An addition to the collection….

It has been a while since anything has been posted. I just started a new job which has severely limited my time in the garage and also hampered any updates that I might have. Recently, I have been working on getting the stock RZ wheel to mate to the ’86 GSXR front end, but those details will have to wait for another post

This post is about another British Single off-road bike I recently picked up; A 1967 BSA B44 Enduro, also called the Victor 441. Well its debateable what year the bike is. The title says a 1968, but the engine number would indicate its a 1967. A local motorcycle enthusiast friend sent me an email a week or so ago saying he was ready to part ways with this bike. I had to meet him to look over some of the details of an AJS he has, so while there we talked about the BSA. In short, I bought it from him a few days ago.

The last registration sticker on the bike is from April 1982. I am not sure if it has been run since then, the gas in the tank sure smells like it has been in there since 1982. Here is the current rundown of issues from an initial inspection.

Does not have good compression. I am hoping to get lucky and the valves are out of whack, but that is unlikely. I am expecting that at a minimum the cylinder will need an overbore and new pistons.
Will need all new rubber bits. The rubber is either disintegrating or hard as a rock.
Needs new fork seals
The wiring will need to be completely gone through. It appears that someone has hacked into the harness at some-point and used speaker wire in portions of the harness.
Crankcase leaks oil (but what old British bike doesn’t). The engine is going to get an overhaul, how much of an overhaul depends on what it looks like when I get the internals

Most importantly the major bits are all there and the major bits are all original.

Unfortunately, this one is going to take the back burner until either the Matchless or the RZ350 get finished. At least it looks good sitting in the garage. In the meantime, I have purchased “BSA Singles Restoration” by Roy H. Bacon. I will be giving that a read to get ready for tear down. I do not expect to do much cosmetically. As with the Matchless, I am only wanting to give it a full mechanical resto and a bath.

My favorite part of this bike is the tank. Its shiny, its yellow and its LOUD looking. The tank on mine is in good shape. Unfortunately, the one sticker that I really wanted is peeling away a bit. I am hoping to salvage what is left of it.