Ascot FT500 racer

I have been racing the Honda 500 singles for years. I got my first XL500 based race bike in about 1981. I then built a series of them that I raced over the next 10 years or so. I based them either on XL or FT 500s. They both work about the same and I always just used whatever I could get cheap and mixed and matched parts and engines as needed. Then I stopped road racing for a while and when I got back into it I built a variety of other stuff, like a CB350, and XJ550 Seca, and FZ 600 and then an SV650.

So, about 5 years ago I found and FT500 listed on craigslist that had been listed for a while and then the price started dropping the longer it was listed. I went to see it and offered $400. I got this beauty.

It had the the original muffler on it when I got it but I started playing with pipes that I had around. The PO did the awesome paint job. Overspray and everything.


I decided to dig into my spare parts and set it up to ride on the street.
I ended up here with parts I had and a few from e-bay

It has superbike bars, CBR600F wheels, CB700SC shocks and a VT750C front disc. I rode it on the street for a while before I decided I needed to make it a race bike to fit in WERA Vintage 2.


Ken

I really don't like the stock Ascot front forks. The leading axle and the long lowers don't make it for racing. Under racing use the front fork lowers have been known to fail. So, I put on a set of VF750F interceptor forks on it. The WERA V2 rules specify 18" wheels and and the front can't be wider than 2.5" and the rear 2.75". I went to E-bay and found a VF750S front wheel and a VF500F rear in those sizes and they are both 3 spoke wheels (Okay the front is really 6 spokes, but doesn't look too bad with the rear) I mounted up an Avon Am 22 110-18 front and an Am 23 130 - 18 rear race compound tires I had around. I also installed a 36mm flatslide Mikuni and a supertrapp pipe. That came with a couple of XL500s I had picked up. I also had some CBR600F4 Woodcraft rearsets that I had picked up in another deal for some bodywork and stuff.


The seat is an Airtech YZF750R unit that I had for some other project and the oil catch pan was something else that I had around, too. I raced it at a WERA race at Blackhawk farms a couple of years ago. I had a good time but had some carburation issues and the oil catch pan was dragging badly in the turns.

This doesn't have anything to do with my bike but is one of my favorite race bike pics,

This is Colin Edwards on that pathetic Aprilia GP bike when it burst into flames while he was riding it.

I decided I didn't like the 18" wheels when I had a set of CBR600F2 wheels sitting around with Bridgestone BT003 race DOTs mounted up. There were other classes I could run with the 17" wheels.


This is where it currently is. I am very happy with the chassis, handling and brakes. Next on the list is some engine work. That will be a megacycle cam that I have had sitting new in my tool box for 24 years. It will need shortened valve guides, hard welded and reshaped rocker arm pads and a valve springs. I run the wiseco 12.5:1 compression piston and will need to do some porting on the head, too.

Good looking bike!

Gotta love an Ascot thumper.

love the bikes ken, cxf (dirk/tom)

Awesome! What class are you running in? I would love to take my XT500 out on the track someday.

teledan said:

Awesome! What class are you running in? I would love to take my XT500 out on the track someday.

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It depends on which organization I am racing with that weekend. For CCS and CRA, it fits into the ultralight classes. With WERA it is V-4, Clubman, D superbike. With AHRMA it is one of the Sound of Singles classes.

The XT can be fun, I have raced them in the past. We had KZ 650 forks and wheel on the front and decent shocks on the back. They work pretty well like that.

Ken