Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board 1968 BSA 441 Victor carburetor question

I’m a new member and looking for advice for my 1968 BSA 441 Victor. I installed an ELECTREX CDI IGNITION, adjusted valves, and set timing. Has good compression and strong spark. Starts good when starting fluid is used but won’t stay running. I’m looking to replace the carb and need advice on choosing the best carb for easy starting/running. It currently has an older PWK 30mm carb that I removed and cleaned. I’m thinking about replacing it with one from Steadfast Cycles. It would be the same brand but newer. What do you think?

Hi Ike, why not replace it with the correct AMAL 930 Concentric?
-Dave
https://www.thebonnevilleshop.com/product/633726142923/

AMAL Concentrics are just about the most simpe fool proof and tollerant of mal adjustment of any carburettor on the planet
And the new premier ones have cured a few of the little things that used to give riders greif

You could get a cheap used AMAL and points and a coil.

Then get it running.

Then make one change at a time.

You’ve got an unusual carburettor and unusual ignition there now. Makes it hard to advise on what the problem might be.

Hmmmm "You could get a cheap used AMAL and points and a coil. Then get it running."

Trouble with this approach is that you don't know what piece of old tat you will get, then by the time you have bought then, attempted to "rebuild" the sloppy piece of crap that masquerades as a "carb" you might as well have bought the right thing in the first place. Lets face it, why was it for sale in the first place?

Shop around and get a new Premier AMAL, it will be worth it, you wouldn't expect an asthmatic to put in a decent time in a Marathon would you?

I've fitted my 68 shooting star with a 930 wassel evolution, I've uped the pilot jet by one size everything else is standard jetting and if i wind in the idle screw one turn it starts easily then once the bike is warm turn the idle screw back down one turn and it ticks over nicely

I'm using a PWK 28mm carb on my B44SS, its a good carb and solidly built, there's not much to go wrong and they are easy to fix.

Assuming it is a carb problem, (could be ignition or something else) and before you spend on getting a new carb, I would check the following:-
- inspect the choke mechanism, the pull up mechanism sometimes get stuck but you can unscrew it from the carb body and clean. New choke mechanisms are readily available.
- have a look at the pilot jet in-case its blocked with gunge. Luckily the pilot jet can be unscrewed and cleaned. Also have a look at the main jet for dirt and debris.
- have a look at the float needle and float height, maybe fuel isnt getting through. Float height is 19mm measured from the gasket surface to the bottom of the float with the carb tipped over so that the float tang is just touching the needle but not pressing the spring.

If the bike was previously running well with this carb, there's no reason why it shouldn't run well now. and it could be that the problem lies elsewhere.

Get a new AMAL Premier carb and go back to points. My 69 almost always starts on the 1st or 2nd kick, idles great and rides great. I like to keep them original. The BSA singles are reliable, and AMAL carbs are simple and functional. Also, points ignition is easy to maintain and very easy to troubleshoot.

With the singles I always stayed with points and AMAL. I Had a couple of B44'a B-50, and a B25 and found the Amals easy to tune, I have a starting procedure for the B50 which is likely the hardest starter of the singles and it is absolutely reliable. I did put a Mikuni on one of my B44's and after I got it lined out it ran fine except for cold starts. I could never get it start reliably when cold so I went back to the AMAL. BTW, if you port out the head to 32 mm, an 32mm AMAL works just great on a B44 or B50'

Mr Mike

On my 68, I have a new AMAL Premium 930, carb model R300. With a 230 main jet. Also have Boyer. I’m odd, prefer points on a twin, but elec on a single.