The next job I tackled was the seat, unfortunately the original was lost and a shabby replacement was in its place. I picked up a very clean one from e-bay and set about dismantling it.

I ordered replacement screws, rubbers etc and sent the solid base away to be powder coated. The result was excellent and the seat re-assembled. I'm very pleased with the result.

Top Tip: The seat foam was tired looking after 30 odd years and rare as hens teeth so I cut pieces of new sponge and inserted in the seat drain holes, you'll get the idea..(Thanks for that one Shane)

Before:

After, complete with "new" sponge:

 

 

 

OK, as a thank you for reading this blog I think it's time for a quick fast forward to the present day, just a little reward for your perseverance. There's much more to tell but just to give you a flavour of the progress, check out NNR as of Dec 2012

 

Ok then, one more..

 

 

That's it for now and all I can muster today, i'll be back with an update soon, thanks for checking in...   

 

The frame was stripped and blasted, it's now back home with a shiny coat and looks very nice indeed, I set about replacing all bearings (Swing arm, steering head, suspension) and started to source the bits I needed to start the rebuild and boy was I in for a shock! Some Parts for this little Honda are  quite elusive and quite expensive, OK not expensive in the grand scheme but in relation to its commercial value, they are sometimes completely disproportionate. I guess this is the way of things particularly when things are scarce but I still felt the financial burn nonetheless.

I remember watching a programme where someone built a VW camper, it was an early split screen and the guy spent £2000 on a steering wheel so that put things back into perspective..

One of the most expensive items I have obtained is an original fuel tank, it is beautiful and will (does) look awesome. However anyone who knows their SD's will know that it's technically incorrect for my year of machine, however the correct one is proving to be very elusive and so it'll have to do until the right one turns up, and believe me when I tell you I've spent far too long trying to find one.

Here are some pics of the one I have on the bike and one that is the wrong colour but the correct shape, there are no knee indents on the correct one. 

Incorrect type, but the one I'll use for now: 

 

Correct shape but wrong colour:

 

 

 



  

Having stripped NNR down to the frame and bagged and although not quite catalogued, but organised everything NNR's frame and Blacks were off to the Powdercoaters..

I suppose it was at this point that I made the decision to produce a showstopper rebuild, up 'til now I don't think I really knew what I was going to do or how I would tackle the job. But with a shiny frame It seemed the only thing to do, essentially I was going to recreate that experience of 30 years ago when I took delivery of NNR brand new from the showroom in Leicester. I remember that day well, it was a cold January morning when my first "proper" motorbike was delivered. I was 17 and she was unloaded from the trailer of DC Cook Motorcycles Melton Road Leicester. I couldn't have been more excited. 

Here's the photo of her back in the day with one or two period accessories!

Note the "Invader" fairing and Mk 4 Cortina in the background, if you know your caravan,s that's a Bailey Mikado I think!

Well, if you've ever embarked on anything quite like this you'll understand the need for organisation! I ensured that I took as many photographs as possible and I put all the bits into freezer bags and labelled them so that I could find them later.

This proved to be the best thing I could have done. At this point I turned to the Internet for help and I found one or two websites that have proved vital during my rebuild. If you ever embark on a similar project make sure you visit the following sites. without which I would have really struggled to get to the place I am today:

www.hondasuperdream.co.uk

www.davidsilverspares.co.uk  

www.cmsnl.com

The forum is full of like minded individuals who have helped me every step of the way, Shane (The Boss), FB, whose knowledge on all things SD is unparallelled,  Ayrton, CT, Rich (Technical God) and many more for their input and support over the last year or so- Thanks guys (and girls) may the forum go from strength to strength.

She's Home...

Having brought NNR home using a courier I was a completely blown away to see her again, imagine 30 years! obviously she wasn't quite as complete and original as I remember but she was no "Triggers broom" either.
The good news was that both the frame and engine are original so in essence NNR has survived. The basis of a restoration was now tucked up safe and sound in the garage and I couldn't wait to start work. Oddly there was a lot of blue paint and hammerite on the frame, this turned out to be a blessing as it had preserved he metal work from the dreaded tin worm and so when the frame was eventually blasted and powder coated the metal work was in very good order.
The same couldn't be said of the tin ware but more about that later.

After 30 years apart, NNR 108W is coming home...

Where to start? This story begins on Thursday 4th August 2011, I was looking for something in my garage when I came across an old box file which was locked and I was not sure where the keys were and if what I was looking for was in there so I set about looking for the keys.

Sometime later I found the missing keys and opened the file, the item I was originally looking for was not to be found but instead was a huge amount of old family photographs. I noticed a small album and immediately recognised it as where I kept photos of all my old cars and motorcycles.

Thumbing through I came across some photos of my first motorbike – a Red Honda Super Dream NNR 108W. I remember how my parents tried to prevent me from buying a motorbike but eventually relented and I was the proud owner of a brand spanking new Super Dream registration number NNR 108W. I pondered for a moment as to what might have become of it and packed the pictures away.

Later that day I was poking about on the internet and the Super Dream popped back in to my mind so I jumped on the DVLA website and did a vehicle enquiry to see if any details were still held and to my surprise the information before me suggested that it was still on the road.

That got me thinking so I tried to see if there were any cars/bike reunited sites but alas nothing useful turned up so I put the idea (and me) to bed.

The following day I came home from work exhausted and fell asleep on the sofa, I woke and thought I’d pop on eBay to see what kind of money old Super Dreams were making these days, I typed Honda 250 Super Dream in the search box and a list of bikes and spares appeared before me. The very first item listed was a 1981 Red Super Dream in a bit of a sorry state listed at £250 so I clicked on it and looked at a picture of it in profile, I then clicked on the next image and the bikes number plate was pictured so you can imagine how gobsmacked I was to see NNR 108W before my very eyes!

Nostalgia overwhelmed me and after a tense 15 hour wait (I was competing with other bidders) I secured it for £460 but not before a final heart stopping moment when my IPhone lost reception just 7 minutes before the listing ended, however a hasty phone call to my brother secured the successful bid. Over the coming months it’s my intention to get her back into shape but for now and after 30 years apart NNR 108W is coming home...