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1952 Honda Dream E restoration project

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:50 pm
by smithenhiven
Figured I'd share this with everyone.

I just took delivery of this very old, very rare, Dream E-type.

Needs quite a few parts, but hopefully those can be sourced from around the globe (namely Japan), or custom made.

These are some pretty bad camera phone pics, I'll hopefully have some better ones as I start into the project.

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The neatest thing I think are the original tires, which show the Honda Dream "trade mark", I didn't know Honda had their own line of tires back then.

More to come, but fair warning this will be a slow project. My main concern is the engine, and I am mechanically declined, so I'm hoping to get some help from a local vintage motorcycle repair shop.

Thanks for looking, your questions, comments and concerns are more than welcomed.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:00 pm
by 68Cb77
wow.........

Now we're talkin...

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:14 pm
by Hippykid
Thats the coolest thing Ive seen this year...I would have had to have it too...I love
the rust on the wheel-You cant buy it downtown like that.....Can I ask what you paid?

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:00 am
by Jethro
Very interesting indeed. I can't wait to see more pics. Is that the original speedometer that I see? Amazing.

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:52 am
by brewsky
Here's another one ......looks like it is still available!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1954-Hon ... 4ab234aab4

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:40 am
by smithenhiven
Well, I'd rather not say what I paid, I will say it was a bit cheaper than the 3E and 4E that were (or maybe still are) being offered on ebay.

Yes, that is the original speedo/odo gauge, it's showing 4,888 kilometers (a little over 3,037 miles).

More pics to come, maybe later tonight as I start to carefully dismantle the bike.

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:31 pm
by Snakeoil
Neat bike. That engine looks like it is base on the DKW engine that was given to many countries after WWII. If that is the case, parts might be easier to find than you might expect. The DKW engine was the basis for the HD Hummer and quite a few other bikes in the late 40's, early 50's.

regards,
Rob