Track Day Tuesday – 1982 Honda FT500 Ascot Racer!

Break out those leathers. Dust off your knee sliders. It’s time for another Track Day Tuesday on RSBFS! And today’s find looks like a whole lot of fun. No longer the weak and basic entry-level commuter as Honda intended back in the early 1980s, this FT500 Ascot has been transformed into what looks like a track day beast. There is much to love about embracing simplicity with a bunch of cool upgrades, and the overall effect is, well, check it out for yourself.

1982 Honda FT500 Ascot Racer for sale on eBay

From the seller:
1982 Honda FT500 Ascot Frame XR500 Engine Vintage Road Racing Bike (AHMRA, CMRA, WERA)

This bike is unlike anything you have ever ridden. The ’82 Ascot is renowned for being a balanced good handling bike. Great sound from the big single “thumper” with it’s dual exhaust ports. Light, quick, precise steering and surprising power. Nothing is stock on this bike. Most everything was re-engineered. Lots of love and development went into its building and racing.

Frame: 1982 FT500 Ascot frame. All excess metal cut off. The “back bone” boxed & reinforced.

Rear Suspension: 1992 Honda CBR600F2 custom modified swingarm with Penske triple adjust rear mono shock, 4.5 inch width F3 wheel and Nissin performance rear disc brake, new master cylinder.

Front Suspension: 1998 CBR600F3 (ex HRC Ben Bostrom factory bike) front end and Showa forks, F3 front wheel, dual Nissin performance front disc brakes, new Nissin radial master cylinder, stainless braided lines, Renthal grips, external racing steering dampener, clip-on bars, ‘glass lightweight F3 fender.

More from the seller:
Engine: 1980 XR500 single, bored and sleeved to 568cc, Wiseco 12.5 to 1 comp piston, valve to piston clearance and decked for maximum performance. Cylinder head fitted with Kibblewhite Black Diamond 1mm over intake and exhaust valves with seats, ported and polished chamber & runners for max flow, Mega Cycle roller cam, Mega Cycle race springs and keepers, titanium valve spring caps. Eral’s remote oil cooler with steel braided lines and aluminum compression fittings. Nology high performance coil, magneto driven (no battery). Kill switch (required). Fresh Motul 300V 15W50 (only the best!).

Carb: 39mm Keihin flat slide with hand-made aluminum velocity stack for smooth acceleration. Jetted to run strong on 110 Octane leaded race fuel.

Exhaust: Custom built Stainless steel 2 into 1 header with a Termignoni carbon fiber can off a 1099 Ducati cut down for sound and performance. Custom aluminum bracket.

Driveline: Stock transmission, chain gearing uses oversize front / undersize new rear custom sprockets (Sprocket Specialists), new CCI 520 XRing racing chain. Custom rear-sets.

Tires: Fresh Shinko 008 Race slicks (tire warmers recommended) 120/60R17 & 150/60R17 sizes

Fresh tank and side cover paint to match original (Ferrari red), race decals, lots of attitude. Aircraft style quick release fasteners. Hand formed aluminum catch pan.

More from the seller:
Bike comes with a custom built “Flat Track” style electric starter with battery (see pic). Way better than even more expensive electric roller starters.

Lots of spares: 1- XR500 and 1- FT500 engine (both disassembled), 2 CBR600F2 swingarms, engine and transmission internals,, drive sprockets, & misc. hardware in large plastic totes with lids. Race stand included.

It’s a blast to ride and will make more modern 600cc bikes look bad on the track. This is a great vintage “track tool” that is ready to go…. Or just put it into your collection.

Own a unique, “one of a kind” historic racing motorcycle.

Track day bikes can be as basic and stock as taping up the headlight(s), taillight and turn signals. Some folks take that a step further and remove some of the street pieces entirely. But to create a race bike is one step further committed, from safety wiring brakes and drainplugs to engine and chassis upgrades specifically for competition. This FT500 Ascot can trace its roots back to the lowly commuter bike of yore, but looks stunning and menacing it its present form. The best part? You could not build this for what is on offer. Opening bid starts at a lowly $4k, and the Buy It Now is $6k. This has already gone a round or so on eBay without selling, but interest will surely come. Fancy a little circuit training the RSBFS way? Check out all the details on this sweet build of a racer, and Good Luck!!