He only paid $1000 for it back in later
part of October in 2010. He calls it his "de-rice" project. It came
factory with a b18b1 engine and an automatic transmission. When he purchased
it, the engine had been swapped to the GSR b18c1 and a GSR (DC2) 5-speed
transmission. He plans to swap all of the grey cloth interior for the GSR black
leather interior. He also hopes to get some Polish GSR blades for his project
car as well. Below are some photos of
Shawn’s Car
The 250cc Honda C71 and C72 Dream and the identical C76 and C77
bikes with 305cc capacity) were the first larger-capacity motorcycles
that Honda mass-exported. They were characterised by a pressed steel
frame and alloy overhead cam twin cylinder engines, and were very well
equipped, with 12v electrics, electric starter, indicators, dual seats
and other advanced features, not common to most motorcycles of the
period.
These bikes started out as the Honda C70 Dream. Soichiro Honda
had dubbed many of his earlier bikes 'Dream' after his dream of
building complete motorcycles. The C70 was a 250cc pressed-frame bike
(very similar frame to the later bikes) released in 1956. It was usually
seen with a single seat & rack, with clip-on pillion pad.
The C75 was the 305cc version of the C70. It had a square head-light
and shocks, leading link forks, pressed-steel handlebars and were
somewhat unusual in appearance. The engine was dry sumped, and had 6v
electrics. The design of both the frame and engine was heavily
influenced by bikes built by NSU Motorenwerke AG, which Soichiro Honda had seen on his visit to Europe in 1955, including the Isle of Man TT races.
The C71 and C76 were later developments, from 1957 or 1958 onwards.
The C71 was the 250cc bike, while the C76 was 305cc. Not much had
changed visually, but they were fitted with electric starters. Dual
seats were common on export bikes, but the single seat/rack combination
was available. They were exported to Europe & the US, and other
markets. A C71 was shown in the Netherlands in 1958, and shown at the
Earls Court show in either 1958 or 1959, while the C76 became the
flag-ship bike for the Honda range released into the US in 1959.
There was a version specifically built for the US market called the
CA76, which came equipped with conventional tubular handlebars, although
the standard pressed-steel bar C71 & C76 were also sold in the US.
In the end, only a small handful were exported around the world. These
were the first of the Honda 'Dreams' sold outside of Japan. Also
available was the 'Dream Sport' bikes with high exhaust pipes, the
CS71/CS76 & CSA71/CSA76. All sold well in their home market, and
have attained cult-status amongst Japanese collectors.
The CE71 Dream Sport is a closely related version, and very rare. The
dry-sumped engine, in the same pressed frame, with tubular handlebars,
low sports exhaust pipes & dual seat, with an angular fuel tank
similar to the CB92. They were exported to the US & Europe. Just
over 400 were made and they were all recalled, with most scrapped.
Another rare version was the CB71 - another sports version of the dry
sump bikes. It was only available in Japan, and it only in limited
numbers. It was very reminiscent of the CB92 - pressed frame, flat 'ace'
handlebars, fly screen, low megaphone exhaustpipes, cut down rear
mudguard, cycle-style front guard, angular fueltank with the 'wrap-over'
rubber kneepad of the CB92.
The final development of these bikes was a significant one - the
C72/C77 was available from 1960, and the American market CA72/CA77 was
available in 1961, although a 1960 C72/C77 would be a very rare bike,
most came out in 1961 too. These bike were made until 1967, although it
seems that because of the way US bikes are dated, many are referred to
in the US as 1968 or even 1969 models. These bikes saw a completely
redesigned engine - a wet-sump engine with many internal differences,
essentially a new motor, with electric start & 12v system.
The C72 and C77 had pressed steel handlebars, while the CA72 and C77
had high tubular bars. Beyond that there were only minor differences,
different indicators were fitted to the non-US bikes to suit the
countries laws. Bikes built up to 1963 had a different fuel tank shape
to later bikes, and the pressed steel bars were discontinued at about
the same time (all models using conventional tubular bars) but otherwise
the bike stayed much the same for the rest of its run. There was also a
version of the bike called the C78/CA78, but visually there were no
substantial differences to the C77/CA77.
Pre-1963 CA77s were considered as well-equipped touring/commuter
bikes - not particularly sporting, but reliable and comfortable, with a
turn of speed much better than many larger-capacity bikes. Like the
earlier dry-sump bikes, there were high-exhaust sports version, the CS72
& CS77, and the corresponding American market CSA72 & CSA77.
The C72/C77 was exported to Europe, Britain, Australia & other
markets, and sold in some numbers, although as it was comparatively
expensive, not as well as hoped. Post-WW2 anti-Japanese sentiment was
still rife, and in the UK, manufacturers like BSA & Triumph
attempted to blackmail dealers into not selling Japanese bikes. Also,
the style was considered to be somewhat unusual to European eyes, and by
the mid-1960s quite old-fashioned in appearance.
A re-development of the engine was used in the seminal CB72 & its 305cc cousin, the Honda CB77, both of which were ground-breaking sports motorcycles of their day. The CL72 & CL77 Scramblers also used the same engines. In addition, the engine was studied, and developed & enlarged by the Laverda factory as the basis of their 650cc & 750cc twin cylinder engines.
These days, these Honda models are considered collectibles, and have a strong following in the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club.
