new member with an old dream

hondaguy · Post by **hondaguy** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 10:11 pm

hello , i have been trolling here for the past month or so and found it a wealth of information.
I have a 1961 dream that i bought several year ago, unfortunately it is in very rough shape. . Now that my children have grown up and have moved out I finally have time to start to work on it.
I am starting to get it cleaned up. the engine turns over and has good compressing. I will probably try to get it running then pull it apart for paint and whatever repairs it needs. hopefully it will run but if not it will be rebuilt. I have ordered the bill silver manuals.

Mike

rustywrench · Post by **rustywrench** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:48 pm

Mike,
A hearty welcome to the forum. You will certainly benefit from hanging out here. Another manual you may consider is a Honda shop manual and a parts manual. Reproductions can usually be found on eBay and are worth their weight in gold IMHO . Keep us posted on your progress and when you come to a stone wall you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask.
My new pet peeve is the no follow up response so we never know if the help we've offered has helped or not. That is not directed to you as much as the other new folks who ask, get, and never even offer a thanks or FU. Please do post pics and let us know how you are doing on your project.
RW

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:40 am

Mike

Welcome to the Forum! Please post some pics of your Dream as that must be one of the earliest models in the US. I'm restoring a very rusty 1962 C72 Dream with pressed handlebars and the 'bug-eye' tank panels.

I have been doing the cycle parts while the weather was nice, but we are now into fall so the engine comes next.

G

hondaguy · Post by **hondaguy** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:11 pm

here are photos of the 61 dream, boy it is really an "Ugly Betty" I bought it for parts i needed for an equally ugly 1965 dream but when i found out it was a 61 I thought it was a better idea to fix up the 61. i will be stealing parts from the 65 so it will probably end up as a 62- 3/4.
I just got the bill silver engine manual wow what a great book.
The engine has compression and turns over good, is it worth trying to get it running or will i do more damage to the engine.
I have quite a few parts to shine it up, nos rims, spokes, handle bars and front headlight rim, i will probably check into having some of the other items re-chromed this winter
I am also looking for a front brake hub and tail light among other things the 61 has a smaller diameter hub and a small rectangular taillight.
Keeping busy cleaning up the rust and and tarnished aluminum.
I do have one question for the experts, i have looked in the forums and found different opinions on painting the side cases, were they painted from the factory or polished only.

Thanks Mike

jensen · Post by **jensen** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:07 am

Hi,

Very nice find, you won't see these often in the US.
The dream was delivered in three (and four in the US) colors, black, red and blue. The white dream is strange in Europe, something to do with regulations in that period.

Side cases are painted, not polished. The main cases are not painted.

The '61 did have a plate steer, instead of the tubular steer that is shown on the picture.

Jensen

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:04 am

Mike

That's a really nice find! As Jensen says - you probably should have the pressed steel (low) handlebars on there. I may have a spare rectangular rear light lens but they are not easy to find and consequently quite expensive.

Are your mufflers stainless? Nice if they are.

It looks very restorable for a bike of that age. I would think that a '61 Dream would be quite rare in the US. In Europe we had indicators and mine came with the (locking) brackets for a tire pump.

Apart from that fender and maybe the handlebars, it doesn't look like you are missing much.

G

brewsky · Post by **brewsky** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:48 am

hondaguy wrote:The engine has compression and turns over good, is it worth trying to get it running or will i do more damage to the engine.
Thanks Mike

Welcome and good luck with your project.

I would go ahead and try to get it running before I tore into the engine, no need fixing what isn't broke.

Tune up parts, petcock repair kit, oil change, valve adjustment, carb and gas tank cleaning was all it took to get mine going after sitting for years.

Make sure the bike will move with the clutch in gear and lever pulled before you start it and try to put it in gear. The clutch plates have a habit of sticking together after sitting over time.

Rectifier is also a weak link in the electrical system.

Keep us posted with pics