NORMAN — Tom Johnson and his son Michael share a love for motorcycles and the University of Oklahoma. Tom’s a clinical cardiologist faculty member with OU, and Michael’s currently a junior there studying aerospace engineering. Tom’s garage presently has a half-dozen bikes, including a big Harley-Davidson and assortment of super-fast Japanese scooters.

It’s an impressive collection, but these modern motorcycles weren’t what brought me to their Northwest Norman home. I first met Tom at last year’s Jazz in June. He’d ridden their 1963 Honda 305 Dream motorcycle to the festival, and it is an attention grabber. Parked in a row of much newer bikes, the Honda stood out with its nearly 50-year old styling that manages to be both elegant and utilitarian.

Tom told me the bike speaks to guys my age, which is old. Indeed, my first rides were a 1970 Honda SL 90 dirt bike, replaced a year later with a red 1971 Honda CB 350 street screamer. I’d saved money to buy them from bussing tables at the Betty Crocker Tree House Restaurant. Now the motorcycles cost around $400 and $600, respectively, from the Honda franchise that was owned by a small town Missouri Chevy dealer.

“People 53 and older remember these bikes because they were the first Japanese success in the American market,” Tom said. “They were around for eight or 10 years, and then got wrecked or parked in a barn someplace.”

In my case, the bike was sold to buy a vehicle with four wheels that could be parked comfortably on remote country lanes.

“People my age have never seen an old Japanese touring bike like this before,” Michael said. “They have no idea what it is.”

Michael has an intimate familiarity with the old Honda. It has been in their collection since 1995, when he was six years old.

“We found it in a junk yard on the other side of Luther,” Tom said. “It was in a motorcycle graveyard and our first reaction was, ‘Cool.’”

Tom admitted that this first response was naïve because it took so many years to restore the bike than what they’d originally imagined.

“It was a much harder project than we thought because parts weren’t readily available,” Tom said. “We didn’t have the knowledge to be able to do a quality restoration.”

But they learned how together, over many hours spread out over many years. The bike was not in running condition.

“It kind of rolled,” Tom said. “The gas tank was full of rust and nothing worked.”

This wasn’t the first basketcase bike Tom had tackled, but the challenges were greater, starting with the Honda’s atypical frame. As opposed to a tube frame, this model is in one piece from front to back.

“Every nut and bolt had to come off,” Michael said. “You have to drop the engine and take every chrome piece off. Everything has to be catalogued because they all go at very specific points.”

There was no shop manual available. They discovered that Maxey’s Cycles on Northwest 39th in Oklahoma City had 1963 Honda microfiche film sheets showing explosion-type parts diagrams.

“In the basement of OU’s library, there’s a 10-cent per-page microfiche copier, and we copied every page they had,” Tom said. “It didn’t show us how anything worked, just how it goes together.”

At this point in the project, dad saw his son’s engineering talent emerge, even while he was still in junior high school. “My method is basically memorization, but Michael has a way of seeing how components work together,” Tom said.

Their search for Honda resources took them via the Internet to Hawaii’s big island.

“We found the old man who translated the wiring diagram from Japanese to English back in the Sixties for Honda International,” Tom said. “He shared what he had with us on a disc, but sometimes they’d substituted different wire colors in the process, so it was not easy to understand.”

Remarkably, Team Johnson had to do very little engine and drive-train work. The twin cylinder four-stroke 305cc motor had bolts that needed torque adjustment, the clutch had to be freed, the drive chain was replaced and the carburetor was rebuilt.

“The engine sputtered some, but started right up,” Tom said. “We found an old Honda mechanic who helped us with some timing issues. The spark plug wires were cracked, and he said you can’t get them anymore but just happened to have a set.” 

The project has been a learning experience for both father and son.

“Using a multimeter was something I didn’t know how to do, along with finding out how transmissions and suspensions work,” Michael said. “Pretty much all my mechanical knowledge has come from this and another bike we rebuilt.”

Tom said that his son’s patience for troubleshooting difficult problems far exceeds his own. Replacing the throttle assembly in the handle bars took weeks of work to complete. Getting each part positioned just right gave them fits when they’d find it wouldn’t move after being clamped back together.

“Seemingly a simple system, it still proved to be amazingly complex,” Michael said.

Rebuilding the front shocks was equally tedious because they’re a spring-loaded telescoping system with a suspension adjuster on top. The thing was hazardous to work on, as well, because of the pressure required to torque it down. A guy named Moose was called in to help.

“He’s a big man, and even with everyone else, it still wasn’t enough muscle,” Michael said. 

Many 1963-era replacement parts were still available directly from the Honda dealer.

“We found a mechanic named Tiny at Maxey’s who had worked on them back in those days,” Tom said. “He was a great help with several things.”

They also had to deal with some not-so-helpful parts suppliers, like an old man in Ohio.

“I called this guy, and he asked if we had an early build 1963 or later build 1963,” Tom said. “I didn’t know, so he’d hang up on me. We still ended up doing lots of business with him because of all the parts he had.”

They found that few people have knowledge about these old motorcycles, and some have no inclination whatsoever to share the information.

 The bike’s distinctive original style white wall tires were found at a specialty supplier in Tennessee. One hundred dollars each for the pair of Honda wing logo fuel tank emblems put that outlay right around the total for what the motorcycle cost new. An electrical starting system was a first for the 1963 models, replacing the old kick start.

“We learned to find starters at junk yards and rebuild them ourselves,” Michael said. “We have three extra starters to work with. There are no parts for them — period.”

Exhaust pipes caused the same situation: You can’t get them anymore, and what they had looked rough. Although, originally, the pipes were ultra shiny and appeared to be chrome, Team Johnson learned they’re actually stainless steel. This allowed for the original pipe to be polished to its former luster. 

They’ve had to fabricate some components using new materials and making a pattern from existing, but useless, parts.

“We bought a roll of cork in Checotah, then traced a seal from an old gas cap that kept leaking on the painted tank,” Tom said.

They’ve been riding the completely-restored Honda 305 Dream for around a year, making it a nearly 15-year task.

“There was some frustration and a few doors slammed, but it turned out to be a fun father-and-son project,” Tom said.

As much as they learned, most of that technology is fast becoming ancient, although obviously not obsolete. You can ride the Dream to Jazz in June and get around 80 mpg.

“I have no problem working on these old bikes, but I wouldn’t even think of touching my 2005 dual sport motorcycle,” Michael said. “It’s fuel injected, and every system has a computer. 

Have you seen a cool vehicle around town? Writer Doug Hill’s always on the lookout for future Dig My Ride columns. E-mail him at Hillreviews@hotmail.com.