Britbike forum Forums Buy & sell - private adverts only! Garage sale - The private buy & sell board What is my BSA 441 Victor worth?

I’m not familiar enough with Ceriani to recognize them. I did a couple of swaps but went with B50 forks.

But if they are worth thousand. You could take them off. Sell them then purchase the correct front end with wheel, brake and fender. What ya think $600 if you’re lucky? Oh then you’d need the correct headlight. If a person was turning it back into a Victor Special.

So…….you might come out ahead by $400 or so if you don’t value your time.

The bike would be pretty worthless without a front end.

I wondered about the frame too. Hopefully when I get home he’s sent the video and a couple more photos. Might be a frame number in those?

I would think he’s reading this thread.

Gordon

Yeah, I've got Ceriani forks with Race Tech cartridge emulators on both my B50 and My DB34GS dirt bikes. That setup is much easier on my wrists and arms. Well worth it for vintage dual sport riding.

I love threads like this one, especially when a bb.com member ends up with the bike and it turns out to be a cool bike when it's all fixed up.

C'Mon fellows, let's jump on it!

I'll Paypal $100 to any member that buys it, to help get going...

I could see that. I've always heard good things about them but have never actually rode a bike with them.

I can tell you a story about a fellow who had a brand new 1968 Victor Special. Lived in the Southern California desert. Friends had Huskies and Yamaha DT1s. Took off on a group ride...... about 5 of them.......his first time on the Victor in the desert. Wicked fast........left everybody in his dust. Just flying and came up on some woop de doos. (sp?) made it through the first couple but after that things got ugly.......fast. He kept the bike but settled on small Hondas for the rest of his desert riding days.

IMO you can easily ride a VS on gravel/dirt roads, some single track but it's suspension just can't handle the rough stuff......at speed. Combine that with how much it weighs. YES......it can be done (was and is).......but IMO if you're going to ride rough off road on one I'd consider the Ceriani forks an upgrade.

I have to say this about this bike being offered......I love that round barrel.......and the oil tank. 1967 was a good year for me.

Gordon

Putting non BSA wheels and hubs on one can take off around 30 lbs. My '65 C15 with Husky forks, wheels and Marzocchi triple clamps weighed in around 240 dry. It makes a huge difference. That Ceefer frame now has a B44EA engine in it. Guess I should weigh it, dirt and all and see how heavy it is.

Not a '69 frame because it only has the one lug to mount the muffler. Oil tank is also early one with screw on lid. Could be '67 frame. Swing arm looks to have later chainguard mounting.

[quote=Stuart Kirk]

Stuart……on the off road unit singles I built I used AJS Stormer and Husky wheels. I got rid of the bikes but still have some Stormer and Husky brake/front end bits around here somewhere.

I used to race desert on a little bike. The big bikes would blow by me on the lake beds and fire roads but a lot of times I could catch back up in the tight stuff. At the end of the day I was still worn out but can’t imagine what those guys on bikes that weighed 100+ lbs more than mine were feeling.

I do remember one hound and hare where we’d gotten into a VERY rocky section. Only way to make any time was to go fast enough to stay on top of the rocks. But sooner or later you’d go down hard and have to start all over again. Your out there with a couple of thousand other riders and you have no clue exactly what your position was in the race……but you knew for sure you weren’t first. I passed a fellow who was struggling to get his bike up….not exactly sure what it was but it was a BSA……..I’ll never forget that look on his face.

Hopefully the OP will set us straight on the frame. I didn’t have a mail from him last night when I got home. The last one he sent was asking me to sign in to Google to open the files???? The other photos came attached to a mail…..easy.

Reliving some old times…….Gordon

Frame # is B44VS 8028. Engine # is B44EA 847.

Stuart - The Frame # is B44VS 8028. If I knew how to post a picture I would...
dean

Email it to me Dean and I’ll post it tonight when I get home from work.

That last email you sent with 3 photos and the cold start video…….wanted me to sign into Google???? The other 2 email just had photos attached. I’m not sure why there’s a difference but as far as I know I’ve never “ signed into” Google?

Gordon

Does the bike have a title?

It does Look like a 1969 number but it possibly should have a couple more letters in it to designate the month and year of production. BSA made that change in 1969.

Yes sir......here's an example of a 69 VS frame number. February 1969. I had already been in the service for 5-6 months???



These are NOT the numbers for the bike that's for sale......just one I have hanging around.

I'm going to take a look at that muffler mounting mentioned. So many little things were changed. I learn one..... forget two. I'm going to dig around for a 67 Enduro frame and compare.

I'll post Dean's numbers just as soon as he gets them to me.

I would LOVE to hear some more input about price........I could be WAY off base.....I live in a pretty small world.

$2000 $3000 $4000 ??????? Still a little more to learn about it but........come on fellows the guy's asking.

Gordon

Really............no one else has an opinion on price. Or......are you waiting for the photo of the frame number and if it has a title?

Gordon

Gordon,
We do not have the full frame number. So if the frame number indicates that the vintage is the same as the motor, i.e. 1967, then the price would be higher in my opinion, than if the frame number indicates a later vintage., say 1969. I would say $2500-3500. It also matters where you are, as prices tend to be higher in areas of higher population.

I'm not sure why it matters, but in any case, if Dean wants to sell it, it's up to him to establish a starting price. I recently sold a very nice CB350 cafe bike which I started on Kijiji (like craigslist) at $4500CDN, then $3900, then $3400, and finally sold it for $2500 US which is roughly equivalent to $3300 CDN.


Here is one that sold for an exceptionally low price on Ebay, despite appearing very original with matching numbers. https://www.ebay.com/itm/275373030833?hash=item401d82fdb1:g:LwwAAOSw4Dtiwli-

Tom

I agree 100% about the frame.......and the more I look at the bike the more I think it's worth at least the higher end of my estimate. The wheels are really nice ( hard for me to find like that) and that front wheel is probably the stock VS item?

Very nice CB.....I've always had a soft spot for Honda singles and twins. I've lusted for a Black Bomber for decades....closest I came was a CB77.

Gordon

kk wrote "Here is one that sold for an exceptionally low price on Ebay, despite appearing very original with matching numbers. https://www.ebay.com/itm/275373030833?hash=item401d82fdb1:g:LwwAAOSw4Dtiwli-"

I think that is a good example of where unit single prices are today.

Gordon

I would say that if Dean wants to sell it, it's up to the Buyer to establish a selling price.

The Seller can establish "starting prices" all day long, but that's not going to sell the bike unless it is what the BUYER believes it's worth.

The key (as I said above in a wordy post and won't re-hash) is whether Dean wants to SELL IT, or just feel around for what the price MIGHT be and keep it in his garage if his idea and the worlds' idea of "value" don't match.

Lannis

I've been spending some time buying, selling, monitoring, taking notes, and bidding on Bring-A-Trailer in the past year or so.

My observation is that stock, matching, needs-nothing bikes of any type are going for what I consider "stupid money". Can't believe what plain-vanilla /2 and /5 Beemers are going for, like a R60/5 that was very nice but not perfect going for $16,000.

On the other end, sort of rough projects, rollers with the engines not frozen, need some spokes, but complete, are going for just over scrap steel 8 cents a pound money.

And good running bikes like the ones I have and would ride anywhere, but with rideability improvements or dents and nicks and patches are going cheap these days, 25% less than you could have gotten for them 6 years ago.

Seems that buyers want a bike they don't have to do anything AT ALL to, and will pay for that ....

Lannis

Not that this can be taken too seriously, but Hagerty recently advised me to up the value of the 1970 Bonnie and Commando.

"Our team of valuation experts recommend increasing the values on these vehicles".

Relatively recently I have slid towards that category. I have one major project on the go and more waiting in the wings. I’m half heartedly looking for a bike to ride and at this point don’t even want to think about having to change the oil.
I suppose older folk are starting to realize they may not finish their projects and can’t take their money with them. The only thing holding me back is the Scottish ancestry. I’d gladly forgo the spit polish for 25% off. Rather have one that’s properly sorted with a bit of character.

I'm in that category. Probably slipped into it a few years back but was in denial and still collecting projects.......now all of them are just collecting dust. The major project sits there with everything ready to be assembled. Only an external oil filter to be sorted. The only thing I've accomplished lately is.......ignoring it.

Gordon

I did some checking on koncretekids comment about the silencer mounting. I should have taken some photos but he’s 100% correct. At least it conforms with what I found in my stash. The 69 VS has a double hole tab for the muffler. The 67 used the older single hole version. (good catch)

I’d have to think it would have been a lot of trouble to cut the 69s off and re-weld the early type back on???? Why would you do that?

So……it’s still a mystery. We need Dean to send me a photo of the frame number so I can post it. I’d agree that if it’s actually a 67 frame it adds a bit to the value IMO even if the numbers don’t match.

Gordon

If the frame is a 69, it should have fairing lugs at the headstock.

Though very early 69s could be exceptions(?).

Covid sux.

OH NO!!!!! BTDT and agree 100%.

Hope you’re over the worst of it.

G

PS, second photo of the bike shows the headstock…..no fairing lugs?

Thanx G, hope I am too...

Saw that photo, why I crawled from the grave to post that.

One more... footpeg assemblies are 66/67 type it appears. Wouldn't work on 69 frame.

...back to the crypt...