Houston 1966 305 Dream Log

[Bob Dale]

This is believed to to a 1966 305 Dream although we have not located the paperwork to verify the year yet. It's my dad's bike that was given to him 25-30 years ago and has been sitting in his barn for probably the last 15. We drug it out on Sept 2 to see what it would take to get it running and then decide how far to go with it from there. Since that time I have bought a battery, put in a new carb kit, petcock kit, cleaned and lined the rusty tank with POR-15, set the timing, valve and points clearances, replaced the starter solenoid and thats pretty much it to get it running. I also bought the Bill Silver cd, which so far seems to be a great resource. The clutch plates were not releasing so I dissassembled them, cleaned them up and they seem to be ok for now. One of the most frustrating problems was the shifter. It would not stay on its shaft and kept slipping off the spline, dangling useless until the bike could be limped back to the garage in whatever gear it happened to be in. The thought of tearing down the transmission to replace the worn shaft didnt sound attractive so I tapped a hole in the center of the shaft and used a screw/washer to keep the shifter snug. Its actually working very well. So, the engine does run and the bike is rideable but it runs way to rich, fouling the plugs in 10-15 minutes. I think it may be a piston ring problem since I only have about 125psi on both sides. I added oil to the cylinders and the compression shot up to over 200 on the 1st test and then droped by 10-20psi each test after that until it got back down to 125. Seems to indicate good valves & bad rings? My next step therefore may be dropping the engine and reworking the top end.

[Bob Dale]

More history...

[LOUD MOUSE]

Set the points to open at exactly (F) and and ya will find that the engine as it is with that compression will be OK.
When ya had the clutch cover off ya could have removed the total clutch and simply removed that rod/spline. Oh Well. ............lm

This is believed to to a 1966 305 Dream although we have not located the paperwork to verify the year yet. It's my dad's bike that was given to him 25-30 years ago and has been sitting in his barn for probably the last 15. We drug it out on Sept 2 to see what it would take to get it running and then decide how far to go with it from there. Since that time I have bought a battery, put in a new carb kit, petcock kit, cleaned and lined the rusty tank with POR-15, set the timing, valve and points clearances, replaced the starter solenoid and thats pretty much it to get it running. I also bought the Bill Silver cd, which so far seems to be a great resource. The clutch plates were not releasing so I dissassembled them, cleaned them up and they seem to be ok for now. One of the most frustrating problems was the shifter. It would not stay on its shaft and kept slipping off the spline, dangling useless until the bike could be limped back to the garage in whatever gear it happened to be in. The thought of tearing down the transmission to replace the worn shaft didnt sound attractive so I tapped a hole in the center of the shaft and used a screw/washer to keep the shifter snug. Its actually working very well. So, the engine does run and the bike is rideable but it runs way to rich, fouling the plugs in 10-15 minutes. I think it may be a piston ring problem since I only have about 125psi on both sides. I added oil to the cylinders and the compression shot up to over 200 on the 1st test and then droped by 10-20psi each test after that until it got back down to 125. Seems to indicate good valves & bad rings? My next step therefore may be dropping the engine and reworking the top end.

[Bob Dale]

I did set the points to open at F, as the procedure on the CD suggested, and it starts easy, runs smooth etc for about 15 minutes until it fouls the plugs and fumigates the side of my house with unburned gas. I was hoping that the lack of compression was causing it to not burn all of the fuel. I have not checked the carb float level yet but Im pretty sure everything else is ok on it. I used the original jets, not the larger new ones that came with the carb kit. At this point I almost hope I find something wrong with the rings because I already have the engine sitting on my workbench now.

Attached is a picture of what I did with the shifter. It was easier than finding a new shaft and replacing it, and if it still ever has to be replaced there's no harm done. The shaft would be thrown away anyway.

[Superchicken]

That bike is in great shape! When I was about 12 years old, my next door neighbor brought a brand new red one home. I can remember it like yesterday, he kept that thing so clean, and it sounded so bad when he ripped down the road on it.

[Bob Dale]

I tore down the top end yesterday and the cylinders, pistons and rings all look fine. I dont think they are the problem. Now the attention shifts to the valves, which are pretty crusted over and seem to be sticking. I will be taking them to a local motorcycle shop to be cleaned up and re-ground if necessary.

[Bob Dale]

Cant find anybody here willing to work on a bike this old so I started taking the valves out myself tonight. It wasnt as difficult as I thought it would be with a good C clamp. I am only doing one side at a time to make sure I get them back in their original cylinders. But, now its appearing like LM was right and this is a waste of time. I havent found anything wrong other than some carbon buildup that may have worked itself out eventually if it werent running so rich. So, I pulled the carb apart again and this time found a small pinhole in one side of the float. That's probably been the problem all along.