Saved a Dream

[casamere]

Thanks G-Man brings back memories... This guy worth putting on your Christmas list a lot of valuable information.

[casamere]

This is why you replace things, other owners maintenance efforts.

[brewsky]

So I rescued a Dream the other day. While helping an older gentleman with clearing debris from his yard, he said he had some cycles in the shed. A 63 Dream and a 63 Super Hawk. I asked him if he would considering selling. He said no, then he gave them to me. They also came with title pink slips, so all is good. Yes they are a bit rusty and dusty. The dream is pretty much complete along with saddle bags. I'm sort of ok with wrenching, thought of restoring an older bike at times. I knew these were special and thought it would be good to bring them home. So now I am looking for help in sorting things out. I need to learn a bit about the bikes. They say nothing is for free, so what could I have gotten myself into with these project bikes. Your insight gained while restoring yours will be helpful to me. So once again, please help me sort out whether I should restore, or put these out there for someone with more experience.

Welcome...you lucky dog! Finding a Dream and Superhawk at the same time....and for free?!!
Lets see some pics.
If you haven't worked on old Japanese stuff before, the first thing to know is the phillips head screws are different than now and require a "JIS" screwdriver tip to fit correctly. Also the threads are different pitch than current for 3,4,5 and 12mm sizes, so take time to save the ones you remove.
Stock up on PB Blaster or the like.
I prefer to take pictures before and during dis-assembly, to help me remember how it went together.
There are many knowledgeable people on the forum willing to help.

[Dreamsuperhawk]

Thanks Casamere,

Will post some pictures as soon as I set up flikr account per blog announcements. Been reading alot the past two days. Motorcycle Classics magazine had an article about the 305Dream not too long ago. They seem to indicate this is a good project bike maybe a novice might want to take on. Also indicates parts are still fairly available. I want to do as much research and planning before doing anything I might regret. I really appreciate your thoughts on this.

G:

Nice work on your bike. My general perspective is about the same. I'm 61, still ride my Triumph Bonnie. Thought at some time a project bike would be fun to work on. Your 62 on the surface looks to be is a bit worse shape than the one that fell into my hands. But who knows what I will find until I get into the work. I would consider myself probably to be a novice. I don't know how to make special tools that might be needed, I've rebuilt car motors, but had machine shops to the milling. I basically did the dis - and assembly. Looking at the pic of your motor in bits and pieces kind of scared me. Feedback from you guys that have done it before will help me to decide what I can or may not be able to do. Please check back in a while after I post some pics and give me your thoughts.

Hey Brewsky,

Well they say nothing is for free, so lets see what I may be in for. Thanks for the tip on the screws. I remember on my Honda 175 and CL350 (highschool days) that the heads of the screws always looked a bit worn. Probably from standard phillips screwdrivers from Sears. Please check out the pics after I get them posted in a few days and let me know what you think.

[Nick]

First off, congratulations!

I also ride a Bonnie (1970) and have a few other Brit bikes, but I'd always wanted a Dream. Finally found one in the local junkyard for cheap.

Anyway, as you probably know, there's a huge difference in cost between cleaning up a bike to make it a good daily rider and doing the full-on restoration.

Being a total cheapskate, I opted for the former and spent about $900 turning it into a fairly clean, reliable machine — painted it myself, had a few bits re-chromed, laced up some stainless spokes and pulled the cyl. to replace stuck rings. I've been riding it regularly for the past twenty years with almost zero problems.

If you can deal with a Triumph you'll have no trouble fixing up the Dream -- super easy to work on, etc. Also super-fun to ride, always puts a smile on your face.

Pull the tappet covers and spark plugs and squirt some oil around in there, check for oil in the crankcase, then kick it over a few times. Clean the carb, clean the points, check for spark. If it's got spark it should fire right up. Timing marks are right there on the right end of the crank/rotor. Single set of points fires both plugs. The F mark closest to the T is the static timing mark. Check the tappet clearance.

To work on these old Hondas is to understand why the Japanese crushed the British motorcycle industry.

If you get stuck somewhere, just ask the folks on this site.

Before:


After:

[Dreamsuperhawk]

Hi Nick,
Gotta say from the before pic, you might be a bit younger than me, and much more hair. Thanks for the tips on checking out the ignition system. I'm leaning toward getting it running for a weekend rider. Then as time permits, work on the appearance. But it seems that I will need to check cables, brakes, bearings and bushings, carb function, electrics...Not sure what comes first.

I'm sure you get a lot of comments on your bike. Just beautiful. Watch for my pics to be posted in the next few days and let me know what you think. Lots of dust, cobwebs and some rust. High pressure hose cleaning or small rags and toothbrush cleaning. Or do nothing till I decide where to start?

[Nick]

After completing the steps mentioned above (before replacing the rings), I took the battery out of my BSA, stuck it in the Dream and it fired on the first or second kick. I rode it around for a few weeks, then replaced the rings because it was smoking on the left side (rust in the cyl). Didn't touch the valves, didn't bore the cyl, just honed the rusty cylinder, slapped it back together and she's run fine ever since.

It still has all the original bearings, brake shoes, clutch cable, wiring loom, ignition switch, coil, condenser, etc. The clutch was frozen but it freed up by riding with the lever pulled in and the rear brake applied.

Unless your bike is completely trashed, it shouldn't need much work. These bikes are some of the best ever made by Honda and the engine is incredibly robust. Do a quick oil change to flush the engine, new tubes/tires, maybe a chain and that might be all she really needs. Also, if it's still got the stock rectifier, ditch it for a modern unit (as you may have already done on your Triumph).

I use mine regularly for commuting to work, running errands, etc. No need to baby them either, they love to rev. Too much fun.

(Great joke about that being me on the bike!)