By Joe Gresh
Motorcycles, like cats, tend to find you when you’re not looking for either. I never wanted a Z1, but the 1975 Zed forced its way into my life. And now it’s Honda Dream 305s meowing at the door.
When I was 17 years old I had a 1960-ish Dream 305 built from an assortment of bikes I picked up for little money. History is repeating itself here and two 305 Dreams have occupied the ranch.
I’m running out of room for motorcycles in the shed. I have no time to mess with these bikes as my nesting has gone into overdrive. But the deal, the deal dammit, was too good to pass up.
The Black Dream is a 1962 model and is mostly complete. It looks like the one I had at 17 except mine was red. I guess mine is black now. Of course it needs a thorough going over and every nut, bolt and part needs attention. The engine ran when parked but then they all run right before they quit running.
The white one has a nicer frame, with no dents or rust, I think it’s ’65-ish/’67-ish. I’d like to use the white frame but I only have a title to the black frame. I wonder if anyone would care?
Darren, the seller, was going to fix the black one but lost ambition, wisely in my book. He bought a bunch of bits and pieces and the bike came with 3 boxes of junk, a spare engine (status unknown) an extra gas tank and two seats.
I don’t need this hassle man. Why do I keep doing the same thing expecting different results? CT, wife of the year, knows a good deal and handed me cash, “Go get that pile.”
So far I’m not in very deep. Only $500 that I could have used elsewhere. I’ve inventoried the extra parts, de-gunked and pressure washed the bikes. I burned the pressure hose on the washer’s exhaust so add a new hose to the motorcycle cost.
I’d like to say the bikes cleaned up nicely but I’d be lying. So now I’m wondering why I took on another project when I have 23 unfinished projects. It’s an illness.
I have a few options: CT and I want to start an eBay store to get rid of all our junk. I could part out the whole mess and probably make more than I paid. I could go all in and restore one, complete, Dream, but Dreams aren’t worth much money and I would lose on the deal.
Or I could see just how cheap I can get the Dream safely operating, a challenge, like the Youtubers do. My first impression is tires and a seat cover, along with a headlight trim ring, are the major purchases needed. All the rest can be nursed back to usable-but-crappy level.
Between two engines I should be able to get something that runs and shifts. Black is easy to spray paint using rattle cans. And then what? Then what, man? Would I ride it? Sell it for a loss? The only positive spin is that it would give me something to write about.
I don’t need this stress.
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