Fixing Up A Barn Bike
Runs Pretty goodThis past week has been very busy. In addition to planting the vegetable garden and helping a neighbor fix all four the of the mailboxes in the neighborhood, I got the CA77 running right, I fabricated tie-down brackets and bolted them on the Dream to strap my rain suit to, I insured and licensed the bike as an antique, I sewed a seat cover and installed it with some padding.
YES I CAN SEW, YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING OF IT. Mrs. Turtle’s sewing machine is the same brand as my chainsaws. I think there was one more thing that I did, Oh Yea I remember, I went to work so I could pay for this crazy hobby. My deadline for getting the old Dream road worthy was Saturday 6/8/13, the start of Laconia NH Bike Week 2013, which was yesterday. It was supposed to be a total rain-out, but on Saturday morning the weather report had changed the storm front moved through the area a lot faster than expected. The trip was a go. I had put only 15 miles on the bike up to this point. This was the iron-man of shakedown rides, 120 miles round trip that included everything from highway to hilly, curvy, country roads. The Dream ran great, it bobbed and weaved nimbly through town traffic, tackled the hills and curves gracefully, and maintained 60-65 MPH on flat highway. The left engine cover is dripping a little oil and the plugs have a little carbon. Sometimes I would miss second and end up in either neutral or between second and third. When I hit the shifter again it would go into third. This could have been because I had trouble getting my big boot between the peg and the shifter. The minute I parked it anywhere people want to look, talk, or ask about it. This little bike is just too much fun, as confirmed by my Harley riding buddy. He wanted to try the Dream so we swapped bikes 10 miles from home on the way back. I did not care for his ape hanger forward control Harley. After 5 miles I pull over to swap the bikes back and he passed right by. He told me later that the little Dream so fun he wanted ride it more so he just kept going. I still have work to do on on this Dream and my next two projects are SOHC CB750s, but when I'm done those I going to look for another small bike. Turtle.
Last edited by turtle racer on Sat Dec 28, 2013 11:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
Winter update and Thank YouNow that winter is in full swing and my work shop is cold as hell. I thought I would add some additional photos to my previous post and write a few words.
Over the summer I put over a 1000 miles on the old Dream. That's not to bad considering I licensed it as an antique and I'm only supposed to ride to and from special events. I even entered it in a local auto show and brought home a trophy. Every one got a trophy, it was handed to you when you paid the entrance fee. :) I enjoyed every second in the saddle, favoring the 64 305 Dream over my 77 CB750 for the around town and just for fun rides. I realized, after reading over my past post, that I never credited the bike and builder that inspired me to tackle this project. Thank You Sascha for Bush League. Its a great bike, and without it, I would have never seen a beat up, rusty, old Dream for for what it could be. On a down note my Dream has developed a serious transmission problem. It sometimes slips out of fourth and sometimes the gears lock up, to where I really have to play with it to get into any gear, so I'll be trolling the site trying to figure out how to fix that. Thanks Turtle
Last edited by turtle racer on Wed Dec 18, 2013 3:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Funny True StoryIf there's one story that sums up my adventurers riding the 305 Dream, it this.
My Harley riding buddy talked me into meeting him at a local biker/county/classic rock bar. The parking lot is always full of big V twins. Me, and nothing I ride is going to fit into a place like that. So I decided, if I not going to fit in, than I’m really not going to fit in. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt, half helmet, and goggles (and pants), I bobbed and weaved through the parking lot, around bikes and people, in the way that only a Dream can, until I found a parking spot. As I pulled off my helmet one of the bouncers was trotting directly for me. I was bracing to get an ear full, for the way I drove through the lot. When he was close enough, a smile rolled across his faced and he said “There always someone classy showing up at this place”. He then counted on his fingers and said “This was the third bike I owned and the fourth was the scrambler.” He said something else, but I don’t remember what it was, because I was thinking “This guy had to use his fingers to count to three.” :) The night turned out pretty good. Turtle
Last edited by turtle racer on Sat Dec 28, 2013 11:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
Thank you for the success story! My CB-77 is running reliably now,
but I am not ready to ride it 60 miles from home. I had transmission troubles with a 1964 CB-77 in 1965 and a 1965 CB-77 in 2009. The problem that shows up first is a tendency for second gear to slip out, leaving you back in neutral (or perhaps between second and third). In each case, the solution was to replace the large-diameter part that has grooves in its outer surface to guide the shifting forks, the forks themselves, and some of the gears that the forks slide around to connect the various gears. The grooves in the large-diameter part get worn where they make the sharpest bends, so I do not think anyone could weld in proper metal and fix them. The forks may not be much damaged, but they show a lot of wear. The gears develop rounded corners where they were originally sharp, so it becomes easy for them to slip out of place. I really think that someone who is adept at grinding metal could carefully grind each tooth square, judging when to stop grinding by using a micrometer to measure the thickness of the remaining tooth, taking off the rounded part of each, shown in red in the primitive drawing here. I do not have the skills for this. There is a Honda shop here in Sarasota that has been selling Hondas since the early 1960s, and I think they have some parts that may be hard to find. They had the little clip that holds the clutch on, a part vital to my restoration. The shop is Haps, http://www.hapscycle.com/ Good luck! Keith
Starter coverHotrodhendrix
Here is a picture of the cover I made. Its just a piece of heavy sheet metal I had laying around. It's not very stockish. I hope it helps you out. Kfsrq, I know very little about motorcycle transmissions, but I'm learning fast. You information helps give a starting point of what to look for. Thank You Turtle
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