The labor of love (& nostalgia) begins!! 1963 CA77 Dream

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:10 pm

I've concentrated on getting the bike together and not had any time for posting. After a lot of fiddling around I got the muffler mount made and everything to fit well. Getting the valve on the tank to seal took some time, but no leaks now. It's together!! Not only that but it runs- and the short amount of time I've ridden it (around my place, not on the road) it runs good and no leaks so far. Right now I've got to make a final decision on what battery to use. The current one is enough to kick start and run, but not enough to even honk the horn (which works if I have the charger attached.) As soon as I install a battery I'm off for my VIN inspection at the Highway Patrol and to get it registered. I've already got the preliminary paperwork done, so it should be quick and easy. Notice I said should be.

Aid3nn · Post by **Aid3nn** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:54 pm

Just FYI, you can have the police come out to verify as well. I did this and happened to get a motorcycle officer! He made the paperwork a snap and it took about 10 mins and no DMV. Sweet.

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:00 pm

Just FYI, you can have the police come out to verify as well

I'm not sure what your situation was, but my bike is not in the system, and they insist the CHP has to verify it. Not that big a deal, except I had to make an appointment with the local office (only one officer does them there) and I couldn't get in until July 24th, so my riding is on hold. In the mean time I'll get the passenger pegs repaired and installed, fine tune the carb and check everything over again so it'll be ready for the road as soon as it gets licenced. I might try and get some better pictures as well.

I ended up getting an AGM from Ebay, an YTX7L. Hats off to Hoosier Tom for leading me in that direction. It's cheaper than an NOS regular lead acid battery and fits in the box fine. I did add some rubber to insulate the terminals and fabricated some L shaped brackets off the terminals so I wouldn't have to modify the ground cable. I've hooked it up and it cranks the starter fine (after I went back and plugged in the wire for the starter at the switch, not sure how I missed that!)

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:29 pm

I'm ready!! Got my VIN verification- hit a quick appointment with the DMV (that was amazing in itself!) and stopped by Geico and got insurance that starts today. I'm ready for the road. I'm hoping to start breaking in the engine soon, no later than the weekend.

Just hauling the bike around yesterday, I got compliments at the CHP, caught a gal checking it out when I came out of Costco (she guessed the year correctly, and she wasn't as old as the bike) and by the auto parts store had a guy stop his truck to compliment the bike and tell me about his , of course he'd had a Dream in the past. It'll be interesting to see what happens when the rubber meets the road.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:29 pm

Stan, congratulations! She's gorgeous, and do enjoy riding her! Beautiful job!!

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:09 pm

Put 40 miles on it this weekend and it felt great!!

Engine starts good, once I figured out that California weather doesn't require much choke. I was tending to flood it.

I'm happy with the AGM battery. So far no noticeable drain. When I hook up the battery maintainer it shows charged almost immediately.

No oil leaks so far. I varied the speed and kept it under 50 mph for now. I know everyone has their opinion on break in. My theory is not to overload, as in a long pull, but to put enough load so your getting pressure against the rings for short periods.

Low beam on the headlight quit, but it's not a serious problem at this point as I don't plan on any night riding and high beam is fine for daytime. A light isn't required for California daytime, but a good idea anyway.

The only other issue is that apparently my rear sprocket is slightly off center. I rechecked the chain tension and found it varies with the position of the rear wheel. With minimum spec. deflection at the tightest it's middle of the range at the loosest. I'll run like that until winter, just keep an eye on it.

Superchicken · Post by **Superchicken** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:49 pm

Hi Stan, I am on my second AGM battery. Been using AGM in my XZ550Yamaha Vision, when I bought the first one at Modesto Battery, she told me no need to charge it unless the voltage went down to 12.5. It lasted, more than nine years!! Cranks good too, and I love not having a vent tube, and having to add water too. Regular wet batteries do what is called degrading, meaning slowly losing charge, AGM barely degrade at all. Your bike is cool, good job!