Some advise?

[John Ollestad]

I've been involved with bikes my whole life. I've owned 10 or 12 over the years. I've always been fascinated with the v twin Ascot. There's something about the looks I've always enjoyed.

I'm going to start looking for a used one. One that's a little rough around the edges that I can repair and ride a little.

The thing is I've never been on one. I don't know if I'm going to love it or hate it. That's why I'm going to look for one that needs a little TLC. That way if I really don't like it, I don't have 1000's wrapped up in it.

There's one on e-bay right now that looks like it just came off the show room floor. It's beautiful, but it's also $5,500. It might well be worth it, but that's thousands more than I'd pay right now.

A question for you experienced VT500 owners. Are there any inherent problems with a rough Ascot that I should watch for?

Maybe a coolant leak, or something that habitually fails in the charging system.

Knowledge is handy when looking at used motorcycles, I'd like to go into this as informed as possible. Any tips would be appreciated.

John
Columbus IN

[J6G1Z]

Spend some money & buy the nicest one that you can find at a reasonable price. Five thousand is NOT reasonable.

I try to locate & purchase clean, original paint, bikes with 10K miles or less. One they are re-painted, modified, or customized, they have little value.

Good luck
J.

PS. If you are tall or long legged, you may not like a VT500FT Ascot for long rides.

[John Ollestad]

Thanks for the reply! I don't mind acquiring one that's less than perfect. I have to admit I'd like to avoid engine work unless I can get a crazy low price on it. I'm not too tall, I'm guessing the bike will fit me pretty well.
Thanks again.

[Bucko]

I have a bunch of bikes, all larger, but the one I love the most is my Ascot.  It didn't cost a lot and took very little to bring back to solid running order.  It requires very little maintenance.  It's a great looking bike, mine has some patina but overall is in nice shape.  I'd love to do a full cosmetic restore some day but for now I just keep riding it (reveal: not actually riding it at this time of year).  Doesn't have a lot of power but just rails around all day long!  Lot's of fun.  If I'm going to get into trouble with one of my bikes, the Ascot will be the one.  Bonus is, around here anyway, they're pretty rare so there's always somebody that wants to ask questions about it.

Toughest thing about these bikes is finding one with a nice shape exhaust.  The originals were 'black chromed' and like all black chromed exhausts of that vintage, they rotted out easily (or the black chrome finish wears off).  The finish on mine was a bit rough - it had fallen over a few times.  I painted it flat black and it looks OK (personally I hate the look of flat black but it hides the worse shit underneath).

I agree with buying the nicest one you can find but for $5K I think you could get two pretty nice ones.  Having said that, I hope I don't come across a really nice one because I'd be very tempted to pay a stupid amount of money for it.

[John Ollestad]

I've got a bad feeling the worst thing I'm going to have a problem with is location. I'm afraid the for sale ad will read "VT500 ascot. In good shape. Runs well, looks nice. First $1200." And then it'll read "call nu-3454-344 Port kilumunda, Brazil"

And I'll be wondering how in the he** I'm going to be able to afford shipping on that.

If a buyer can't find one close enough to just travel and get, the shipping charges can rip your wallet up.

I'm like you, I don't care for spray bomb flat black, but I can get into matte black or even black chrome.

[RobertP]

I just saw 2 on craigslist, $2100 and $2500. Both are in really good shape and some nice little custom parts added. Cheers.
PS that was around California area.

[Wes Kootenay]

Hi John.
I did what you are thinking about - see my post 'new ascoteer'.
I paid $1200 Canadian (about $200 too much) but I think this bike is going to be a fun project. I am in the process of recovering the seat and just finished re-building the front brake caliper - the brake was stuck on, now I know why. About a week after I bought mine, one came up in near showroom condition with very low mileage for $CAN3500. I'm glad I didn't see that first as it would just be a 'rider', my bike is a sad case looking for a good home.
Good luck with your search.
Al

[Duke52]

Your location is going to be the deciding factor on if you can find a nice Ascot or not. Where I live, you just don't see them very often. When I bought mine a couple of years ago I had to drive a couple hundred miles to get it. Pricewise, $5000 seems extremely high, I would think $3000 or so would be the absolute top price for a low miles bike in excellent condition, with a good running average bike in the $1500- $2000 range. If you get a bike that needs work I'd cut that price in half - of course that is JMHO.

[J6G1Z]

Looks like the OP quit & is no longer a forum member.

J.