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

I have nothing but sympathy my friend. Rest and get better.

Yep.........don't need NCIS to tell us it's looking more and more like a 67 frame. Which is a good thing. But you can't help but wonder where the 1969 comes in.....there has to be a story.

Gordon

Unsure whether the '69 had the muffler heat sheild, but that's for sure a '66/67 tail light.

Not a word from Dean......



My last Victor Special. Purchased from a member.......passed on to another. Hopefully I'll get another one put together before I'm too old to ride it.

G

What I see in the pictures is a bit confusing if the frame is stamped with a 1970 number.

The frame has the typical footpeg mounts of a 1966 to 1967 round barrel frame. These mount simply did not appear on later frames. The frame on the underside is different because of the mounts (with a cross frame tube between them).

The 1967 oil tank would be a pain to mount in a 1970 frame because it needs a cross brace in the correct position to bolt the tank to. It could be done but fabricating something would be necessary.

The exhaust pipe and muffler are 1967 items. And the frame mount for them is correct for a 1967 frame. The muffler mount would have had to have had to be cut off and then a donor from a 1967 would have had to be cut off a 1967 frame and then welded onto the 1970 frame. The lug we see is not a home made item, rather one that would have come with a 1967 frame.

A previous owner struggled to mount a battery, wrecking the 1967 airbox on the bike. This would not have happened if the frame were a 1970 as there was a different oil tank and the bike came with a fine battery tray already. So why put in the wrong oil tank to then have to get an airbox from an earlier Victor, then butcher it and then do a hack job mounting a battery tray??

The tail light is from a 1967 model. If one mounted it on a 1970 fender there would be a bunch of extra holes as the mounting holes are in different locations.

The swing arm on the bike last appeared on 1968 models as it has the upward facing lug above the rear brake stay mount. The chain guard has the mounting hook on the back typical of 1969 or 1970 bikes but it also has been mounted to the swing arm above the brake stay. I have seen other dual rear mount chain guards like this one, I actually have a 1967 B44EA with the identical chain guard. So it was something BSA did.

There is no key switch mount on the left side of the frame below the rear of the gas tank which should be there if it were a 1970 frame.

So where am I going with all this info?? I'd venture to say that the motor and frame are both from 1967. It would be a tremendous amount of work to totally alter a 1970 frame to have all of these 1967 details. I'm talking about having to had a 1967 frame to chop up to weld in the parts into a 1970 frame. Not very likely!!

I'll guess that the frame number was re-stamped. The reality of having the correct frame and engine together, even if not matching number make the bike worth more than a round barrel motor sitting in a 1970 frame. But not a lot, More of an ascetic plus. The bike could be brought back to stock condition fairly easily by the next owner it that was desired. Value of bike, around $ 3000 because of the frame number stamping issue. If not for that the value would be higher.

I keep a watch on bringatrailer.com . They usually bring good auction bids for older vintage and classic bikes. Usually the bids are surprisingly strong but I have noticed a decline in the bidding for all but the most blue chip of bikes. (Japanese two stroke road bikes from the 70s and 80s are the exception) I can't say what a non numbers matching, non standard, 441 would bring but if it's not imperative that it be sold you might want to hang on to it.

Oh. . .the tank looks like it has clear coat over the polished alloy area. It also might be grey paint to cover some body work.

Mecum Vegas auction results are in. Some 441s fetched decent money.

paul, do u have a link?

Annapolis is not far from me. Wondering if this is the same Dean Wickline I knew in the 80s when i lived on Kent Island, MD.

A bit late maybe and I might’ve missed it BUT didn’t see this mentioned- one can always do a search for completed sales and auctions on [email protected] as good an indicator as one can get IF sales are recent-ish?

Another hopefully helpful hint, RE: emails. Lots of email programs send emails from addresses not in one’s contacts list, straight to the junk folder.

Not seeing an email someone said they sent? Do a search of all inboxes. Should cover the junk folder too? If not, open “junk” and scroll OR search the junk folder specifically.

Best luck to the OP in his sale of this bike!

Paul, one fetched decent money... it was reminiscent of the Don Harrell Victor resto examples he'd bring a couple/several of to Vegas every year before his passing. They always fetched north of $10K. And were immaculate. I suspect that bike may once have been one of his.

The other typically used but relatively clean examples on the block didn't fare too well, IMO... probably would have done better with other venues.

Mecum bike auction sales have said to me for some time, go excellent or stay home...

The Mecum auctions solicited the established renown restorers to bring bikes to help build their show. They would spend more time on those auctions to drive the bids up in return. Not that the bikes didn't deserve the prices, they were the best there. The less presentable machines are pushed through quickly and don't get the time for bids to build. The point is that it is all a manufactured show and to use the values from that auction as what normal values are is misconstrued.


Bill B...

well regardless, value is only what someone will pay. in this case plus fees. so it is what it is. misconstrued or otherwise.

While you have a valid point, I was only posting the reference as it was timely, the auction had just ended and I noted a few 441s had sold.

Some years ago when a really nice vs coull be had for under $5k I built one for Baxter that he took to Vegas and it went for $10k plus buyer fee. the next year another really nice one went for almost 11,000. the following year saw every pos victor show up at the auction like all of a sudden they were valuable.

they weren't.

Not surprised in the least.

. Hi, Dean in Annapolis MD and I am back on the forum from being gone for a while. The BSA is mine. As near as I can tell from the frame #, it is a 1969 frame not a 1970 frame. Having said that, is there any interest out there in buying the bike? Whatever an offer I get, the buyer would also have to pay for shipping like I did when I bought it from a guy in Oregon. If you want to email me directly just send me a private message and include your email address.

Hi Dean,
Could you post a photo of the frame number? That might help too. (Or forward it to one of us that could?)

Thanks

Frame # B44VS 8028

Engine # B44EA 847