Gonna buy a Dream tomorrow!

[Ape]

Hey guess I should make this a intro/ question type deal?

So, my name is Brian I'm 24. Ex-Army, now a Ford mechanic. Been on two wheels for 8 years now, first one was a CB350F then a few suzukis a harley but my daily ride is a 1980 Bajaj Chetak (Vespa Sprint). Finally gonna get my mits on a Dream of my own though, ever since I rode one up in Arkansas I've been hooked. Plan is to pick up a little 305 I stumbled upon, give it a mechanical restore and drive it till the wheels fall off then fix it and do it again!!

Questions though.. Is Ebay the only place to get parts? No one makes reproductions? How about mufflers? Any repros of those? Also the bike I'm looking at will run if ya hook up a spare gas can but the clutch needs to be rebuilt and the throttle cable replaced. Other than that its complete and relatively rust free so.. $500 sound like a good deal?

Thanks for any replies and glad I found such a wealth of information! Got a lot of reading to do!

Also thought ya'll might like this picture I took of the Dream I rode in Arkansas

[KellieLyyne]

If it is basically a runner, and in sound condition, 500 dollars is a STEAL! About repo parts, you can try Ohiocycle, and check out CMS http://www.cmsnl.com/ I have purchased many parts through them and have had no problems and shipping doesnt seem to take as long as anything from Thailand or Japan. Now, I know all of you are going to cringe when I say this, but I have bought stuff from ApexCycle, and yes sometimes it takes a while to get your parts, I haven't had any problems. Especialy if I make direct email contact with Tom himself. Ebay is always a great source to pick up parts at a decent price. However, I have found out the hard way that people advertise parts for "dreams" and they are for Benlys, or they advertise a part to fit a 1965, and it fits earlier models. Honda changed lots of parts mid year, many times. So make sure you know what you need before bidding. I have some stuff that will be going back on ebay when I am done with my build for that exact reason. Also, Bill Silver has become a great resource for me. He is a great guy with loads of experience and great books. Pick yourself up one. It answers a lot of questions. Oh and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get great info and meet lots of Honda guru's.

[KellieLyyne]

Oh and Brian, thanks for serving our Country!!!! I forgot to put that in the last email!

[pknopp]

You can't go wrong buying a running bike for $500. The guy I bought my bike off of gave me this place as a reference for parts.

http://www.classichondarestoration.com/index.php

I know he got his petcock and carb rebuild kits there. I also have a spare throttle and clutch cable he bought off them that he never used.

Do you know why the tank can't (or isn't) be used?

[Ape]

Guess there isn't a huge repro business out there for these. Guess I've been to babied with classic volkwagens! Atleast theres some out there though and thank you for listing them. I hear ya with miss advertised parts though, think I have a whole shelf for wrong scooter parts... And I was proud to be serving my country but glad I'm out. Forgot how nice a beard looks lol but thank you.

Glad ya'll think 500 is a deal because I'd have a hard time passing it up either way!! haha Makes me feel better about plunking down the cash though

pknopp,

He says the tank is rusted so the fuel tap is clogged. Not a huge deal I've restored many a tank, actually I don't remember the last project bike I've owned that didnt have a rusted tank!....


Two more questions for today, Since its a 305 do I just look for CA77 when hunting parts? Also since its a 305 and this is kind of silly but what kind of crusing speed am I looking at?

[pknopp]

Mine will comfortably run 55. I've had it up to 60. It would have done more but it's 50 years old and where I ride 55 is good.

When looking for parts I generally start with Dream and then look for CA77 then Vintage Honda.

[Ape]

Sweet, 55 is all I need I'm just tired of riding my scooters and having to ride far right of the lane while morons blow past me..

But thanks the whole CA72, 77, 78 was confusing. Still diggn threw the forum to figure it all out