The Ascot 500 Forum > Welcome

New guy from Canada

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J6G1Z:
You will love a new front tire. Nothing changes the vague feeling & handling like new rubber! Try not to go cheap on tires if you can afford it. I like the Avon Road Riders, but there are plenty of other good tires out there.

What type of problems did you have with the original muffler? Or are you just trying to find some more performance/sound? The bike rides pretty good with the original muffler. The EMGO slip on reverse megaphones are the cheapest & easiest mufflers to use on the FT that I am aware of. Unless you can find a great deal on a Sport-Bike take off canister style muffler.

I'm not a big fan of Cafe type of bars on Ascots as the bike is just not layed out well for Cafe bars. Usually when a bike receives Cafe style of bars, or clip-ons, the seat height is reduced somewhat also, to lower you into the top of the bike. The Ascot is designed to be ridden more like a dirt bike & is very comfortable with that style of riding. Plus many times the Cafe bars will allow your hand controls to make contact or dent your fuel tank at full steering lock.

The headlight is easy to swap if you just can't stand the rectangular headlight. Once again... EMGO has several round headlights, mounts & turn signals to choose from. I went with this one (with black turn signals) from this seller: http://www.speedmotoco.com/product-p/smc.404.mofo.htm Here are several other headlights from the same seller: http://www.speedmotoco.com/category-s/48.htm  Whatever headlight you end up using, make sure that the mounting ears are very solid so the headlight won't vibrate. Below are a couple of pictures of my headlight assembly. (Please excuse the left turn signal not being straight.  :-[ ) Notice how beefy the headlight mounts are. They just "kiss" the fuel tank at full turn on each side, but they are solid. You will need mounts that will attach to 37mm fork tubes if I recall correctly. All the Honda wiring will just fit into that headlight bucket & it has the same type of cut outs on the back side to allow for the wires. The headlight itself just plugged right in to the original connector. You will also need to relocate the horn when you swap headlights. Here you can use your imagination. I made a simple "L" shaped bracket & mounted a smaller diameter horn just above the handlebar lock. This location is ideal for sound being sent forward, but it prevents me from centering the headlight between the triple clamps.

If & when you change the turn signals, you may need to change out the flasher to a modern lower draw flasher unit. I used this one from SuperBrightLEDs: http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/motorcycle-accessories/lf1-s-pin-universal-motorcycle-electronic-flasher/193/841/  I have LED lighting in the back, small incandescent up front & this flasher worked for me. I've heard that adding a resistor to the turn signal lead will allow you to keep the old flasher, but I don't know how to determine the correct size resistor.

When you change your oil. Make sure that you use a motorcycle specific oil like Hondalube, Yamalube, Golden Spectro, etc. Do not use standard automotive oil as it no longer has the additives that a motorcycle engine requires. If all else fails & you can't use a motorcycle oil for whatever reason... Use some Rotello or Delo 400 diesel engine oil. Oil filters are becomming hard to find. Last I knew, Mark at ThumperStuff has filters in stock. You might as well pick up a couple of them, or a 6-pack. If you place an order from ThumperStuff, you might as well order the two jets that are required to perform the jetting upgrade as described in the "Ascot Essentials", plus a 16 or 17 tooth countershaft sprocket. The jets & the countershaft sprocket upgrade really go together well to allow your bike to perform at its best.

That's about it. Good luck & get her going... The snow is melting.
J.

Jake2345:
So alittle update.....and sorry about the late replies I've been very busy at work and with life in the last 2 months...I have been riding the bike since it cme out of the shop and started noticing stuff that wa either done incorrectly or not done at all....so I had to fix lot of things...however t hasn't stopped me from enjoying this great bike! Now my issues, I have a oil leak... It is the valve cover, I still have been able to do my fork seals but that's on the list... Also noticed that I hear a clanking sound, got told it is my automatic chain tensioner inside the block...read up on it and apparently once it is gone you just replace it...is that true? Or could it be something else?

J6G1Z:
I was able to fix my valve cover leak with a piece of glass & some fine wet & dry sanding paper.

I removed the valve cover from the engine & then flipped it over & carefully removed the O-ring from the valve cover (Be gentle with the O-ring as you need to re-use it). I then took a sheet of about 400 grit wet & dry sand paper & taped it to the flat piece of glass. I then added a little water & started sanding the inside side of that valve cover. Use a very gentle even pressure across the valve cover & sand in a figure 8 pattern to equally remove material. You just want to evenly remove enough material to allow that old O-ring to stand out more when re-assembled. Make sure that you clean the part real well of any sanding residue before re-assembly.

I kind of cheated when I put mine back together. I applied a light finger smear of black RTV to the O-ring & then snugged it up evenly. Be careful not to over tighten the fasteners.

Can't really help you with the clanking noise. Do you have a Honda Service Manual that you can refer to yet? If not, then you better make that your next purchase. You need a "real" Honda Service Manual to help you. It will pay for itself in a short time.

Good luck
J.

Jake2345:
Hmm ok, well I'm gonna try and tackle that very soon, but I'm gonna try and put up a photo for ya too see what I'm working with

J6G1Z:
No wonder it leaks... Your bike is upside down.  ;D

J.

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