New guy just picked up a dream.

[carolinaboy]

Thanks a lot. I had already drained the oil and cleaned the clutch plates. It is functional now.

I noticed some oil buildup around the front left side case. Somehow I had failed to notice that my clutch side cover was damaged at the mounting point. Here's a pic:



I did a more thorough walk around. The other damages I noted were some broken fins and a small crack in the rear fender. Here are the busted fins:



Good thing this bike isn't meant to be a show piece!

Anyway, I ordered a new side cover from ebay. That should arrive next week. Once I ride it around the block and assure myself that it's functional, I'll start the cleanup and pulls the wheels for surgery. Apex cycle has spoke sets for a good price. I haven't been able to find a source for rims, so I may have to strip mine and paint them.

[conbs]

Tough luck on the side case. As long as you are putting a new side cover on, you might think about pulling the clutch pack off and cleaning everything to solve your "stuck clutch" problem.

Seems like Dream rear fenders always crack. Anybody ever found a way to stop that?

You might want to keep an eye out on ebay for wheels. Sometimes its a crap shoot, but I just picked up some really nice rider quality wheels (though there are a few guys that will try to sell you rusted junk). Rust is not a big problem in places like Arizona. Spend a lot of time looking at pictures. If the pictures are not good enough to tell the condition of the chrome, the wheels probably aren't worth buying. Dirt will clean up as will surface rust.

In the end I think it will be cheaper for me and a lot less work than paint (no re-lacing). Search this forum for KellieLynn's post on the headache of re-lacing wheels. I am not trying to make a show-quality bike either, but should end up with some pretty shiney, original wheels.

[carolinaboy]

Rode it around the block tonight. More fun than I expected, and I only hit first and second gear. :)

Cleaning up the motor til the new side cover gets here. Still hunting for a headlight.

[carolinaboy]

I bit the bullet and got Bill Silver's motor guide. This should help tons. Can't wait for it's arrival.
Tires, tubes, and the clutch side cover should be here next week.

[Muddy]

G'day from Australia carolinaboy - in relation to your headlight, maybe research fitting the C72 headlight? The C72 doesn't have the sealed beam - uses a bulb and I reckon the light shells would be interchangeable, I'm thinking about trying to fit a halogeon bulb or HID bulb to my C72.

[conbs]

There are actually 3 different headlight assemblies in the 1968 parts book for 305's.

1. used "In General" that has a replacable bulb style I think referred to as American Prefocused

2. used in "USA" that is the sealed beam

3. used in "Germany, England, Switzerland and France" that uses a diferent kind of replacable bulb.

I think these would be the same as 250 models, but don't have that parts book. You could probably use the reflector from any of these, but a blown sealed beam would seem like it would be least expensive