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Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
2620

Capacity : 500
Model : FT Ascot
Production : 1981 - 1982
Category : (R) Street Bike

HONDA

FT500 Ascot - 1982

When the heart overruled the head

The commercial success of a product stems from its intrinsic qualities. But many other, more subtle, factors come into play, like its positioning in the marketplace or whether or not it's launched at the right moment. In the case of a motorcycle, there's also an emotional element that can render conventional marketing strategies impotent. The Honda FT500 is a case in point.

Golden Age of the Big Single

When it was launched, in the spring of 1982, big singles were enjoying an extraordinary boom. It was the golden age of the single-cylinder trail bikes, whose sales had been pushed to new heights by the enthusiasm generated by the Paris-Dakar rally. However, commercial logic dictated that a smart manufacturer insured the "refreshing" of his products by including a "strong" model; the strategy also required variants to be spin-offs.

Lack of Excitement

That was the case with the SR500 Yamaha, the highway version of the famed XT500. Since the launch of the XT500, Honda had been chasing Yamaha in an effort to close the sales gap in single-cylinder machines and had created a highway version off its XLS trail bike, calling it the FT500 Ascot. But if the SH500 recalled British bikes, the FT500 Ascot borrowed the "exotic" styling of American dirt track machines – "FT" stood for "Flat Track" and Ascot was in honor of America's famed Ascot dirt track. It was a bad decision. The Honda Ascot did not live up to the excitement of its name and some potential customers were far more excited by Paris-Dakar than by American dirt track racing.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 458cc (89x80mm) air-cooled single cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 34.7 hp @ 6500 rpm

Valves: overhead-camshaft; 4 valves

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 5-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: telescopic forks (front); swing

arm with twin spring/dampers (rear)

Brakes: disc (front & rear)

Wheels: 19 inch light-alloy (from & rear)

Weight: 350 lb

Maximum Speed: 90 mph

Handsomely styled, the Honda FT500 Ascot pioneered electric starting in the single-cylinder category.





Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.