Honda Dream Front Disc Conversion

[Caecilius]

Seeing as how the Honda Dream and Wave share several components, although a slightly different frame, do they share the front fork set-up too? My Dream has a drum on the front, and I'd like to convert it to a disc, a la Wave. Can I do this by buying some Wave forks and just swapping them? Or will I need to have a proper job done at the Honda dealer?

[ozzydom]

Discs are optional on most models,eg,our 3yr old wave is all drum.

[Caecilius]

That's true, but on the Dream the only option is to have electric start, apparently, although I wasn't offered this at my dealer! Drums are mandatory on the Dream. What I would like to know is if the forks are basically the same on both models (Dream and Wave) apart from the disc fitting, and if I can put Wave forks onto a Dream.

[kash]

Guess it would be cheaper to buy a Wave with disc rather than modifying your dream, 2-3 year old goes for 25k

[goldfish]

Maybe possible. If the sliders are the same diameter and forks the same length, or the yoke is the same length and diameter, then it's simply a matter of routing the hose and fixing the master cylinder. If you have to ask this question then it's not possible and you'll have to go to Honda

[Nigelmartin]

You can buy a set of front gas shock that will have the right spacing for the disc. About 4000baht for the shocks. Don't be tempted to put a larger,than standard, disc on the front (although it looks good) as it locks up to wheel on heavy braking.

[Caecilius]

Thanks for the replies. I'll try asking at a local dealer and see what they say! Might have to put up with a few larughs though...

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

Don't bother with a Honda dealer! Go to one of the many many freelance motorbike fixing shops, they often do excellent work for very little money. They also do work which everyone says "it's not possible", like for me i had my RXZ outfitted with a heavy-duty "V4" suspension, that is 4 shocks in the rear. Soon i will have it modified to rear disc brake too (which is an awful lot more difficult than in the front!!)

It is very likely that the Dream's fork is compatible with some other Honda model (Wave, Sonic etc) and if it's not compatible they will MAKE it compatible, worst that can happen is they need to weld a new steering head tube (waddayacallit in English??) onto the frame to take the Wave's fork bridges and from there downward it'll be all "Wave".

And don't be afraid of having such welding done, mine bike also required a bit of frame welding and it was done to perfection, i am using a small shop in soi Phra Khanong and i can only recommend them to everyone.

And don't let anyone talk you into a Wave just for the disc brake. Comparing a Wave with a Dream is like comparing a Toyota with a Rolls Royce. Honestly - i never sat on a bike more comfortable than a Dream, if you have one, keep it!

Best regards.....

Thanh

[nolifer]

And don't let anyone talk you into a Wave just for the disc brake. Comparing a Wave with a Dream is like comparing a Toyota with a Rolls Royce. Honestly - i never sat on a bike more comfortable than a Dream, if you have one, keep it!

Best regards.....

Thanh

Actually there are lots of bikes thats more comfortable than a dream, yamaha spark135 for example, better dampers, better performance and more comfortable to drive

[Caecilius]

The Honda dealer laughed, checked and told me 10k. "Forks, hydraulics, disc and caliper." Hmmm...

I am looking for a local bike shop to ask about the job but no luck yet - should be cheaper than the dealer though! I don't think I want to spend more than 5k tops, to be honest, so unless I do it myself I guess the Dream will stay drummed.

I think that while the Dream is a more solid bike than the Wave, and a trusty tractor/workhorse type vehicle, it may not be the most fashionable bike. So what? Works for me. And econimical engines that will do a million kms without trouble are pretty few and far between...

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

That's why i said stay away from a Honda dealer. Go to one iof the many many small "Somchai" type motorbike fixers. You see, i am about to have a REAR disc brake done on my old Yamaha RXZ (which is major headache compared with front!!) and i too have to get a number of parts. So i know the proces for TWO of your items, as Honda isn't more expensive than Yamaha:

- Disc: 450 Baht (genuine!)

- Wheel hub: 400 Baht (aftermarket, non-genuine but just as good)

Then you need the fork, the caliper, brake hose, the hand lever unit and brake fluid. The most expensive is the hand unit (brake pump), if you just want a disc brake that works, go for an aftermarket product ("tuning part"), those cost less than half and work just as well.

Now since i had my entire fork changed as well on my Yamaha (again, that's a bike that's off the market since 13 years and parts are rare!) i paid less than 2.000 Baht for new, aftermarket, parts.

Leaves the caliper. Honestly i have NO IDEA how much one such could cost, again get it at the shop that does the repairs and granted it will be cheaper than at a Honda dealer.

Brake hose - cheap thing, 150 baht for mine and that's steel-flex (those are pretty universal, available in several lengths and they provide a better control over the brake than the standard rubber ones).

Add to that roughly three hours of labour (i myself wouldn't take longer, doing that sort of conversion all by myself) and you're good to go.

You, riding a Dream, have the huge advantage of riding a bike that can be found on every street corner and parts in every supermarket, literally. While i ride a somewhat rarer machine, a 14-year old Yamaha two-stroker which is still produced new but hasn't been imported to Thailand since 1996! And as you know the Thai mentality - something that's no longer available will immediately lose dealer support. Go to any Yamaha dealer and ask for spares for an RXZ - they laugh about you! And then if i want a rear disc brake, that bike has never been made with such..... for THEM, it's just impossible to even imagine. Luckily i have friends in Malaysia and Singapore who are riding newer RXZ's and have kept up with mods - i got my brake caliper (fake Brembo) including home-made adaptors to get it on the rear swing arm of an RXZ (original for some Kawasaki!) and a modified brake pump from a Yamaha 125-Z including a home-made adaptor from Singapore and currently an oversized brake disc on the way, again from Singapore. I got one here but its too small (genuine rear VRR disc), the adaptor for the caliper is done for the larger one which, not surprisingly, is not available in all of Thailand. Add to that the rear wheel hub from a Yamaha VRR (available here, oh wonder!) and a bit of fiddling to get it all to fit together and voila - Thailand's one and only RXZ with rear disc brake. I am currently still waiting for the disc, it's on it's way and should be here Tuesday or Wednesday.

But for YOU - simply get everything for Honda Wave and you're ready

By the way one thing your and my bike have in common - that "tractor/workhorse" thing. RXZ's here in Bangkok are almost only used to haul gas bottles, car tyres or stacks of large cardboard boxes around, they are almost always fitted with oversized cargo racks and the bikes themselves are in very poor condition, yet running and running and running. Mine has almost 68.000 Kilometers now and there is one in my soi that has 96.000!

Keep on truckin'......

your Thanh

[goldfish]

Don't agree with buying aftermarket parts in Thailand, my experience is they simply don't fit. The drum brake will be adequate if you take care of it. Maybe remove any excess carbon and rust from the drum with some sandpaper and lightly grease the pivot, then correctly adjust the cable and grease the lever. Admitedly I don't like them in the wet, but it's probably safer than somchai attacking it with inferior parts

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Well as for my RXZ "aftermarket" is all i can get - there are no genuine spares for that bike anymore.... and so far i never had a problem with those parts, except for the notoriously weak rear (drum!) brake. Which is why i'll do the disc conversion.

So far my aftermarket stuff:

- Fork

- rims (high quality Japan-made aluminium rims "D.I.D." brand)

- headlight complete (Kawasaki GTO copy)

- brake pads front and rear (rear = no good)

- brake disc front (excellent!)

- brake hose steelflex front (excellent!)

- hand levers chrome

- electrical hand units (waddayacallit in English??) cheap stuff, does it's job (copy original Yamaha)

- Second set of rear shocks (i've got V4 suspension, 4 shocks rear)

- side fairing set (had to be modified to fit, but that's because my frame isn't straight - broke and poorly welded by prev. owner)

- tank cap

So far close to 27.000 Kilometers and no problems with the bike

Best regards....

Thanh

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

I finally did mine conversion on last Saturday - have a look. And if i can get a REAR disc brake into a bike for which no parts whatsoever are available here (ordered from Singapore plus some home-made) then you should have no problems whatsoever to get one into the FRONT of a bike that's available on every street corner

Best regards......

Thanh

[highonthai]

I find your picture of your 4 shock bike very interesting.

Why whould you add 2 more shocks?

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Those are a necessity - the Yamaha RXZ is actually some sort of sports bike and not really made to carry heavy loads, the frame's rear end is rather fragile. However due to the engine's rather high torque at low rpm's this bike WANTS to be packed - and i ride about 50% of my kilometers with passenger and/or other loads.

So in order to prevent the frame's rear to bend downwards (as it did prior to installing those extra shocks) i installed them exactly as they are - like a "V". This completely takes the load off the frame's rear and directs it into the swing arm and hence onto the road.

As a side effect the suspension becomes very hard (for a solo rider) but "just right" with passenger.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[Lickey]

Ive just fitted a helicopter landing pad on the back of my Yamaha xjr 1200, does anybody know how many extra supension units i will need to cope with the extra load?

[Thanh-BKK]

Yes sure.

if you EVER had a frame look like the one in this picture, you would probably also look for ways to prevent that from happening again. And the V4-Suspension DOES prevent that from happening.

And yes, that IS my frame, respectively WAS. Fixing this meant buying a second bike.

Best regards....

Thanh

[BlackArtemis]

I agree with Thanh-BKK I have had so much custom work done to my honda Chaly. Find a respectable skilled shop and they can pretty much do anything you want.