Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board 66 Victor up on the bench

Bill Edwards came to visit last weekend and questioned some things on my Victor.

Rear Brake switch was the first questionable item.
Is this correct?







He also noticed that my left shock is bent



And we both noticed that the rear loop is bent more on the right more then on the left. Is this the was it is supposed to be or has this bike been through the ringer?


He was still questioning these fender brackets as well. He didnt think they looked factory



Does anyone know what other rear rims will fit this hub? Only 66 Victors or all BSA singles or more then that?

The asymmetry of the rear end is shown on the frame drawing that AML provided
.
The foot brake switch looks about what BSA threw together at the time.
What year and what is the frame designation? Your bike is very similar to my C15C.

Don in Nipomo

Its a 66 VE . Looks like my frame may be a bit tweaked then. hopefully not too bad. I plan to strip the whole thing down anyway. Should be able to check it out better then.

No wait --- Thats not the frame that looks bent , its the rear fender loop. Separate piece if I am looking at the photos right. So is that piece asymmetrical?

Your fender support does look tweaked. Frame doesn't to me.

If you look at BSA frames in general, the rear is usually asymmetrical.

You will enjoy it when you are done

The Wipac brake switch is correct for 1966 but I suspect that it shouldd be flipped round so that the switch is facing outwards. All 64 - 70 "C15C" type frames are assymetrical, your rear mudguard loop is bent outwards on the right hand side. The rear mudguard tabs are standard but a crap welder has repaired them at sometime.

Rear rim should be WM3 x 18 but if replacing it, the piercing will need to match the hub (2 X 2 pattern). The hub is a C15 competition hub used on the B44 for 66 only. All later B44s use the Crinkle Hub (1 X 1 piercing pattern).

Other points:- There should be a return spring on the brake pedal between the upright part of the lever and the frame gusset
The chain guide for the bottom run is missing together with the chain guard.

The washers for the bottom shock mounts should be dished and are almost impossible to find.

Nice project, I'd love it - best of luck.

Got a rear wheel thanks to RichB :bigt Complete minus the brake drum. Hope its as nice as the photos. Couldnt sleep till ebay came back online last night

Dished like these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Progressive-suspension-14-Series-Shock-13-Black-BSA-B44-Victor-1966-1972-/231726816409?hash=item35f3fe9c99:g:eosAAOSwo0JWMSiE&vxp=mtr

Made some progress on the Victor this weekend. Motor is out. Now the fun begins....

Off with its head!

Finally decided that I have too many distractions in PA and brought the motor to NYC where I can work on it at Sixth Street. So today was the day.

Anticipation was really getting to me. The bike looked a mees on the outside and the motor was locked up when I got it. Even though I got it to brake loose eventually I really was expecting the worse once I got into the engine.

Off came the head but I could already see that someone had been into this motor before. But how long ago and to what purpose?

Some one deciding to modify the valve train but lighting it a bit.





Once the barrel was off I was grinning ear to ear.
Pretty clean inside and no rust that a honing didnt take care of in the barrel. 4 thou clearance piston to cylinder wall. and zero up and down movement on the rod.


Piston is Japanese made and is 20 over I believe . Looks like it was polished before being put back together




Used a heat gun to try and remove the rings but it only worked on 2 of them. Top compression ring is really stuck. I will try boiling the piston next


Also found a repaired spark plug hole. Doesnt go all the way through but I might keep it that way. Any opinions ??


Barrel honed and looking great


Like a freshly cleaned shotgun

I think I will change the valves back to standard and get new guides. The drive sprocket is pretty worn so I will replace that along with the seals that go along with that job. Hopefully that will be about it. I may find other issues since I have not taken the primary chain and clutch off yet but I feel pretty stoked about the findings today.

HNY Wade, for the top ring keep alternating heat ( gun, or blow torch) and cold ( ice pack )it will come eventually, the prep on the piston looks good, nice find.
The plug really needs full length threads, two reasons, conducting heat and a carbon build on the end threads will trash the threads on removal.

inlet valve looks a little pocketed , a shallow angle cut to remove the pocket lip will help flow gas.
Cheers
G

A bit late for that Gav.
It looks very much like a helicoil in there already.
If this is the case, it will be prudent to have it removed and a solid insert fitted.
Helicoil ( recoil & similar ) do not make a gas tight seal.

Lighter valve gear is usually a good thing, less stress on cams and valve gear, less chance of valves and piston getting it on when missing a gear.

This looks like it may have been a home made conversion..... Dont know....I say that just because the flat side of those four cone halves seemed to have been hack sawed to make fit the modified valves.

Any other opinions ? Keep the lightened valve train or trade it in on standard????

Its not exactly a high revving engine,, alloy keepers can pull through so I would go back to std.

Did they lighten the rocker arms also or just install
the keepers?

Good question. I will look in the morning . I didn't notice anything but I wasn't looking for it.

Wade,
A lot will differ with me on this but IMO those 441's represent the best BSA had to offer of the sixties classic British bikes. Once sorted they don't have the inherent problems of the A series twins or the plain bearing singles. While not a rocket sled they have enough power to ride on all but the interstates. Parts are very available and inexpensive. They are light and more maneuverable if you want to do some off road riding and you can easily resprocket them for 60-65mph cruising. A little head porting and a 32mm carb and some clutch work they scoot pretty good. You won't outrun any 650 twins but you can stay in reach.

Glad to see that you are resurrecting one an I hope you enjoy I as much as I have mine over the years. I lusted for what you have back in the sixties but between college and a family I never got a 441 till 1979 and I still have it. It is parked along side it's younger sister the B50.

Good luck,
Mr Mike

I'll let you know if I agree Mike. I probably will but then again ... I love them all

Heat gun - Boiled several time frozen then boiled again. Ive gotten the rusted rings out of the piston all exept an 1.5 inch piece of the top ring. Back in the freezer and will try again before I go to bed. Trying not to damaage the ring seats with my jeweler screw drivers that I am prying with.. Pain in the arse !!! But its coming along I guess. Progress is progress

I'd look at a Timesert insert for the plug threads. You might have to go with their BigSert version which is made to replace a failed Helicoil. It looks like you have plenty of room for the BigSert if needed without getting too close to the valve seats. I put a BigSert in a Commando head and it was very close to the seat but seems to be working fine. The inserts are available in different lengths, just measure the length of the plug threads. IMHO the Timeserts are a much more positive locking system than either the helicoil wire or insert systems.

Hi Wade , the freezer is a bit slow, a wet rag and a blow torch will give more thermal Shocks per unit time, if you can pin the free ends of the rings in to the slots with a clamp that will help push the rings out, the last bit is tricky, its tempting to lever hard, Ive snapped rings at this point knowing they were never going back.

The freezer bit worked this time. Was able to get my smallest flathead screw driver under the broken ring. When i turn the screwdriver the ring slowly came out . Dont think I hurt the seat at all so I think I have a good piston here :bigt

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the Timeserts as well. Does it require a machinist or is it a home DIY job?

TimeSert can be a DIY job but the kit is pricey (150$). Since you already have the head off it would probably be cheaper to find someone to do it for you.

A little progress. I traded a cool old flat tracker tank for some shop time at Sixth Street and yesterday I did a little more teardown in the basement of the shop. Got the primary side off down to the clutch hub and so far everything looks good. Of course the clutch puller need is smaller then the usual one so cant continue till I get one of those. But the clutch basket and bearings ext. look good so I am not sure why there was so much play when assembled. Primary chain looks good too but once I had the front sprockets off then I noticed that the chain had been rubbing the inner case as if it was not spaced properly. It had the washer behind it but maybe it needs another shim as well. I guess on reassembly I will check chain alignment . It already "clearanced" itself so what ever gives the best alignment will be the way to go I presume.

Clutch plates are aluminum racing type but look ok so I guess I will run them for now. Would not be my first choice though. So the count so far is standing at :

New seals
New front drive sprocket
Clutch puller
shims?
Valves and keepers
valve guides
spark plug hole repair of some sort (or not)
New rings

Get the motor back together then start on the rest of the bike. Mostly clean up , de-rust and polish there. I know I need a chain guard and proper seat . Probably new wiring as well. Now I just need to work so I can buy all this crap.