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Ascot.....

tkent02

tkent02

Forum LongTimer
Past Site Supporter
Somehow, I've been looking at Honda Ascots in the local Craigslist, ever since reading about "the Loser" which was an Ascot that was ridden very hard and put away wet. Are they any good? Anything to avoid? Carbs hard to work on?
 
The 500 single version? I don't know much about them other than that basic engine was used in a lot of dirt bikes and was reasonably durable. Two header pipes as I recall even though it was a single. Pretty neat bike with lots you can do to hop it up.

Honda also had a v-twin bike, VT-500, that might have also been an Ascot. I think those grew into a 650 version in later years with a single sided swingarm. Nice bikes but kind of slow. Not a Tkent sort of bike, or at least that's what I think on first blush.
 
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i learned to ride on a 500 single Ascot, fun bike as I recall, light with a high center of gravity.
 
My cousin has the VT500....84 I believe (60,000miles)...bought it new.....has been riding for 50 years...says it's one of the most fun bikes he has ever owned....and bullet proof! I think they look cool too!
 
Rusting from the inside of the frames was an issue here - you couldn't see it till the thing snapped in half.
 
The twin is the one I'm considering, like this one:



https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-htn3gQH/0/O/The Loser.jpg


I live in a very dry place, dryer than Arizona, dryer than Utah, rust isn't an issue on anything. I have a few frames that have been sitting outside for years, the bare spots are not even surface rusted.

But thanks for the info, at least I know to get one that's been in Colorado since new.
 
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On the singles, sometimes the inner pipe of the double walled exhaust header will break free and rattle.
 
I have the Hawk GT descendant of the Ascot at least the motor is.,( 649 cc + chain drive.)I think it is the same engine family as the Deauville. easy bike to work on, small tank, (big deal.)
the airbox is way too small and the bike runs and sounds much nicer if you give it more air, carburation was real easy to dial in and the carbs were dead simple to R&R. (the hawk is a perimeter frame)
supertrapp pipe,,, a very visceral bike to ride. (sounds like "an axe murderer running through a church")
the torque curve is dead flat, electric motor.
I have been wanting to pick up a VT 500 ascot for a while now to use for a "desert sled" logging road tourer. too bad its shaft drive, but thats not a deal breaker.
 
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the party is over around 8000 rpm. makes nice noises though,
the hawk at least is like a powered bicycle, but its probably 50 / 60 lbs lighter than the Ascot.
As far as power goes the Hawk realistically... about 50 hp (thats 650cc) the ascot at 500cc, with power sucking shaft drive, significantly less.
think Briggs and Stratton,
for some reason its a fun bike (NT650)
 
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Hawk GT's aren't the fastest bikes, but man are they fun on a twisty road if properly set up. I've had mine for 21 years now and have only had to do minimal maintenance in that time. I just had to replace the original chain (sprockets looked almost new, but replaced them anyway) a month ago at over 43K miles, and have only had to adjust the valves once in the last 21 years. Just bought a second one 8 months ago. This one has a wider front wheel (better tire selection) and the engine bumped to 700cc's. Both will eventually be passed down to my son who loves Hawks. "It almost rides itself" is what he says about them. Picture of him on his '88 Hawk GT at his first track day. He has since sold it so he could buy a Triumph Daytona 675, but misses the Hawk. He's also the one in my avatar, taken shortly after I bought the first Hawk GT.
A64F9319.jpg
 
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My first bike was a Ascot. Great bike for what they cost I think I paid $250 for mine in running condition. Sold it for $1300 6 years later. I had the red one, they only came in red and black. Lost of torque from that 89mm piston but it is under carbed. I put a flat slide 35mm mikuni on mine and removed the inner pipes from the header with a F1 racing exhaust. Got rid of the airbox and put a K&N on it which really woke up the bike. fun fun bike to ride and light but the forks do have some flex in them when you ride hard through the twisties. Parts for the gauges are hard to come by if you can find them at all. The really bad part of the design was the electric starter they added when they made it a street bike. If it works well with no weird noise your good but can be problimatic if its been abused by cranking and cranking when it wont start. But there is a fix for a starter gear issue. Kind of gutless above 80mph but it gets there quickly and it has a great exhaust sound. If you get one with a bad seat I have a perfect spare I need to get rid of. Woops all that said and now I see you are looking for a VT500....Dam
 
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I think both versions look very nice. I enjoy doing mod-stock, either one of these would look very cool. Especially the v-twin.
 
GS1150Pilot said:
XR500 motor ... bulletproof!
Click to expand...


Um....,no.

The first one I bought new burned up its top end on warranty. Honda knew what they were doing when they gave them a 6 month warranty. In the first La Carrera road race in Mexico, XR variants didn't finish. My dad had one, and I inherited it when he passed. He loved it. I sold it to my nephew. His GB500 was too low, and his Suzuki 600 single cruiser was too far the other way. He was talking Buell Blast, and I talked him into checking out an Ascot. It was his favorite bike ever. He liked to put around on old farm and logging roads at a slow pace, and ride the paved back roads.

They are a little small, and slow. They handle OK. Suspension is too soft. They are cute. The counterbalancers work. The only problem that is pretty severe is something in the starter that breaks. Supposedly it is common, but I haven't seen it ever in the two I had. My nephew put a take-off GS1100G round light on his when my brother installed an 8" from a 1100E. Giant improvement in styling. Last time I rode it, I was shocked at how wobbly the levers were.
 
What year did you own? A '79? We had several early '80's versions among our friends and they were unbreakable.
 
I don't remember what years mine were. My brother and I rode up to Yosemite to camp out. He rode the Ascot I bought for him. I had to drop needles on the Commando I was riding, and didn't get the balance tube on the Mikunis right. It was running really lean, and I kept messing with it on the way between Lee Vining and Mojave, and didn't figure out what was wrong until the next morning. I wasn't pulling the carbs to do it. We ran across the desert South on 395 to Mojave at about 70 to 75 into a head wind with the Commando not running well. I did not know that the Honda was flat out and overheating. There aren't that many fins on the head on those things. I still like them OK, but I don't think that running one flat out on a hot day is a good idea. The motors are not strong enough.

As an aside, we were robbed at the motel in Mojave. Someone actually came in and took our wallets while we slept. Unlocked the door, and lifted up the little chain and everything.
 
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