I Bought a Brand New 40 year Honda Motorcycle

From 1982 - 1985 I worked at a Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki dealership, and my main job was putting together bikes packed just like this. Brings back a lot of memories.

There must be hundreds or more of these new old stock bikes scattered across the country at dealerships. That’d be a fantastic series! I purchased a ‘00 ZX-12R from a dealer in Texarkana some years back that was still in the crate. Good times.

Sweet find. I was working in a Honda dealership 20yrs ago when a guy rode in on a shockingly immaculate 60s Hawk or Super Hawk. I goggled gaped and gasped. Guy said it was found in a wooden crate in a relative's basement. She looked and ran like new. Just sitting in a crate for decades. Rich black paint, gleaming chrome, gauges perfect. Even the rubber looked good. I'm still in awe.

I had that exact bike when I lived in Arizona in the early 90's. Unfortunately it was stolen and never recovered. I miss it dearly and all of the memories that were made with it. If you ever sell it let me know. Enjoy it.

Grew up on a 1982 CB 450. Seeing you put that time machine back together damn near brought a tear to my eye. Beautiful find, excellent bike.

Thank you for bringing back some incredible memories. My first street bike was a 1982 Honda Ascot FT500, exactly like this one. I bought it in March of '83 from the Honda dealer in Shawnee, OK. Unfortunately, I totaled it the summer of '85. I was on my way to work and broadsided a young Limousine bull that spooked and ran out an open gate and into the road. The bull wasn't hurt, and I just had minor scrapes, but my Ascot's frame was bent beyond repair.

I am proud of Honda's technological capabilities in Japan. Thank you for the video.

I've been working at a body shop for a bit now and extra tips I learned was if you're painting the door, it's better to take off the mirror and belt molding (the trim at the bottom of the window) for a better paint job in the end. The mirror can get in the way, and if you're unlucky, the clear coat could stick in that gap between the door and the belt molding.

I got one, and it's the greatest little bike ever! Groms, Monkeys, Benelli 135s are gobbled up easily. I'm late to the party on this but the pictures of the ascot at 1:55 is the twin that came out in 1983. The 1982-83 FT500 was/is a single cylinder. Also the single was chain driven and the twin was a shaft drive. I love old 70s,80s Hondas. It takes an in the know guy not to mess up the starter. Don't grind it! It will run highway well but realize it's a 500 single. When I ride it , it always delivers and old guys love seeing it. It should do that 350 miles back to Lancaster easily. The gas mileage is exceptional. And it wheelies so easily !

I'm old enough to remember these bikes. This is a major score!...back in the 80's Honda dealers were stuck with too much inventory & they were offering deep, deep discounts! I purchased a Nighthawk 650 in the crate, dealer assembled for $1395 out the door!

I am so glad I clicked on this video! I had a 1984 Honda Ascot as my very first bike at 16 years old! Looked exactly like this. Really cool to see one come right out of the crate!

Weird Tip: Keep your old toothbrushes instead of pitching them, toss them in a jar of isopropyl or ethyl alcohol and label them "cleaning brushes" and keep them in the garage. Then when you have situations like that brake "dust" you can get in there and scrub it nice and clean without jacking up a good knife or cutting yourself. The alcohol keeps them clean but will evaporate from any surface so there's no residue. They've been super useful in my little shop.

I love vintage Hondas! I'm all about it for sure. Just redid the fork seals and new tires on my '87 Shadow VT700C.

I was a salesman at a motorsports company in 1993 and a similar thing happened to us. One of the employees found two, brand-new mid-1980's on-road/off-road motorcycles in unopened crates in the warehouse. We put them out on the floor and they sold almost immediately.

just love those yellow wing emblems on fuel tank's sides! beautiful rig!

For some reason, your video reminded me of a widowed friend of my wife's who had an estate sale 2 years ago. I went to help get things in order. In one of the barns, under a tarp, of course, was a 50-year-old, 1970, Honda Trail 90 (CT90) with just under 50 miles on the odometer...pretty much in mint condition. I tried to convince her to let me find someplace to list the bike to make good money as nobody in these parts would pay what it was worth. However, she was insistent that she wanted everything to sell, garage sale style, in two weekends. She put a price of $2000 on it and ended up selling it for $500. Sheez! But I didn't give her any grief, as she sold me many older, but in new condition, power tools (i.e., cordless reciprocating saw, cordless blower, router, compound miter saw with a portable stand, portable generator, etc.) for pennies on the dollar, (not to mention that the year before, she sold me an RV trailer for about $5000 less than she could have gotten if she had advertised). Thanks for your video!

I bought my '97 CBR1100XX new in the spring of 1998. I was in the market for one and the dealer checked their computer and it said they had 1 new one left. I remember being back in the warehouse and it was buried behind 3 or 4 other bikes in boxes. They finally got it out and opened up the box. It was packaged very similar to the FT in the video- steel frame with cardboard around it and some assembly required. The windshield and upper fairing were not attached and the clip-on bars were folded back. It was really neat to see it "from birth". I still have the bike.

Wow how cool to find a 40 year old Honda still boxed up. Would love to know how much you paid for it! Amazing find! 👍👍🔥🔥🔥

Loved them, still do. My first street ride was on a new Ascot FT in the summer of 1982, a friend’s new purchase. A whopping 6, maybe 8 miles, but it was still very memorable. I bought my first new street bike in April 1986, a Honda VF500 Interceptor, but I convinced my best buddy to buy a used Ascot FT so we could ride together. I did some rudimentary hop-up mods to his bike, jet kit, F1 slip-on, even a mild cam, and I would eventually eventually talk him into loaning it to me so I could take my road racing new rider’s school on that bike. I wired it up and prepped it for the track, and scooted around the track in October 1987, successfully getting my race license. I’ve been road racing ever since, and I still have a soft spot for the FT, such a classic design, even if America didn’t get the little thumper. I have raced and ridden a metric ton of bikes since then, but oddly, to the best of my recollection, I don’t think I have ever ridden a VT… 🤔

I had a VT 500 - In the UK they were the replacement for the super popular CX 500 - both were shaft drive and very popular because of their reliability with the Motorcycle dispatch riding community. It was never a great looking bike, but dam I miss that machine. I don't think the FT made it to the UK.