Rookie w/no idea

kunasw · Post by **kunasw** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:55 pm

Hi,

I fell in love with Honda Dream 305 CA 77 and bought one (1966 w/17000mi) off craigslist a while ago.
I soon realized I tumbled myself into unknown world of vintage motorcycles and have no knowledge what so ever.
I got stressed because one of the cylinder kept on goin off. (The bike was is in original condition).
It was running fine at the beginning.
I put a cover on the bike and decided to concentrate on my M1 licence and now I just got it.

I tried to start the bike recently, and ofcourse it won't start.

I'm sort of contemplating whether I should get rid of it or somehow get it fixed.
17000 miles on the bike that has been around for more than 40 years some how scares me to keep it. But it is so BEAUTIFUL!
I guess the easiest way of fixing is to take it to a shop and pay some $$ to get it running but afraid of running into same trouble again.
Maybe I can learn to work on it but I have NO IDEA!
I'm not a mechanic but a craftsmen. I know how things work in general.

What do you think that would be a best bet?

KentuckyDream · Post by **KentuckyDream** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:34 pm

When I got mine, I had never worked on an engine before. Buy every manual you can find, and ask alot of questions on here. Before long, it will all start to make some sense, and you can have it running in no time. Good luck, and don't get discouraged.

rgtaylor2 · Post by **rgtaylor2** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:10 pm

The best I could offer is to spend a few hours reading this forum, and above all, hang in there.
These bikes tend to offer you simple problems that are pretty easy to solve. I too would have quit, but for a few folks on this site.

You will be glad to read the replies from LOUD MOUSE, joewier1, e3steve, davomoto, britman, kustommusic, Phil-UK, Vince Lupo, Hahnda, Dogsbd, ggray, piecutter, 3BeanCrispy, gun, jesmed and to restore, look for 4shorts post.
I have missed many who take this site to a new level on the net.

My thanks to Michael Stoic.

kunasw · Post by **kunasw** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:55 am

Thanks guys for the encouragement.
I now start to think that it might become pretty fun thing to spend time doing things rather than drinking beer and watching TV.
Can you guys suggest a set of tools I need to get as a beginner, and how much $$ this new hobby is going to cost?
Also is it impossible to do this w/o a garage?
I parked her in the corner of my apartment parking lot.... pretty sad..

mike69 · Post by **mike69** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:19 am

I did both of my Dreams on my back porch. It's been a great experience rebuilding them both for the last 5 years. It changed my life in a very positive way. I was a couch potato before. Spare time spent watching tv. Because of these bikes I got into computers (had to find parts) which I had no interest in before. Talked to people from all over the world. Got into buying and selling on e-bay as a way of paying for the restorations. Got back into riding bikes after 30 yrs. I had no previous experience working on bikes before this. Learned how to repair the Dreams and also my 78 Goldwing. It's great to have forum like this to help you with what you can't figure out on your own. (wish I had found it sooner!)
Tools: buy Honda repair manual ,available from time to time on e-bay.
A great source for original parts, Nick at Ohio Cycle.
Stay with it,you'll learn a lot.