A father's ‘dream'<br/><span class='hl2'>Son keeps 1965 bike, still in crate, at store</span>

Pieces of history are stashed in a wooden crate in Dan Maxey's "toy box,” a storage building behind Maxey's Cycles.

Surrounded by dusty vintage motorcycles and dirt bikes, in a dark corner, lies a Honda Dream motorcycle — manufactured in 1965, brand new, still in the packing crate.

Dan Maxey, owner of Maxey's Honda in Oklahoma City, is pictured in his store. By Jaconna Aguirre, THE OKLAHOMAN

Honda shipped 50 of the motorcycles to Maxey's dad, Jim Maxey, in 1965 and for some reason, the elder Maxey requested the last one to be left in the crate.

Dan Maxey, who started polishing motorcycles for his dad at about 9 years old and now owns the business, said their plan was to give away the Dream at an open house, or an anniversary celebration.

It never happened.

Jim Maxey died in 2005, leaving the fate of the motorcycle in Dan Maxey's hands. He's passing it on, too, to his son, Tony Maxey, sales manager for Maxey's Cycles.

This Dream's history

Honda debuted the 305cc Dream motorcycle in the U.S. in 1959 to a tough market; only 19 units were sold in its first year, according to Honda. But Honda motorcycles gained popularity with bikers who wanted a cleaner image than the Harley Davidson riders, Maxey said.

That 1965 shipment of Honda Dream motorcycles gave Jim Maxey the income he needed to sustain his business through the years.

He purchased the bikes from Honda for $250 a piece, and sold all but the last one with a $500 price tag.

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