I was at lunch today sitting outside and a Beezer came by and parked. I was waiting for him, but never saw him come in, so when I left I went out back and looked at it, BSA 441 Victor in pretty good shape. He finally came out and I talked to him and he was complaining about how hard it was to start and then he proceeded to kick it over from the side with his right leg, pushed it right through without any effort. I didn't say anything, I mean what can you say? I think he said it was a 67.

The front brake looked like a single shoe about 1" wide and probably worked less than dragging your feet, but it was a nice looking bike with the yellow/silver tank with the big BSA decal. I couldn't believe it when he drove by. You can just hear these Brit singles when they go by. Puta, puta.

Makes me want a new project.

Dave
69S

Go for it Dave, a 441 or B50, Lovely bikes.
Even the Triumph badged singles are cool. Once you work out the technique with the compression lifter
it's not hard.
Go for it.
Perhaps a 350 Model 50 or an ES2 in a featherbed frame or, a T500 for those dirt roads.
You know you want one.

Nothing wrong with Victors...



(my 68)

From what I've read so far, they didn't handle on the road too good, with the short wheel base, and the same old English bike issues, but I've been through that with the Norton. I just though it looked good, was smaller than the Norton and would be nice just to zip around without making long distance runs. I had a B33 hard tail back in the early 60's and it seemed larger than the Victor. There's one for sale at British Bikes for $5700, I think, and one in NY near Syracuse for less than $3, not running. That's still an overnight for me. I'll think about it, but I do like the looks of them. Trouble is the roof needs lots of work and that's going to be more expensive than the root canal. Looks like I may need to strip it and replace it, some bad installation from the original workers and some rotten spots.

Dave
69S

The Vicky is a hoot and a half off-road. If you are man enough, it's a fun cow-trail bike. You better have your upper body in great shape or you'll get arm-pumped in about 2-1/2 minutes.

I had one long ago and it was a lot of fun and not difficult to start if you cracked the compression release just right while kicking it over.....FWIW a prior owner had put a Japanese fork, 21" front wheel, and knobbies on it and it actually worked pretty well in the dirt

The name ' Jeff Smith ' was synominous with the 441 Victor .

Matt Spencer wrote:The name ' Jeff Smith ' was synominous with the 441 Victor .

It's very sad that he is now synonymous with "AMA / AHRMA split".

That's what ego & obstinance will do.

...not to take one thing away from his abilities and accomplishments in racing; his fame was hard and well earned.

Here ya go. I am sure I can help with pick-up and delivery.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2597884861.html

72westie wrote:Here ya go. I am sure I can help with pick-up and delivery.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2597884861.html

Dang, if that's a true original survivor, it's one of the best I've seen.

Worth the money if it's running and riding right.

72westie wrote:Here ya go. I am sure I can help with pick-up and delivery.

Thanks, but I think my money is going to be all tied up in a new roof this fall. Otherwise I might go for it.

Dave

Wow - remember when they were $300?

I have a 67 Shooting Star, basicly the same as a Victor but in street bike trim. I don't know who told you they don't handle good on the street, mine has low bars good street tires & it flyes. I love to hit the local canyons & feel that thumper do it's thing. And the hard to start thing is just like any old bike, it's all about having it tuned up and learning the routine. Mine is a fist kick start most of the time. It's one bike I will have till the day I die.

The Victor is a very pretty little machine and they were very well thought of in their day. I never rode one on the street but do have some time in the dirt on one of them that a cronie had and always enjoyed it. Starting a single is really just a matter of getting it into good condition and then learning the drill. Its not as hard as so many folks seem to think. If you can start your Commando, the Victor should be a piece of cake.

Vintage Paul

hudson29 wrote:Starting a single is really just a matter of getting it into good condition and then learning the drill. Its not as hard as so many folks seem to think. If you can start your Commando, the Victor should be a piece of cake.

YAHTZEE!