Honda Dream 50 self-made

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Honda dream 50

Self-built dream team

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The Honda Dream 50 is a dream for many. The French Philippe Surmont created his own personal dream team with four self-built, differently motorized versions with an identical look and the original.

Honda has always been famous for great motorcycles with classic styling. Already in the sixties and seventies, when the brand caused a sensation with its racing machines on all world-famous racetracks. Still, not too many took notice when Honda celebrated its 50th anniversary D.ream 50 presented. Not many, but some – such as the Frenchman Philippe Surmont, who had already designed many wonderful motorcycle studies in honor of Honda.

Fine piece of extremely handsome technology

Philippe is the official Honda Dream distributor in Thonon-les-Bains, near the French-Swiss border. The Honda dealer has been known for its first-class service for many years, with which it was probably recommended for Honda Dream sales. Most people found it hard to imagine that a man running such a strictly run company could create something that went beyond production bikes, let alone build really great bikes. Philippe took advantage of this Dream 50 opportunity and passed the information on to a few friends to give them the opportunity to get hold of one of the rare machines.

His wife Marcelle and their two children Caroline and Pierre already suspected that Philippe was on to something big, extraordinary and fantastic. A globally unique project was being planned that Honda had never thought of itself. Honda started production and a subsequent, almost incomparable triumph in Tokyo in 1948, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary they built 200 copies of this crazy bike, the Dream 50. France got 49 pieces, and Philippe secured himself one of them in the first few days. Sure, it’s only a 50 cubic 5.6 hp moped, but what a moped. Single cylinder, double exhaust, four valves, two overhead camshafts. A fine piece of extremely handsome technology. This precious machine is a gem, with obvious borrowings from the 1962 RC110, a high-tech 1950s designed for racing. Of course, the Dream is not a lightning-fast racer, with 60 km / h at 13,000 tours it is difficult to cover yourself with fame. But with their aesthetic technology, both racing and anniversary models have made history.

Individual solutions for every model

Philippe was suddenly overcome by passion. A somewhat elitist plan began to mature in him: what if a whole dream team was created to support the little 50s? With the single-cylinder from the CB 125 N, the twin from the CB 350, the four-cylinder from the CB 750 Four and even the six-cylinder from the legendary CBX 1000?

Philippe started working on the 750 and when he finally saw the result, his heart pounded with excitement. The happiness of the first success gave him the strength to continue pursuing the project. Always the same look, silver with red, but with individual solutions for each model. 350s, 1000s and finally the 125s emerged. How can it be that this wonderful series does not come from the Honda factory?

The 125cc has almost the same scale as the 50cc, it is just a little stronger. The standard tank had to be stretched a decent amount (ten centimeters) to ensure the dream look, followed by the solo seat with the knobbed tail. This hump seat design is common to all Dream models. Multi-adjustable handlebars and Akront wheels complete the dream look. The thin fork and the mechanically operated disc brake at the front come from the series.

Slightly higher in the hierarchy is the 350, which for Philippe is the most homogeneous and at the same time the most charismatic variant. Certainly also because of the large drum brake at the front, which comes from the legendary Suzuki GT 750, also better known to many as the water buffalo. The flat aluminum tank, a Honda part from the seventies, and the conical Norton-style exhaust give the Dream design a particularly classic look.

750 with CR 750 Daytona look

The next in line appears bigger and stronger, the 750. For many of us, the CB 750 Four was an icon of our youth and one of the best, but definitely one of the most famous bikes in its day. The legendary four-cylinder is in a double loop frame and breathes through K.&N-filter one, as well as a four-in-one self-made system. Akront wheels are also used here; the rear frame has simply been shortened. This gives the bike the true CR 750 Daytona look, not least thanks to the CR replica tank that Philippe found in England.

Sauquet

Philippe Surmont and his Honda Dream 1000.

The crowning glory of the series is still missing, based on the CBX – once a superlative bike, looking like a spaceship that could catapult us into science fiction worlds. Author Alain Sauquet had the honor of owning a CBX 1000 in the mid-1980s and the memory of that monumental bike is still very much with him. Great, this wide engine with the six tailpipes that stick out like organ pipes. Sure, handling was never the strength of the 1000, but the power and the grandiose sound of the straight six are incomparable.

Some work was necessary to adapt the Akront spoked wheels to the largest in the group, but above all the original tank had to be stretched by a full 15 centimeters to create the dream look. Philippe replaced the instruments with a unit from the VF 750, lighter shock absorbers from a CB 1100 R represented the best compromise between function and appearance. The six-in-six exhaust, which is styled on the legendary RC166, the one in the In the 1960s Mike Hailwood piloted a 250cc racing machine that the inventor found in Germany. With these five bikes, Philippe has created a collection that leaves no one untouched and that ultimately appears as crazy as it is logical, as if it came straight from the Honda factory in Japan and not from a Honda workshop on Lake Geneva. But now that the dream team is standing there in full glory, it becomes all the more clear: after all, someone had to do it.

Dream 50

Sauquet

Honda dream 50.

Engine:

Single-cylinder four-stroke engine, four valves, bore 39 mm, stroke 41.4 mm, 49 cm³, 18-millimeter carburetor, five-speed gearbox, chain drive

Landing gear:

Single tube frame, telescopic fork in front, two-arm swing arm in the back

Disc brake front and rear

Front tires 2.50-18, rear 2.75-18

Dream 125

Sauquet

Honda Dream 125.

Engine:

Single-cylinder four-stroke engine, two valves, bore 56.5 mm, stroke 49.5 mm, 124 cm³, 22-millimeter carburetor, five-speed gearbox, chain drive

Landing gear:

Single-tube frame, telescopic fork in front, two-arm swing arm in the rear, disc brake in front, drum brake in rear, tires in front 3.00-18, rear 4.10-18

Dream 350

Sauquet

Honda Dream 350.

Engine:

Two-cylinder four-stroke engine, two valves per cylinder, bore 64 mm, stroke 50.6 mm, 325 cm³, two 28-millimeter carburettors, five-speed gearbox, chain drive

Landing gear:

Single tube frame, telescopic fork at the front, two-arm swing arm at the rear, drum brakes at the front and rear, tires in front 3.60 H 19, rear 110/90 H 18

Dream 750

Sauquet

Honda Dream 750

Engine:

Four-cylinder four-stroke engine, two valves per cylinder, bore 61 mm, stroke 63 mm, 736 cm³, four 28-millimeter carburettors, five-speed gearbox, chain drive

Landing gear:

Double loop tubular frame, telescopic fork at the front, two-arm swing arm at the rear, double disc brake at the front, drum brake at the rear, tires front 3.50-18, rear 4.25 / 85 H 18

Dream 1000

Sauquet

Honda dream 1000.

Engine:

Six-cylinder four-stroke engine, four valves per cylinder, bore 64.5 mm, stroke 53.4 mm, 1046 cm³, six 28-millimeter carburettors, five-speed gearbox, chain drive

Landing gear:

Backbone frame made of steel, telescopic fork at the front, two-arm swing arm at the rear, double disc brake at the front, single disc at the rear, tires front 100/90 H 19, rear 130 / 80-18

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