Unusual ft500....

[Propellor]

.....to say the least!

http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2016/02/23/honda-ft500-h-garage.html

Visually....er.......challenging!

[manxie]

Hmmm? sorry but IMHO I think they`ve ruined a nice bike. 

[timbo]

Looks great. Apart from the tank and seat unit that is!!! 

[SteveC#222]

.....er.......no

[steveD]

Absolutely appalling and looks real cramped.

[CrazyFrog]

God, that tanks a real ball buster isn't it.

I had an FT500 back in the early eighties, and just about the only good thing about it IMHO was the looks....

[timbo]

I've always been told they were rubbish, with serious starting problems, but I've met a couple of owners who love them and reckonedmthey never had any problems 
They do have a certain flat tracker style 
Somebody who knows what theyre doing, please post a pic of a stock one on here?

[SteveC#222]

They weren't a bad looking bike in the day, my girlfriend had one and it seemed OK. Main problem was that it was rushed together to compeat with the SR500 and they didn't get it right, not much more power/speed than a 250 and dodgy leccy start with no kicker backup.

[CrazyFrog]

....not much more power/speed than a 250 and dodgy leccy start with no kicker backup.

I can add to this list Steve - if my example was anything to go by you can include poor finish and very questionable handling too.

[guest1247]

Regarding the picture of the stock FT500.... Would that be the one I saw recently in DK Motorcycles..?  ( on the A34, northbound out of Newcastle under Lyme ). I stopped the wagon outside of there 3 or 4 weeks ago. Something rather tasty in the window caught my eye.... Whilst having a browse, I saw an FT500, in absolutely remarkable original condition... The engine looks very similar to the RS250... Anybody know it's origins ..? ( Steve D , is it similar to yours..? ). Tony.

[Propellor]

.....Something rather tasty in the window caught my eye....

Busty blonde?

[Propellor]

I liked the style of the ft when it first came out. Was tempted but the low power output put me off. I wasn't particularly turned on by the big bikes of the time and preferred middleweights, but needed a bit more power at the time.

I think the looks of the ft still hold up well to modern eyes, but the headlight is too high.

[timbo]

Totally agree, for a stock bike from that time, it still looks great, but well pointed out about the headlamp. Totally ridiculous looking. Alison tells me that many moons ago, a previous boyfriend of the time, used to wheelie his up and down the main street in Antrim   
I was offered one for years for £400. of course, when i asked the guy about it recently, he said it was sold to someone who wanted to cafe it.

[SteveC#222]

Regarding the picture of the stock FT500.... Would that be the one I saw recently in DK Motorcycles..?  ( on the A34, northbound out of Newcastle under Lyme ). I stopped the wagon outside of there 3 or 4 weeks ago. Something rather tasty in the window caught my eye.... Whilst having a browse, I saw an FT500, in absolutely remarkable original condition... The engine looks very similar to the RS250... Anybody know it's origins ..? ( Steve D , is it similar to yours..? ). Tony.

I'm not sure where the picture was taken, just one I found on Google but there can't bethat many original FT's around so could well be.

I believe I'm right in saying that the engine was basically the XL500S unit ( as the RS 250 was based on the XL250) so similar engines. I don't think Honda really developed the XL 500 unit much, just stuck the leccy boot on it in place of the kickstart - I don't think they even did much with the gear ratios hence the lack of speed on the road.

I seem to recall my girlfriend at the time picking it up from a local bike shop after trading in her 250 RS ( nicer bike by far) and popping an inadvertant  wheelie up the road!

You could probably make a decent bike from it with a bit of mild tuning - plenty of bits available for the XL/XR 500. Still like the styling but, yes, the headlight isn't quite right.