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Message started by Dave on 07/31/18 at 05:00:29

Title: What Honda is this?
Post by Dave on 07/31/18 at 05:00:29

I saw this photo of a Honda on a forum - but there was no mention of what it was or where it might have been sold. V-Twin, water cooled, shaft drive......MM and I would love a bike like this!

Anybody know what it is? It looks like a bike that would work well on road and also some off road. (NOTE: The side covers under the seat look to be a flexible piece of plastic/rubber zip tied into place.....the owner likely has taken off some factory bodywork).

http://i68.tinypic.com/1reuki.jpg

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Armen on 07/31/18 at 05:02:23

I believe it was an Ascot. The marketing geniuses had both a single and a twin called an Ascot. IIRC. Def sold in the US.

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Armen on 07/31/18 at 05:02:48

It came with street tires in the US.

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Dave on 07/31/18 at 05:09:07

Armen:

Yep.....you are correct. It appears the Ascot as a single until the 83/84 years when it became a V-Twin.

Nice looking bike. Probably doesn't make sense to try and find a 34 year old bike to use as reliable transportation.......finding parts is likely a chore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Ascot_(motorcycle)

https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-japanese-motorcycles/1984-honda-ascot-vt500

https://ridermagazine.com/2006/09/22/retrospective-honda-vt500ft-ascot-1983-1984/

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Ruttly on 07/31/18 at 05:56:48

That's not a Ascot , cruiser version , almost the same bike

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Serowbot on 07/31/18 at 07:27:42

It's a VT500 Shadow...
Great motor... 6 speed...
I rode one for a couple of years... Goofy styling, but good runner...
http://www.moto-opinie.info/imagedb/1510.jpg

Engine eventually enlarged for use in the Honda Hawk 650
http://https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/1988HondaHawkGT-02.jpg

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Dave on 07/31/18 at 07:45:56

It could be a "morphed" bike......the tank does look Cruiser, the instruments, mirrors, seat, front fender and footpeg location looks 83/84 Ascot.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2wf2xpe.jpg

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Serowbot on 07/31/18 at 08:09:07

I think you're right... it's an Ascot with a Shadow tank...
Same engine used in both.

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by MMRanch on 07/31/18 at 08:41:55

Dave ,

I think your right ! I would like that bike !! 500cc is big enough to pull hills and small enough to get 70mpg if ya behave your self.

Its got mag wheels (tubeless) :)

Wonder if its lucky enough to have only one Carb. ? :-?

At least its not "Chain Drive" , 8-)

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 07/31/18 at 09:13:39

I considered a VT500 for a cafe racer before choosing the LS650. LS has great forum support...the VT not so much.

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by zipidachimp on 07/31/18 at 14:25:26

owned both, both '83s, though not at the same time.
mine were painless, though some reported ignitor problems and clicking sound. 8-)
Everyone would be surprised by how many '500's honda has produced over the years, and they are still at it! (no, I haven't counted)

Title: Re: What Honda is this?
Post by faffi on 07/31/18 at 23:40:06

I had a 1983 Ascot twin, the bike I have owned the most years of all my bikes. In fact, I owned it 3 times in total ;D

The engine and drive train was shared with the 500 Shadow and 500 Euro. Mechanical parts are easy to find, but cloak like instruments, plastic and fuel tank as well as exhaust can be difficult if you want the bike to be stock. Way more Shadows were sold than Ascots.

The handling of the Ascot was typical cruiser; light but slow. If you tried to grab it by its horn and wrestle it into quick changes of direction, the frame would flex dramatically, causing instability. The period tests in Cycle, Motorcyclist and Cycle World spoke of almost limitless cornering clearance, but I was dragging parts within a couple of miles of taking possession. I raised mine 40 mm at the back with longer, stiffer Koni shocks made for the Magna V65 as well as Progressive fork springs with more preload. That helped. Pegs would still touch down lightly, but the Ascot is the only bike I've owned where I could see the tarmac had actually touched the tire sidewalls by a tenth of a mm or two.

I really liked the 18in rear wheel over the 16in on the Shadow; better looking and better handling and more cornering clearance. With a pair of 2-2 MAC pipes, the engine got more power everywhere and almost had sufficient midrange to stop having to shift down into 5th every time there was a headwind or a hill to climb.

The fuel tank only held 9.5 litres and the seat was a torture rack, but overall I really liked the bike. If a larger tank - the Shadow held 11 litres IIRC, but still too small - could easily be adapted, I would probably have kept the bike and had a shop make me a better seat. I would then also have upgraded the engine with parts from the Transalp 600 for more grunt. But instead I got something else. Should have kept it, though, as a city commuter it was next to perfect what with the shaft drive and superb reliability.

BTW, the same basic engine is still in production today in the Shadow 750 series.