QuestionHi Bill, In 1976 I purchased a 1965 305 Honda Dream. I bought it from a shipmate whose grand father was the original owner it still has only 16,000 miles on it. I started to take it apart to do a restoration 22+ years ago. I stopped after I undid the bolts for the front shocks. When those springs let loose I panicked and quit. At that time I had the shop manual which is now long lost. Is there a local facility here in lower south eastern Michigan that could do the restoration for me? Or is there a way to get the original shop manual again?
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Don
AnswerDon, the upper bolts hold the front shocks in place and can easily be put back w/o any special tools or effort. Easier when you put them in first, then the rest of the suspension pieces. Bit of a jigsaw puzzle, in some respects.
I offer Restoration Guides on CDROM through my website:
www.vintagehonda.com which include parts manuals, owner's manuals and lots of photos and tips, plus a companion engine repair guide. The shop manuals were somewhat limited in the information presented, having been written in 1959 and never getting much of an upgrade since then. You can find various items and literature on Ebay, fairly often.
Having a shop restore a bike like this will get into the $3-4+K range easily, depending on what parts are missing, warn and deteriorated. You can join the Honda305 group on Yahoo to connect with other owner's of 250-305 models. Or send an email to me through my site and I can forward the request along to the group.
I'm in Hawaii, so don't have my finger on the pulse of what's going on in SE Michigan, but I imagine there are people around there who may be able to help. Check also with the www.vjmc.org site for more support.
Bill Silver
www.vintagehonda.com
