke]

Hey... Thanks guys!

32,000 km ~ 20,000 miles

Don't they all look good from that distance. My first wish was to restore her and keep her as original as possible, but as I took stock of her condition I realized that was going to be tough. The frame needs to be painted. Too many little rust spots that will just get worse over time.

I'm still waiting for my repair manual to get here so just trying to keep my hands off of the complicated stuff

Most of the damage is just to paint although I had to laugh when I tried to pull the battery... At one point my little buddy decided to put an AGM in that was too big... don't worry just shove! It took an afternoon just to get the cage bent back to it's original shape

Thanks again for the tips and welcomes!

 

[J6G1Z]

Carry on then. My VT Ascot just turned 20K miles & the finish is bad. This bike has been ridden & parked in the rain for a few years in its past. It has spots of rust just like you mentioned. Have you seen the Elsinore inspired Ascot? I'm thinking of painting mine some day to look like this bike: http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=233.0
Instead of red down the tank, etc. I was thinking of using British racing green like the very first Elsy's had.

Good luck on the bike
J.

[Luke]

BR Green would look amazing...
Do you think that those are conduit nuts at the top of the rear shock?
I have used them on my jeep (IFS) to level the suspension. If in fact they are ..... do you think he added those to change the spring rate?

[Bucko]

... At one point my little buddy decided to put an AGM in that was too big... don't worry just shove! It took an afternoon just to get the cage bent back to it's original shape

Not that weird: I've been trying to do the same thing myself.  There are couple of reasons why (for me) it's a good idea.  First is that there are more AGM options for the next common size battery up which make the price a little better and provides a lot more cranking and stand by power.  Second, and this one really applies to me: the next size up is exactly the same battery as my 900F and 1100F take which means I have some back up options if one of my batteries dies (the only catch is the terminals are reversed on the Ascot but that's easily resolved with a new + power strap.

If the rubber cushions are removed from the batter box, the next size battery fits in with only a slight manhandling required to get the front metal strap closed and bolted back into place (no wrecking of the box required).  Since I use AGM batteries, vibration (which I think the rubber pads are there to reduce) really isn't an issue but I'd love to find a way to add a 1/4" to the depth of the front strap so that I could leave the cushions in place and make it easier to remove, but that's a project for another time.

[Luke]

I can appreciate the benefits of the AGM ... a little more finesse was in order however

[J6G1Z]

Do you think that those are conduit nuts at the top of the rear shock?

I don't think I'm not familiar with conduit nuts. It appears to me that those shocks have adjustable spring pre-load by turning that spanner nut.

J.

[Luke]

Maybe if I would have called it by it's proper name "electrical conduit nut" They make great spacers (1/8") around the bottom of a coil-over.

In other news ... Received my new (used) airbox and filter today. Major score at $10 shipped!

On the bad side .. upon removal I found a gaping hole in the exhaust chamber which looks like it was previously repaired.

[Luke]

Here's a nice rusty shot...  30 years of oxidization...

[J6G1Z]

There are a couple of after-market exhaust systems available for the VT Ascot.
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=33.0
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=34.0
I like the NOS system better, but they are only available in chrome now. Plus you have to be careful that they are not dented. I don't know much about the second system. Of course you could use the original head-pipes, extend them back & then install the mufflers of your choice.

J.

[Luke]

I'm thinking ... it's time to learn to weld.  While I mull that end over ...

I've switched to that rats nest of wires that the engineers put directly behind the headlight bulb ... must have decided that on a Friday. 

"Lets just shove all the connection points in here so you have to take the headlight apart to do anything... K ?" ... lol

[J6G1Z]

All the Japanese bikes are that way. Some worse than others.  At least all the wires are color coded & fairly easy to trace.
On my FT Ascot, I was able to shove the fuse panel inside the headlight bucket also.

J.

[Luke]

Did a little repair work today

I found that the idiot light cluster was just about to fall to pieces at the mounting holes.
So I did a little plastic welding to fill in the gaps, with a heat gun, soldering iron and some plastic borrowed from my Jeep wheel well trimming .
Then made a little bracket that bolts to itself (underneath) to sandwich the area and get a solid mount. I will probably paint it even though it will never be seen

[thumperdh]

Very cool. I'm subscribed. Can't wait to see progress on this thing.

[Luke]

^^^ Thanks for the encouragement. 

[Luke]

The journey of discovery continues

I found the coil mount bracket held up with a zip tie ... I thought, Oh one more lost bolt to find...

Not so easy. The bolt is snapped off in the frame, just for a little added challenge it is almost a quarter inch below the surface. I will wait until I get the frame off and then see if I can drill and remove the bolt from a better angle.

Oh and the plastic coil cover bolt was stripped although that took 2 seconds with the Grabit.

Sorry for the bad pic  edit .. found a good one 

[Luke]

Yes .. even the peg mount bracket welds matter

Almost done ...

[Luke]

Began to clean up the rad today to find brass under all that chipped peeling paint... I remembered reading about it on the Elsinore inspired build. At this point I think that I will still be using the plastic guard, so the rad won't even be seen ... but I'm going to polish it anyway it's really quite a beautiful part.

note: I have not cleaned the fins out yet, I'm actually in the process of straightening them first.

[J6G1Z]

You probably already have, but if not, make sure you flush out the radiator from both directions. You can flush the engine out also.

When you refill the radiator, make sure that you use an anti-freeze that is aluminum & magnesium safe. Mix it 50/50 with de-stilled water. If I recall correctly, the cooling system should hold a bit more than 2 quarts.


J.

[Luke]

Thanks for the tips J .. much appreciated! I am used to funky coolant types as my Jeep uses HOAT. I'll be stocking up on distilled water

[Luke]

Nothing exciting to update ... lots of dis-assembly. Just the swing arm and motor left to remove... and I still have not found a single part that doesn't need restoring. 31 years will do that.

Lots of sanding and more sanding ... and polishing. Considering investing in a Sodium Bicarbonate blaster.... and better compressor.

Ordered Swing arm removal tool from the U.K. (Kev) Great service so far .. I received a tracking# mere hours after payment!

Cheers All,

[Luke]

Well ... it's officially a frame-off restoration now

How-to decorate your basement with a VT500...