Help identifying some things here?

[broadchef]

So I've seen a handful of photos of this particular bike and i'm confused about a few things:

• Where did the battery go?
• what happened to the airbox?
• Why is the frame below the seat slightly different from a standard ascot(at least it appears to be to me)?
• what is that chrome cylinder below the seat?
• and most importantly- what tank is that?

 

[RobertP]

Hi There. This bike is not an "Ascot", it is the Ascot's sister a "VT500E". The "E" designates Euro, was issued in Europe UK Aust and NZ, I can not be sure if it ever made it to north America. The wheels are standard VT500E with an enclosed front disc brake. It does use the same engine/drive train as the ascot, just different styling, the tank does not look like a 500e tank but is similar. This bike was photographed in Queensland Australia, which is where I live, number plate is a dead give-away. As for the missing airbox, battery, that's just how you build café racers magic. Cheers