I finally had a chance to have a play with the FT500 that I bought a while back this morning and have been able to fire it up for the first time.
It took a bit of an effort to get the carbie off so I could clean it, needed to removed the battery and airbox to get the damn thing out from where it is hidden behind the frame rails. Getting it back in place was just as much fun, but once it was back on, and with a new spark plug and a new battery it cranked over and fired up on about the fourth go. Like all these bikes it sounds like it is about to destroy itself while being cranked over, but once it was running it was surprisingly quite. I was a bit worried, as I bought it off the net and the seller admitted that he hadn't had it running in a few years, and could not get it to start when he tried before putting up for sale.
I still have a lot to do towards tidying it up to get it on the road. Most importantly, I need to get the brakes working. To this end I have bought new caliper seal kits, master cylinder kits and disc pads, and I have ordered a set of SS brake lines.
Hopefully I will be able to find some more time in the next couple of weeks to overhaul the brakes. It will be great to get a bike on the road that I don't have to kickstart.
I have been able to get quite a few of the cosmetic parts I need out of the US off of Ebay, the prices for the parts are quite reasonable, but the postage means I need to bundle a lot of parts into one purchase.
The one part that I do need and have not been able to find (either new or used is the reservoir for the rear brake master cylinder. The one on the bike has the mounting lug broken off and also has a hairline crack at the hose fitting. Does anyone have a spare that they are willing to sell?
