67 BSA Victor - just got my latest Project

Mark · Jun 16, 2012

Oh Lord! Here we go again!
That's what my woman said when she walked out of the house and saw my new pile of parts.

I got it for FREE from my neighbor who took it apart 25 years ago and never got around to putting it back together.
1967 BSA Victor 441 Enduro - numbers match (B44 EA661). I got the old title too!

The only thing I know right now is it has a ceriani front end and is gonna take up all of my spending money to get it back together.
He still has the handlebars and seat up in the rafters of his garage, we'll pull those down soon and add them to the pile.
The plan is to make a dirtbike out of it, That seems like it will be the cheapest option at this point.

The ol' motorcycle in a wooden crate trick:

67 BSA Victor - just got my latest Project

Scattered the contents of the crate - initial inventory:

There are a few good things - new valves , bearings, etc..:

It's an addiction , yeah I know! :wink:

Hobot · Jun 16, 2012

Gosh it sure looks better spread on a picnic coth than a collection in the dirt. I'd see that and think -gosh what messy loss. Shaking my head that you can see some life left in it.

komet · Jun 16, 2012

Looks like a fun project if it's all there. Why was it dismantled?

swooshdave · Jun 16, 2012

I think the neighbor got the better end of that deal. :mrgreen:

Mark · Jun 16, 2012

swooshdave said:
I think the neighbor got the better end of that deal. :mrgreen:

HA HA! that's what he said too! :lol:

I spent some time messing with it this afternoon and am really surprised at how complete it is.
It has new valves and it came with a new piston and all new bearings and seals for the bottom end.

Also, brand new clutch and brake cables. I bet I could get $150. for the tank alone if I was to part it out.
I'm not gonna do that though, I have wanted a thumper dirt bike for a while now so I'm gonna make me one out of this.

He gave me a factory service manual so all I need is to buy a parts book and a gasket kit and I can get the engine put together.
well, I also need to get the cylinder bored because the new piston is 20 over.

grandpaul · Jun 17, 2012

Great project bike, mostly there.

I love the sprocket & spark arrestor muffler, it might have been set up for trials. Or maybe he used it to pull stumps out of the back 40...

"Rupert's Ratio" is the often-quoted "book to have" besides the parts book and shop manual.

Dreaming is good for you...

swooshdave · Jun 17, 2012

grandpaul said:
Great project bike, mostly there.

I love the sprocket & spark arrestor muffler, it might have been set up for trials. Or maybe he used it to pull stumps out of the back 40...[/img]

No trials with those knobbies!

gtsun · Jun 17, 2012

Lucky you! I love my 68 Shooting Star. Relaxe your jaw muscles because the first time you drop it into 1st gear and go blowing down the road you will instantly be smiling like never before! Then of course the vibration will bounce you teeth out!

bluto · Jun 17, 2012

I owned a 441 Victor in the '80's and had a lot of fun with it, a prior owner had installed Honda dirtbike forks and 21" wheel and the bike actually worked pretty well off road....IIRC the bottom end and gearbox were originally designed for 250cc power and sometimes failed on 441 and 500 cc bikes. Mine was fairly easy to start once I got the knack of cracking the compression release just right.

worntorn · Jun 21, 2012

It doesnt look any worse than these two Ossas I got a few summers back. One was given to me by a friend, the other was purchased for $100, both in boxes. The $100 bike had no compression from years of use in dusty conditions with a hole in the airbox. In effect, it had no airfilter. The engine on the free bike only needed minor work, however the rest of the bike needed a lot of help. I ride them quite often and also lend them to friends when Im riding the Maico.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rssDEXqH3Sw

Glen

Mark · Jun 23, 2012

OK, I've gotten to spend a little time with the BSA.
I'm waiting for a gasket kit, a clutch hub extractor tool and a Rupert Ratio manual to show up
before split the cases.

In the mean time, I went through the top end.

I ran a quick hone down through the cylinder and it came out pretty good.
I haven't measured it yet, but I may just be able to use the stock sized piston instead of boring it out.
that's good!

I pulled the rockers and cleaned them up, along with the rocker box.

So far - So good!

Mark · Jun 23, 2012

Oh, I have also been cleaning up some of the stuff that I am not planning on using.

I'm going to put the street stuff up for sale on ebay and hopefully make enough to
offset the cost of a Boyer for the little BSA 441.

I think that I would probably make a lot quicker progress if I wasn't shooting so many pics
and documenting the rebuild.
Kinda fun though, I'm not in a hurry to finish it.

grandpaul · Jun 24, 2012

I like your engine stand.

Those lights, in that condition, are worth a lot more than a Boyer kit.

That original tail light lens alone, if not cracked, can fetch more than you might imagine on e-bay.

Your cylinder looks excellent. You want .0045 clearance to piston, but if you have .005 or even .0055, it'll still have more than enough compression for near full power, with just a bit of smoke; no biggie. Great job on the head.

AussieCombat · Jun 24, 2012

Find the money somewhere else Mark, please don't sell those lights etc.
One day you will be the envy of many, when you ride it to a Classic Moto cross meeting
and all those who did just that, come running over to see your complete, road going, 441.
AC.

Mark · Jun 24, 2012

grandpaul said:
I like your engine stand.

It works.
Necessity is the mother of invention, I have limited work bench space and wanted something easy to move around
and out of my way when not being worked on.
I had that perforated angle just sitting around (left over from my garage door install), so I put it to use.

AussieCombat said:
Find the money somewhere else Mark, please don't sell those lights etc.
One day you will be the envy of many, when you ride it to a Classic Moto cross meeting
and all those who did just that, come running over to see your complete, road going, 441.
AC.

I could just hold onto them and pay for the parts I need, But.... I'm fairly confident that I will never use them.
Maybe there is someone out there who is looking to put their Victor back to stock and will appreciate them more than I.

Personally, I am not a big fan of the stock Victors cosmetics and I want a GP thumper so that's what I am going to make.

I have never been a "purist" when it comes to my bikes, I put them together the way that I want.
I suppose that if it was going into a museum , then there would be more attention paid to a "factory correct" rebuild,
but my motorcycles get ridden, I build them for that.

Also........ these bikes are so old now that nobody (except anal retentives) even remember what is stock and what's not.
As long as they don't look hacked together, people seem to appreciate them.

Mark · Jun 30, 2012

WELL!
I must say that with all of the GREAT builds being posted lately.....
grandpauls Triton
worntorns Vincent
and
Pelicans Manx
I am feeling a wee bit "inadequate" here with my poor little BSA 441 backyard build.

But, onward!
I'm still cleaning as I go, Remove a part, Clean, bag and tag it.
So far I have been through the transmission, oil pump and clutch. All are ready to
go back in when the time comes.

So far there are have been only 2 issues that I have found, a tooth busted off of 4th. gear
and what looks like maybe the crank bearing rubbing on the case (see pics).
Other than all new bearings, bushings and seals, there doesn't look to be a whole lot of work
that is going to need done before I can start to re assemble the engine.

A couple of the latest pics:

BEFORE

AFTER

**note the red arrow in the above pic, this has me somewhat concerned**

grandpaul · Jul 1, 2012

I don't recall my cut-out for the cam idler pinion being that deep. I'll go back and look at my build pix on mine & my clients...

swooshdave · Jul 1, 2012

Slap a little JB Weld on that!

Mark · Jul 8, 2012

Making some progress, Tear down (and cleaning) of the engine is complete.

I split the crankshaft today:

Ever wonder how much crap the Sludge Trap on a BSA single can hold?:

The Oil Pump:

All clean and ready for re-assembly:

grandpaul · Jul 9, 2012

Man, there sure aren't a whole lot of parts that go into that thumpa-lump...