80 MPH WITH A 6-8 MPH TAIL WIND!80 MPH WITH A 6-8 MPH TAIL WIND!I've often wondered about the maximum top speed for my 1966 Dream. Still not sure what that would be, but I did hit 80 for about a quarter of a mile flat strecth with about a 6 to 8 mph tail wind. I'm a slow cruiser by nature but this made me feel pretty good being that the manual for these bikes idicates 87 as top speed when they were new and rifght out of the box. Just wanted to share that with you guys! The attaced photo is the bike I was aboard.
Well, that's about 5 mph braver than I've been on mine. I haven't had the inclination to try to push it any faster than that. Much about 60 and I stop feeling comfortable on the Dream. It doesn't feel dangerous, just not comfortable. That said, it loves 50-55. Feels like it was meant to go that speed. Nothing faster, but I also have a hard time going slower.
By the way, that white looks really sharp - especially with the tires. I was very tempted to repaint mine white (the original color). Have gone back and forth between being happy with my decision and sometimes not. The white makes the Dream stand out in a crowd of already distinctive old Hondas. Perhaps the only solution is to get yet another and have a checkered pair. Jeff _______________________
Ellicott City, MD (USA) - near Baltimore 1966 CA77 Dream 1979 CX500 1996 Suzuki DR350 Yes Jeff, you and I are not that different about speed. My bike cruises effortlessly at about 60 and I very seldom exceed that. I got seduced by the temptation of wide open highway with no cross streets and just decided to go for it. Also, I appreciate the compliment as I have always been partial to white every since I was a kid and my brother drove a white sport Honda 50. It does get a lot of attention when I take her out as I'm sure yours does as well. These are very uniquely stylish bikes!
Take care man! Rob.... dream speedRob;I have found that a 305 dream with a fresh engine on level ground will easily hit 80mph indicated(for what thats worth). I have also found that those Coker tires on your bike will scare the Bejeesus out of you at about 50mph. get some Cheng shin's 289's, new air cleaners, rebuild the front end, and go out and carve some canyons.
Randy
Hi Rob,
Yes, the dream can go fast if the bike is in good condition, as the engine is a super hawk engine with one carburettor and a 360 crank. Mine did 98 miles an hour (garmin zumo 550), no wind, 17 degrees and dry, lying flat and having patience (it took 3.5 miles to reach it, at least one mile to go from 90 to 98 miles / hour). It reached this speed on the dyno first (controlled environment), and later on the road. The engine and suspension are a little "tweaked", but not much. It has modern tyres too. The problem with the stability of the dream is the front suspension arm and the damper characteristics of the rear shock. Be sure the bearings of the suspension arm is in perfect condition, I pushed in bronze bushings to achieve that. Front, but especially the rear shocks are under damped, so I put in "stiffer" oil in to the shocks (had to renew the oil anyway). The cylinder head is flowed, and the intake is balanced. As the dream has one carburettor only, the intake has to be balanced perfectly, otherwise the mixture isn't divided evenly to each cylinder. The ignition is standard, with a 360 degree's crank it's much easier to set the timing right (compared to the CB72 / CB77). The mufflers are the early stainless ones (they fit the late C77's and C78's). The early mufflers are more "open" then the later ones. These mufflers not only make the engine run better in the high rpm region, they also sounding better (louder). I never had the intention to give it more power, just a better "laufkultur". It's German for performance characteristics, but it's not a perfect translation. 1) Before you try, make sure the mixture is a little on the rich side (one step bigger main yet) 2) make sure you have enough tarmac to let it rev (revs slowly, especially the high regions) 3) calculate the speed where you hit 10.000 rpm ( no rev counter) and stop pulling if you reached that speed. At speeds above 60 mph the engine is like a turbine, and it has no vibrations. The sound is great, but the intake noise of the CB72 / CB77 is more impressive. At these speeds the frame is showing it's age, and doesn't give you positive feedback, but it never felt dangerous too. High speed cornering (long corners on high way's) is feeling dangerous, so I avoid that. Of course it makes no sense to compare the handling with modern bikes, it's not even comparable with a good CB72 / CB77, but in it's days the C71 / C76 and later the C72 and C77 where seen as super bikes, and compared to the bikes in that time (1959 / 1960) they were. Jensen assembly of Japanese motorcycles requires great peace of mind (Pirsig)
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