Air pump and tool kit for original low millage bike

[lrutt]

Either way it's a cool bike...

If I was suspicious, I'd first do as mentioned above and check inside the hubs to see how worn the brakes are. The other obvious places would be to pop off the bottom half of the chain guard and look inside for grime that only gets there after a few thousand miles, and take off the seat and look for rub marks where it touched the frame.

Are the rear shocks mushy?

-phil

Aren't all Dream rear shocks mushy? Everyone I ever road was just as the name suggests, floating along.

[Greggie-e]

The shocks are good, I will pop the chain guard off this evening and have a look there. That seems to be the easiest way to check.

The Bike cost me US$2,000 to purchase from eBay, but then I had to ship it here to Australia, which cost me another US$1,000 in shipping and taxes (a lot of taxes).
It was sold as a non-runner, but it only took 1/2 an hour to get running, the carbie was gummed up and a dose of "Aerostart" made short work of that.

These bikes are extremely rare in Australia, I do not think that this particular model was available here new. I could not have bought one for that price in this condition, so regardless of the mileage I am happy with the bike. It pairs up nicely with my C92.

[e3steve]

Mileage notwithstanding, if it's what you wanted and you're happy with your own judgement of what you ended up with, then that's all that matters. You could wait for ever for "the right bike"! I, like you, won my CB on eBay -- and paid 'over the odds' compared to what a really nice, properly-restored example would have probably cost in the US. However, had I bought one from there and, taking into account crating, shipping, Spanish-bullshit 'jobs-for-the-boys' beaurocracy of importation, then I'd have easily ended up parting with a similar figure (circa £2.5K). I knew mine was a bit of a mongrel, as it was listed as a CB72 with a CB77 motor, but I didn't really give a toss about that; the pedigree isn't as important as what you feel about it on the day, is it?

Greggie, you got yourself a nice-looking CA there. And the end result will be what your own heart, soul & effort makes it. If, like me, you bought yours because it was a part of your teenage years and, also like me (and most men!?), you just want a little bit of "me-time" based upon immaturity, irresponsibility and long-passed 'salad days', even if it is only something of a dream (sorry), then you'll pamper it & cherish it & shout at it & probably even, at times, think about kicking it out of the house. But it will become what you make of it. Guys like you keep the classic Honda heritage alive, mate! And if anyone ever really believed that a 40-odd year-old machine had really covered only single-figure mileage, then they should be looking in Yellow Pages under 'psychiatrists'.

Bikes like ours don't happen along every day. They should be owned, maintained and cared-for by enthusiasts; if you own one and aren't one, then sell it to someone who is....

Take a look at wordman5's ongoing CB resto. http://www.honda305.com/forums/viewtopi ... ht=wordman and read the whole topic; now, that's quality that I'm working towards.

[lrutt]

I rode mine to the bike nite at steak and shake last night. Mine is the ONLY dream i've ever seen on the roads around here and does it ever gather the looks. I've had this bike now for 28 years and don't ever plan on getting rid of it.

Lovely ole bike.

[Greggie-e]

Thanks for the words of encouragement fellas. I could not be happier with the bike.

I am thinking I might not restore the CA77 and just leave it with it's old school patena on it. It does look good and nothing is 'broken'. I am restoring a C92 back to original, this will mean I will have a nice restored bike and one that looks it's age.

I took the CA77 for a ride on the weekend, the more I ride it the better it seems to run.
Here is a shot of the C92, the engine is rebuilt and I have just received the new shockie so I should have the bike together in a week or so.

As for bikes of my teenage years, I am afraid that bikes of my teenage years would be another 20 years newer. I wasn't even born when these early Honda's were produced.....

[lrutt]

by all means, leave it original. Always leave them original if you can make them look half way decent. And your bike does look pretty good from the pics. You can strip it down and clean and polish things but don't worry about repaint and rechrome.