drewvdubber
New Member
i was told i needed to start a thread that encapsulates the work i am doing by my great friend Lans. so here we go.
linked from my car site.
Well here it is, i was suggested to start a log of the project.
1965 Honda CB77 Superhawk.
the project name comes from the inspiration of a book, "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance". the reasoning behind it is that this is the bike that the author Robert Pirsig rode around the north west for 17 days with his son in tow and inspired the book that he then wrote about life.
the bike has some great vintage to it.
"The motorcycle was known for its robust and precise motor and the overall high quality of fabrication and assembly. One innovation of the motorcycle's design was the motor being a stressed member of the frame, strengthening the frame and improving the handling over designs with a conventional "dropped-in" motor and cradle frame. All CB models had a forward-arcing kick starter, necessary in order to miss the right-hand footpeg, and re-locatable footpegs that could be sited well rearward (at the expense of forfeiting the pillion) thus enhancing the sporting ride position, especially when the machine was the lo-bar variant.
The 247 cc version (54.0 x 54.0 mm) gave 20 bhp @ 8,000 rpm in standard Dream trim and 24 bhp @ 9,000 rpm in Dream Super Sport trim. Top speed for the Dream Super Sport was 10 mph higher than the fastest British 250 (Royal Enfield 20 bhp single). The enlarged 305 cc version (60.0 x 54.0 mm) gave 28.5 bhp @ 9,000 rpm. The 305 Superhawk proved so agile, powerful (the 1963 CB77 "Super Sport") and well-behaved that it easily outperformed many of its contemporaries with higher displacements. Some argue that the advent of the CB77 Superhawk was the beginning of the end to the British bike domination in the field of street and casual race motorcycles. The quality and reliability were far superior."
it is essentially honda's first sport bike. the later bike was the black bomber with bigger displacement.
From my first thread about it:
well here is one major reason i wanted to get rid of the beetle project among others. i have wanted a motorcycle for soooooo long. i have literally dreamed about riding a motorcycle since i was a kid. well it was time to make the dream come true.
i have been trying to sell the beetle for some time now and was getting discouraged. i have been watching craigslist for months and started to see a ton of older vintage bikes. i have wanted a cafe racer for a long time. it doesnt have to be crazy fast but it must be crazy cool. i had a bike lined up and was excited. it was a cl450. but i still could not help myself. i had to keep looking. then all of a sudden a guys posted four honda dreams for sale. i had been emailing Lans about different bikes i was seeing like the norton that i posted. i remember mentioning the dreams to him. well he goes and looks at the add and gets the guys info. i said i wanted to go because i had never actually been next to one and was a little interested in one of them. the guy ends up being his old neighbor from a few houses down. hes a huge vintage honda guy of all things. well he also has a barn full at his fathers house. he offered to go there as it was about two miles up the road, how could we say no. so we went there and there it sat in the middle of the bikes, a 1965 cb77 305 superhawk. i instantly had to go and sit on it and was in love.
well i had one person that didnt show on tuesday that was "bringing a trailer" in case he wanted the bug. i thought ahh shit here we go again a bunch of people wanting and not showing or tire kickers. well on the way back from the barn i get a call. it was someone that i had called from an email from craigslist. he was very excited to see the bug and wanted to come over right away. how do i say no. shit he gets a call and has to go to traverse city to take care of a stranded vehicle. so i asked where he was coming from and he said lowell. well i am not far off the highway for that ride i told him. he said he would feel out the situation and maybe he could swing by. well as it turned out he could. he shows up with a car in tow(a subaru outback). we get to talking and he is a really cool guy, he has a barn 6000 sqft barn that he has 17 cars in, all projects. we talk about the car, look over all the stuff i have, what i have added, the superflo heads and we came to an offer. i said no to his offer and raised him, and he said yes. he reached in his pocket and pulled out my favorite sight, a stack of benjamins, wrapped up in a sleeve from the bank, signed with a number. i called the number in his pocket. maybe he had more i dont care. so i write a bill of sale up and we agree to meet today for him to pick it up since i was mtn biking yesterday. agreed.
so i start talks with lans about the superhawk as we were both very interested, we came to an agreement as gentlemen and low and behold i can have it. so i made an offer which of course was countered. i accepted. i had to, i wanted that bike bad. so i made arangements for him to get it running and i would be there to help and what not on thursday to get it out of the pole barn and to his house with the bike lift. he ended up picking it up last night. i called him this evening and told him i would be there in an hour, after i load up the beetle. no problem. so i get there and start talking with him. we went over a ton of stuff, he switched out some parts that we found needed some help as we went over it. honestly, this was above and beyond what i expected. we checked, compression, spark, fuel. replaced fuel line, pet cock gasket, petcock filter and on and on. we switched out the starter from a bike at the other pole barn for an issue with it. we drank beer shot the shit and i was impressed with how much this guys wanted to be able to stand behind what he is selling. if more people were like this, this planet would be much better to live on. then he even offered to deliver it for me. i was planning on borrowing my roommates blazer and his old mans trailer to get it home. we get it back here and shot the shit some more. he said if i need anything feel free to stop by anytime. if i need parts, want to find out some info, have a beer, whatever. he wants to see it after i get my hands on it and turn it into my own. I could not have been happier with the way the sale went, the bike i got or how it was all handled. i met an great person with an amazing wealth of knowledge and just a all around great person. he also has a 74 super beetle and was interested in the super flo heads i had which i was going to offer him in partial for the bike, but the other guy got everything. he told me this evening he also was thinking of the partial trade because he researched them and realized what they were and how much they were worth. he didnt care much he was actually happy for me to sell the beetle and get into what i really wanted.
anyway, i guess i know what everyone is scrolling past all this for, the pictures.
had to go with my favorite shot first
original exhaust, baffles still in. these are worth a mint
honda made a race version of this bike, all the parts fit on this one. one of the sweet options was being able to mover the lower controls back in three different postions.
i love this tach and speedo. the light under it still works.
its new home with plenty of room. this weekend begins project garage time. cleaning this bitch out and organizing.
this was basically one of their first sport bikes. it sport dual carbs and came stock with velocity stacks with high flow filters.
the dog checked it out and gave me a thumbs up.
i think i am going to start tearing it down this weekend. the headlight doesnt work and i tried the power leads with a trouble light, no go. i have power in the headlight to the switch, but not at the bulb. so i have to tear off the tank to get to the harness if you can call it that.
i also want to start on the paint. i have an idea to do the ford gray on all the tins to go with the chrome. not sure yet. i also need to tweak the rear fender a little. i want to remount the rear tail and fill the holes it uses. move the plate down near the rear axel. clubman bars, cafe seat, new cables all around as they are original. start with some new hardware etc etc etc. freshen it up a bit.
super excited and cant wait to dive in.
linked from my car site.
Well here it is, i was suggested to start a log of the project.
1965 Honda CB77 Superhawk.
the project name comes from the inspiration of a book, "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance". the reasoning behind it is that this is the bike that the author Robert Pirsig rode around the north west for 17 days with his son in tow and inspired the book that he then wrote about life.
the bike has some great vintage to it.
"The motorcycle was known for its robust and precise motor and the overall high quality of fabrication and assembly. One innovation of the motorcycle's design was the motor being a stressed member of the frame, strengthening the frame and improving the handling over designs with a conventional "dropped-in" motor and cradle frame. All CB models had a forward-arcing kick starter, necessary in order to miss the right-hand footpeg, and re-locatable footpegs that could be sited well rearward (at the expense of forfeiting the pillion) thus enhancing the sporting ride position, especially when the machine was the lo-bar variant.
The 247 cc version (54.0 x 54.0 mm) gave 20 bhp @ 8,000 rpm in standard Dream trim and 24 bhp @ 9,000 rpm in Dream Super Sport trim. Top speed for the Dream Super Sport was 10 mph higher than the fastest British 250 (Royal Enfield 20 bhp single). The enlarged 305 cc version (60.0 x 54.0 mm) gave 28.5 bhp @ 9,000 rpm. The 305 Superhawk proved so agile, powerful (the 1963 CB77 "Super Sport") and well-behaved that it easily outperformed many of its contemporaries with higher displacements. Some argue that the advent of the CB77 Superhawk was the beginning of the end to the British bike domination in the field of street and casual race motorcycles. The quality and reliability were far superior."
it is essentially honda's first sport bike. the later bike was the black bomber with bigger displacement.
From my first thread about it:
well here is one major reason i wanted to get rid of the beetle project among others. i have wanted a motorcycle for soooooo long. i have literally dreamed about riding a motorcycle since i was a kid. well it was time to make the dream come true.
i have been trying to sell the beetle for some time now and was getting discouraged. i have been watching craigslist for months and started to see a ton of older vintage bikes. i have wanted a cafe racer for a long time. it doesnt have to be crazy fast but it must be crazy cool. i had a bike lined up and was excited. it was a cl450. but i still could not help myself. i had to keep looking. then all of a sudden a guys posted four honda dreams for sale. i had been emailing Lans about different bikes i was seeing like the norton that i posted. i remember mentioning the dreams to him. well he goes and looks at the add and gets the guys info. i said i wanted to go because i had never actually been next to one and was a little interested in one of them. the guy ends up being his old neighbor from a few houses down. hes a huge vintage honda guy of all things. well he also has a barn full at his fathers house. he offered to go there as it was about two miles up the road, how could we say no. so we went there and there it sat in the middle of the bikes, a 1965 cb77 305 superhawk. i instantly had to go and sit on it and was in love.
well i had one person that didnt show on tuesday that was "bringing a trailer" in case he wanted the bug. i thought ahh shit here we go again a bunch of people wanting and not showing or tire kickers. well on the way back from the barn i get a call. it was someone that i had called from an email from craigslist. he was very excited to see the bug and wanted to come over right away. how do i say no. shit he gets a call and has to go to traverse city to take care of a stranded vehicle. so i asked where he was coming from and he said lowell. well i am not far off the highway for that ride i told him. he said he would feel out the situation and maybe he could swing by. well as it turned out he could. he shows up with a car in tow(a subaru outback). we get to talking and he is a really cool guy, he has a barn 6000 sqft barn that he has 17 cars in, all projects. we talk about the car, look over all the stuff i have, what i have added, the superflo heads and we came to an offer. i said no to his offer and raised him, and he said yes. he reached in his pocket and pulled out my favorite sight, a stack of benjamins, wrapped up in a sleeve from the bank, signed with a number. i called the number in his pocket. maybe he had more i dont care. so i write a bill of sale up and we agree to meet today for him to pick it up since i was mtn biking yesterday. agreed.
so i start talks with lans about the superhawk as we were both very interested, we came to an agreement as gentlemen and low and behold i can have it. so i made an offer which of course was countered. i accepted. i had to, i wanted that bike bad. so i made arangements for him to get it running and i would be there to help and what not on thursday to get it out of the pole barn and to his house with the bike lift. he ended up picking it up last night. i called him this evening and told him i would be there in an hour, after i load up the beetle. no problem. so i get there and start talking with him. we went over a ton of stuff, he switched out some parts that we found needed some help as we went over it. honestly, this was above and beyond what i expected. we checked, compression, spark, fuel. replaced fuel line, pet cock gasket, petcock filter and on and on. we switched out the starter from a bike at the other pole barn for an issue with it. we drank beer shot the shit and i was impressed with how much this guys wanted to be able to stand behind what he is selling. if more people were like this, this planet would be much better to live on. then he even offered to deliver it for me. i was planning on borrowing my roommates blazer and his old mans trailer to get it home. we get it back here and shot the shit some more. he said if i need anything feel free to stop by anytime. if i need parts, want to find out some info, have a beer, whatever. he wants to see it after i get my hands on it and turn it into my own. I could not have been happier with the way the sale went, the bike i got or how it was all handled. i met an great person with an amazing wealth of knowledge and just a all around great person. he also has a 74 super beetle and was interested in the super flo heads i had which i was going to offer him in partial for the bike, but the other guy got everything. he told me this evening he also was thinking of the partial trade because he researched them and realized what they were and how much they were worth. he didnt care much he was actually happy for me to sell the beetle and get into what i really wanted.
anyway, i guess i know what everyone is scrolling past all this for, the pictures.
had to go with my favorite shot first
original exhaust, baffles still in. these are worth a mint
honda made a race version of this bike, all the parts fit on this one. one of the sweet options was being able to mover the lower controls back in three different postions.
i love this tach and speedo. the light under it still works.
its new home with plenty of room. this weekend begins project garage time. cleaning this bitch out and organizing.
this was basically one of their first sport bikes. it sport dual carbs and came stock with velocity stacks with high flow filters.
the dog checked it out and gave me a thumbs up.
i think i am going to start tearing it down this weekend. the headlight doesnt work and i tried the power leads with a trouble light, no go. i have power in the headlight to the switch, but not at the bulb. so i have to tear off the tank to get to the harness if you can call it that.
i also want to start on the paint. i have an idea to do the ford gray on all the tins to go with the chrome. not sure yet. i also need to tweak the rear fender a little. i want to remount the rear tail and fill the holes it uses. move the plate down near the rear axel. clubman bars, cafe seat, new cables all around as they are original. start with some new hardware etc etc etc. freshen it up a bit.
super excited and cant wait to dive in.
