Last night, I went to "Bike Night" at the Harley Davidson Museum. the last few blocks on my way there, I followed half a dozen rat bikes - a few HDs and a couple Asian powered bikes. They were cool. They got me thinking.....
About ~15 years ago, I acquired a '65-67ish Honda Dream from my (now ex-) brother in law. In pieces. For free. With no farking clue what it was at the time. It's been sitting in the back of the shop since I brought it home in the back seat and trunk of my car. It's missing the tank, that is certain. The apparently rare mufflers are toast. The stamped steel frame and forks/swingarm are solid, in primer. Unknown condition of the engine, but I've seen rebuild kits on evilbay. I'm pretty sure it's a 305cc - CA77?. Other concern is that I have no title for it. Forgot about following up with B-I-L for it.
You need time and money, thats it.
Obviously. But should I search for an elusive gas tank and mufflers to restore it, or find a JY frame and make chop/bob/rat bike out of it?
If you're interested in restoring it, I know of two 305 Dreams that are fairly complete (one is in a stalled mid-restoration) and sitting in a dry storage container. I'm thinking the owner may part with them for the right price, but it may cost you quite a bit to get them to WI.
http://hartford.craigslist.org/mcy/1161065710.html
but I like this one
http://worcester.craigslist.org/mcy/1144892007.html
Find someone with a BMW and take a Zen trip across the country.
alex
HalfDork
5/17/09 5:01 p.m.
Finding a tank shouldn't be too hard, if you'll accept one that's not so great, mainly OK, needs a cleaning, etc. Plenty like that out there, really.
Forget about replacing the OEM mufflers. Find something aftermarket you like.
Cafe it, bomb around town, be the coolest guy in the lot full of same-looking bikes.
Mental
SuperDork
5/26/09 5:02 p.m.
Those old bikes are unbelivably simple, take up as much space as a moped and are always cool. If its a no cost option, build it. Even if you don;t finish, its a great way to pass time that doesn;t involve talking funiture.
FYI, I helped a guy move last month and he gave me a complete running mid 60's era Honda 60 motor. Its yours for freight, it is about the size of a 2 gallon gascan
I was talking with a guy over the weekend that's mid-build on a CB450 cafe. He said Dream tanks are desirable in the cafe community - nice knee-sculpted shape.
