Things seem to be going well in the garage. My modern ducati that was severely damaged by a meth'd out crazy woman driver is back on the road, the '69 T500 Titan is riding well enough considering I haven't rebuilt the gearbox and I've finally got my wife's CB160 back on the road and she's riding it every day. Everything appears to be on the up and up, unless someone asks questions about that damn norton... so nobody ask in this thread! So I've dug out the little bastardized CB77 from the back corner of the garage and I've started to tear into it. Her she is right after we hosed the dog shit off of her and rescued her from a container and a backyard. The ENTIRE bike (including pipes, fenders, pegs, and mounts) was spray painted black. That's all flaking off now. There appears to be a decent number of places that were safety wired, and the starter was cut off, so there is a chance this bike was raced in the past. The last Reg stickers are from 1969 and the bike is an early 1962 frame and engine. Motor is completely locked up and the drive chain appears to have worn halfway through the right shock mount before snapping. It was cheap enough that I'd say it falls into the "most expensive bike I ever bought was free" category. Now I've had (and worked on) 160s, 350s, 450s, 350Fours, and CB-1s, but this is first 305 that came into the household. (that dream in the background is the second 305 in the house and i'm pulling bits off her for the superhawk as we speak. You can't swing a cat in ADV Old's Cool without hitting 5 threads about 350s, but there doesn't seem to be many threads about 305 Superhawks. So i'd love to hear advice, stories or see some pictures of all those 305s out there. I only just started in on this puppy, but I'm already thinking I like it much better than my 350! This is how I'm thinking of building it up: and this is what it would look like with all the honda accessories i can't afford to buy:
This should be interesting, I have a pair of 305 Dreams that are going to be next up on the lift to make 1. I also find it surprising that a few of us are finding the Dreams and there seems to be very few finding Superhawlks, I would have thought they were the hot ticket in the 60's. Build on, I'm in.
305s are cool. Much nicer engines than the 350s. Compare the head/cam assemblies of the two to see what I mean. Super hawks were the best of the bunch. Got cb and cl 305s out in the barn for future project material. Spent many happy hours on them back in the day. Always liked the looks of the scramblers better, but the super hawks were faster.
My first bike, new in '65, in red. I put a set of high pipes on it like those in the first picture. They seemed to make more low end torque, but were actually slower, top end wise, than the stock pipes with the bolt in baffles removed. Great bike, and a Triumph 500 killer in it's day. Pictures, lots of pictures, of your rebuild. Good luck with it.
Another fun fact.... the Laverda 750 motor is almost identical to the 305 motor, even down to the shape. Only real difference I have see (so far) is Laverda took the ignition timing off the crank and Honda took it off the top end.
I had a black 1964 Super Hawk. It was my first motorcycle and a very sweet introduction to my lifetime passion. I wish I had a Super Hawk in the garage today. First, I love their look. To my mind it is as classic as a 60s Triumph twin. I'd never turn it into a cafe or bobber. I've never laid eyes on one that looked better than what the factory turned out. Secondly, they were capable of humiliating a lot of riders on old British bikes, and not just 500s! Back in the day, there was a 350 kit available, and most owners found that after market valve springs were soon needed, as the factory ones were not the best quality and led to valve float well before the engine's redline was reached. I had a pair of Bates megaphones on my Super Hawk and they were both pretty and loud. That was my first citation, as I recall. I'm sorry to say I have just a single grainy photo of that bike, taken so far away that much detail is impossible to make out I've always thought that Honda's succeeding model, the 350, was a giant step backward. It lacked the quality and timeless beauty of the 305 Super Hawks.
My favorite vintage Hondas. My blue Superhawk is waiting for me in the basement until I have time to devote to her. Maybe this will be the winter I get started.
The 1963 305 Superhawk was the fastest, most beautiful motorcycle in the world, or at least that I had ridden. It was my first bike.
I think the dreams were cheaper, so there were more of them bought. difficult to find a dream that did not have the fenders bobbed short. a highschool classmate had a 305 scrambler that slept in his bedroom every night. he lived in a second story appartment! he lived in a not so good neighborhood and wanted to still have it in the morning. I always wondered what the landlord thought about the black streak up the stairs. hard to find an original scrambler muffler, as most of them were tossed and "snuf or not" baffles were installed.
Great reading all these posts! The little CB77 has impressed me so much already, I can't wait to tear into the engine and see how much needs to be done. I've torn the pipes off and noticed that the baffles have been completely removed! not even snuf or not baffles in there! We will see what will befall the pipes... full replacement or ceramic coating? It's down to frame-engine-forks at the moment, so the lump will be on the workbench shortly. Did manage to finally get some bars to stay attached with some ducati multistrada clamps... who would have thought they would align! Squeezed some new shoes onto the CB160 and clutch bits are on order, soon I can focus solely on the 305 and take some pictures...
I just noticed this thread, I have been in to those for years. When my wife and I were first married, she said she'd like me to build her a Dream to ride, after convincing her that a Superhawk would be far better, she said OK. We found a guy that was planning to restore a bike, and realized he was never going to get it done, so he sold us his project. It took a year, and probably a thousand dollars, but we ended up with a perfect riding bike. Our pipes were up sweep meg, and the wheels were new on stainless spokes. I had polished the hubs, and most other alum, the thing looked together!! The paint was done, black, professional. It was our only bike for a while. I entered it in the Craig Vetter milage contest, at La Guna,Seca in 1983, got 103 mpg, almost made the track final. Anyway we still have it and one more, not currently, workable, but still kept in our collection.
If you should find yourself in the Portland area, Bob has at least two nice CB77s on display in the overhead rack shown in this link: http://www.beavertonmotorcycles.com/
supervision, this sounds a lot like the story I'd like to tell after i'm finished! thanks for sharing! mortimer, I may be riding to Vancouver in 2013, so i'll make sure i check on those cb77s in beaverton! dropped the engine last night, clutch and stator sides look decent behind the covers, but the top end cover is on there a little too solid. got it up on the work bench and i'm seeing salt and dirt in one of the cylinders, and i'm betting it's a side with a bent valve, which helped freeze the engine. nothing worth taking pictures of yet.
If you are here a Thrusday, check this link to meet the local idiots. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215344
In 1964 I convinced my parents to let me get a bike. I saved and saved until I got $100 for a down, so my dad took me down to the Honda dealer. I wanted a Super Hawk but it was to much so I got a CB160, it was $100 less. I rode it all through High School, put lots of miles on that bike. I have a mint 65' CB160 in my collection now but I am still looking for a Super Hawk, maybe I will finally get one. Good luck on yours and take lots of pic's! .
There was a nice short story about a guy and his Superhawk and his girlfriend and her Volkswagen in an early 1970's Cycle magazine. If any of you ff's have any old Cycles around, maybe you can find it. The title of the story was "Another Shade of Green". I haven't been able to find it on the net. It was a fun story and I'd love to re-read it if anybody has it. Thanks in advance.
