1966 Honda Dream Barn Find, or, I Must Be Crazy

[Solomoriah]

On the right side... that cover is off. Former owner's son pulled it, and I'm not even sure I have the screws. So you pulled the rotor/stator to get at the crank end, then?

Sorry I'm dense here. I know eventually it all has to come apart, but I'm not taking any more off at one time than I absolutely have to.

[brcree]

No..No...Ol Boy........there is a bolt head on the stater (rear brake lever side)....14mm I believe. Use that to turn with. I had a hard time finding a stater cover so take care of it, not all covers are the same. The Baby Dream cover is a 1/4" to small.. I went to the hardware store and matched up the bolts I needed to secure the cover.

[Solomoriah]

Ah, so.

I was aware of that bolt-head... but when I turn it left, it loosens (as well it should, unless it be stuck like the ones holding the petcock together). So I can hardly apply force in both directions with it.

[brcree]

Well....with that you can only try one way...just take your time...it ...will...come.

[Solomoriah]

A couple of weeks ago, I used my new Harbour Freight bike lift to drop the engine out of my Dream. I had previously removed the upper rear bolts and replaced them with temporary bolts (as I had to destroy the original bolts to remove them); the lower rear bolts turned out to be missing, and the two bolts through the head came loose very easily.

For some reason I couldn’t figure out just then, the wires from the condenser (part of the ignition system, screwed to the top of the head) were taped to the rest of the wiring harness; rather than deal with the tape, I just unscrewed the condenser and left it with the frame.

With the engine off, I was able to remove the top cover from the head without difficulty. To my untrained eye, the cam chain looks pretty good… too bad I’ll have to break it to get the head off, if I can’t find the master link somewhere accessible.

I put the top back on, finger tight, then removed the carb. It looks really good in the float bowl; apparently, the former owner drained it when he put it away. The slide works well enough also, but I have not yet figured out how to remove the top to inspect it further. Time for some research.

One bit of good news: A friend has told me he can remove the broken stub of the steering damper knob from my Dream’s steering stem, and restore the proper thread. I was worried I’d have to buy a replacement, but maybe not.

[Downunder dream]

Seems we both have come across the same bike in colour and condition. Seized donk and left to rot. Well done and I can already see myself in your shoes. I posted up a pic and intro of the bike today. May look familiar. Can't wait for the WD40 in the bleeding knuckles. Excellent thread mate.
Cheers,
Scott.

[quidger]

I had the same experience with the snapped off steering damper threaded stem. Broke off easy outs and went through tons of left hand bits.
Finally broke down and took it to a machine shop. They drilled it out and helicoiled it.
Best $25 I ever spent.
Stay with it. My project was similar to yours and it took 2 years.
Very gratifying when completed.