I wanted a low budget, reliable light single or a twin. The budget was 700 euro.
Would love to own a dr350, xs650, GB500, SR500 or XT500 but they are to expensive over here.
My plan was to buy a XL500R but than I found out the 17" rear and 23" front rim have these rare tire sizes. That means very limited options for the tires so I changed my mind. Almost bought a GN400 but I was to late, someone else bought the only one I could find just before me.
Than two weeks ago a VT500Ascot popped up on speurders( a dutch marketplace site simular to craigslist). Always thought they would be a great starting point for a custom.
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They are light for a V-twin, have a great sound, cool 2 in 1 exhaust, fantastic looking 18" rims, narrow, nice looking frame and they are relativity fast for a 500 twin. It's got the reliable VT500 shadow engine so that means lot's of cheap spare parts.
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On the downside they have a hideous headlight plus the electrics are hidden below the headlight...? The front forks air-assisted 37mm front fork have a strange rake and are to soft. It's got a (heavy) shaft drive, and it's water cooled so that means it's got a radiator up front, don't like that very much.
The VT's have a double tube backbone that allows the air cleaner tract to run up to the carbs. The Fuel Tank tunnel is very wide so the options for swapping a tank are very limited.
No bike is perfect and "problems" can be fixed so I decided to try it. I did a short test drive and I instantly knew I wanted to own the Ascot. It's a lot of fun! It sounds just like a mini Ducati(in my imagination, haha) and it sort of looks like a mini XR 750 Harley
With a new exhaust this thing will sound amazing, I hope
Bought it from a man who fixed it up for his wife. He told me she did no like riding a motorcycle after all so she stopped using it and he needed to sell it again. If that's a true story or not, I don't know but the bike looked to be in great shape for 500 euro. The bike runs great, he repainted the wheels, and some parts parts he painted red, don't ask me why. It's not the same colour red and it looks horrible so I'll have to repaint that.
My plans with project VT500Ascot
I have a blog called bubblevisor.blogspot.com, maybe some of you know it. On this blog I show, choppers, bobbers, scramblers, drag racers, caferacers, street trackers, etc
I love custom bikes in lot's of different styles. So when I bought the Ascot my plan was to customize it myself with some help from my friends
At the moment I'm thinking Jeff Wright x Hidemo x Red Hot Motorcycles, ha! Or a superbikers/speedway inspired bike.
or a dessert sled... Probably a mix of everything but whatever it will be it will be very much inspired by low budget amateur racers from the past. That's where the magic happens
Dropped the front fork 4 cm, so I'll have more pressure on the front wheel. It felt a little light..
Painted some of the red stuff.
Tried some different handle bars.
Did not like the stock(?) tomaselli bar. To high and I did not like the angle.
Changed it for a classic dirt bike Handlebar.
And found out the front fork has some dents in the chrome...
When I bought the bike it was raining so I looked at the bike under a roof. Not the best light over there... I also missed the the fact that the engine and exhaust pipes where painted probably with a rattle can in a different black than the rest of the bike. Done without removing it from the bike so it has a gradient in black going from the original shiny black to the rattle can matte black.. Yikes!
