Just scored my "Dream" bike

[GB500guy]

First some history. As a teenager in the 1960s wrenching at the local Honda shop my bedroom wall was plastered with clippings from Cycle World Magazine of Honda's many race victories of the day. Soon Honda offered their 50cc CR110 and 125cc CR93 production racing bikes to the public and I got to see them in action at a road race at the old Sacramento State fairgrounds and at local AFM events.

The 1962 8.5 hp 14K rpm 50cc 90+mph CR110-

Much later in 2004 Honda produced the CB50R Dream 50 race bike to commemorate the original CR110. Many dealers bought them just for display. I lusted after one but could never justify buying one just to drool over since it wasn't street legal.

The Dream 50R

Then a few years ago I found out that Honda had produced a street legal version of the Dream 50 for the Japanese market, the DOHC four valve 13.5K rpm 5 speed CB50V. And at that point I had a new bike at the top of my bucket list.

The bike, next post.

 

[Johndicezx9]

:thumbup

 

[SFMCjohn]

:thumbup

+1! :ride

 

[GB500guy]

Just scored my "Dream" bike, cont'd

After becoming infatuated with the idea of owning a street legal Dream 50 I made some inquiries and was steered to a decent example up for auction in Japan-

So now a few weeks later my little Dream is now reality. It's a lightly used bike just needing some cosmetic upgrades and mechanical attention which is perfect for my needs. I've scored a bucket list bike while also getting an exciting new shop project. After just a few initial rides I have to say this is one of the most exciting bikes I've owned, never mind it's tiny size. (Although it does have an aftermarket 89cc big bore kit which makes it much more practical for road use.) The little sucker just plain works. It fits me, brakes and suspension are very good, and the eager little high revving engine happily delivers decent cruising speed even up grades.

I'll post updates on the upcoming restoration work but in the meantime here's my little gem.

Combination gear and chain driven cams -

A ride up past the Lake Berryessa dam? Hell yeah!

More to come....

-Bill

 

[m0t0_ryder]

+ another 1!

 

[Lucky Jones]

WOW!!!

 

[Map8]

Fantastic! So happy for you. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Slow Goat]

Damn, Bill!

 

[Butch]

Wow. Yeah baby!

 

[byke]

Paging bergmen!

Super cool bike, Bill!

 

[firstbuell]

super duper cool - Congrats !!

like you, I had all those B&W pix of the '60s Honda GP racers up on the wall, and etched deep in my mind

the 50, 125, & 250 shared a unified design scheme, one that's faithfully mimicked [save red seat hump & tank] by your 50/89

many happy miles to you

 

[GB500guy]

Hey thanks everyone, glad you like the little bike and I look forward to sharing more!

-Bill

 

[RVFRick]

Such a cool bike that looks like tons of fun. Happy for ya, Bill! :thumbup

 

[russ69]

Very cool.

 

[bikeama]

Cool beyond words. I was at that old state fairgrounds road race. Bunch of us flat trackers took our TT bikes, fun day. I remember looking and listening to that little Honda great sound!

 

[Maddevill]

Hey, Bill
How was shipping from Japan ? Any customs issues? I used to import RVF400s and street 2 strokes but customs eventually made it impossible.

Mad

 

[GB500guy]

Hey, Bill
How was shipping from Japan ? Any customs issues? I used to import RVF400s and street 2 strokes but customs eventually made it impossible.

Mad

Barf member handled the whole thing, apparently he knows the ins & outs.

-Bill

 

[budman]

Congrats Bill. Living the dream.!!

Very cool

 

[GB500guy]

Very cool.

Thanks!

-Bill

 

[bergmen]

Bill, outstanding! Many features on this model are true (or very close) to the original and that is just freakin' cool!

I owned one of the originals (see my avatar) and raced it only once (to get racing out of my system - worked perfectly). I sold it a restoration expert in southern California who did a magnificent restoration of the CR and still has it today in his large collection.

The model you have is quite rare I believe, I wonder how many they actually made. I have heard from a few reliable sources that only about 250 of the original CR110s were hand made. I got real lucky when I found mine (and I wasn't even really searching for it).

Congratulations!

Dan