'64 CA77 "reconstruction"Well, with these original tires I won't take it out on the road. I don't want to remove them, as they are in good condition for their age and keep with my "90% original" theme. I would need to find another set of wheels and fit some new tires in order for it to be road-worthy IMO. Other than that it's ready to go. Fresh oil and it fires right up. I do believe John that half the satisfaction in owning a machine like this is the pleasure it gives other people when you ride out. They can remember them in the 60's, remember owning one like ours and like me not being able to afford one way back then. Some appreciate the time we have taken in restoring a machine that is 50yrs old and how many times has it been said that it looks as if it just came out of the factory. Then there are the younger element that, as has been said to me " electric start on a 66 bike" ?? and "turn indicators"?? Or like the other day when a young guy stood for a good 5 minutes before he said " square shockers, how do they work"??.
So keep us informed buddy and if it does make it to the road HAPPY RIDING.
That's very true. I like having it at the shop so at least it is seen by others. I may take it to a cycle gathering in the area, I just won't ride it there. To get there I would need to go in the range of 50 - 55 mph at some points, and sweeping corners at others, and I'm not comfortable doing it with these tires. I have other oddities that I take out on occasion, and enjoy answering questions like - "wtf is a Derbi?" But I would enjoy showing-off the Dream more.  It's a real pity if keeping original tyres on stops you riding the bike and prevents others from seeing your handiwork.
I've seen a couple of references to a compound that 'refreshes' old tyres to soften them again and restore grip capability, of course it wouldn't work if the tyres have cracks in them! Both of the references were aimed at sports / racing applications, one was in a past copy of Classic Racer and was from a guy who had restored a very special 1960s race bike (can't remember what) and wanted to run the bike with the original period tyres. Seemed to work out for him so perhaps worth checking what's available, shame to keep the bike hidden away but I understand your reluctance to ride on original rubber, they weren't that good even when they were new! While we are on the subject of tires it was posted on here some months ago that 3.00x16 should not be fitted to the CA77. Well all I could get when I wanted a ribbed front was that size and it runs perfect. They are aftermarket rims so that could make the difference with the fitting but I have another to fit when this is worn out. The rear is 3.25x16 btw.
I've used that compound when I was racing karts. It worked for a short period of time IIRC. I'm not sure that would make them safe to use though because of the route I need to use to get to the gathering requires some amount of speed and handling. I'm an old racer, and have ridden and raced on some sketchy tires back in the day, but have learned a bit since then. Others may not have a problem with it. For now it's just going to be fully functional but unfortunately not rideable for me.
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