Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Choke on Your B44?

Been working on A65s for over 50 years, but never a unit single until this winter. Couldn't get started in the fall, so apart she came. Then I've been carefully reading B44 threads......best plugs, best ignition, etc. Just got a new carb from CBS, (a subtle plug for those folks). But in all my reading don't recall the AMAL chokes being discussed. I'll probably try it, but gotta scrounge up a handlebar lever. Thanks for any thoughts!

We don't have chokes on our 69 B44VS machines. The tickler seems to be enough. We have the original 930 carbs so maybe a new carb would be different.

Gordo

I have chokes on all my unit singles……but to be honest I tend to tune rich and really don’t use them. Except for one bike??? My absolute best running 1967 B44R would not start if the ambient temperature was below 45 ( +-) Anything higher and it’s a one kick starter….hot or cold. When it refused to start I’d have to bump start it and it’d fire right up…..but kicking would not get the job done.

It didn’t have a choke installed on it when I got it……adding one and using it seems to have cured that problem.

As far as I know……a lot of unit singles didn’t come from the factory with a choke installed.

I fitted one to my B44 but it makes no real difference to cold starting, however it does make those troublesome hot starts after turning the bike off for 10 mins a breeze. Put the choke on on a after 10 min hot start and its a single kick starter but that chokes needs to come off immediately it catches as it 8 strokes, leave the choke on too long and you foul a plug.

Thanks a lot, guys. If I find a lever in my pile I'll make a cable and rig it up. But I'm gonna start her today without it.

That's probably the best way to know whether or not you'll need them at all.
Like Gordon's bike, my A65 used to start easy when the weather was above mid-40s. Prior to fitting chokes, anything below that I would have to take the air cleaners off and stick a pinky into the slide cutaway while doing some priming kicks, then again immediately after starting. That's essentially all the choke does anyway. That allowed me to play around with how much choke the bike wanted and, once warmed, reinstall the filters and go on my way.

I eventually leaned the bike out a bit to where I need to choke on most cold starts, but my plugs last longer.

If it's hard to start, try the finger in the hole trick. If you find that the bike starts fine today, maybe forgo the choke altogether.

I have a 69 B44 VS and it didn't come with a choke. I previously had a B50 I purchased when new and it didn't have a choke. For both bikes a choke wasn't needed.

I've got her running well and starting is not too bad. Another one back on the road, think I'll still try putting the choke together. So far, positive reviews from me for Vape ignition and Wassell carb.

I use it for hot starts mostly. I use the extended throttle screw for cold starts. Sticks out an inch so can be turned with a gloved hand. In a half of turn, and no touching the throttle. Then back out once it starts witch is 1-3 kicks on mine.

I had four unit singles, a B25, (2) B44's, and a B50. I tried fitting up a choke to one of the B44's but found it to be not very helpful. Probably have a choke assembly if I didn't give it away when I parted ways with the bikes. The b-44's were always easy starters, and I developed a system for the B50, making it an easy starter. The B-25 was not so easy...three or for kicks sometimes a few more but it was a daily rider for me for a few years, so it had to start, or I walked.
Mr Mike

My B44 uses a JRC carb with a separate choke circuit and pull-on lever, it works really well but doesn't count if you're comparing AMAL carbs.

However, my A65 uses two 930 Concentric carbs with no chokes at all. I find the bike usually starts after tickling both carbs and then 1 or 2 kicks.

On both bikes, it's essential to have fresh fuel and a well-charged battery before trying to start.

I found a lever in my collection and made a nice cable. Here is what I've decided: If you're 73 years old with sciatica and generally worn out, the choke is absolutely worth having on there.

Leon,
I've got you by seven years. My B44's were always easy starters. The B50 was a "B****h until i learned how to do it. Now it is a one or two kick affair. My B25 (many years gone) was the most difficult but I wasn't as smart back then. The A65 was a one or two kick affair every time with just a tickle of the carbs.
Mr Mike

Mike I was worrying because I've had a few months here where it seemed like I might only have a finite number of kickstarts left in me. And if I ever messed with a B44 it would have been back when I was a kid. So I've read all kinds of old posts by all you unit singles guys and kinda knew how to approach it. It's a nice bike, owned by old friends, hadn't run for a while. I still got 3 A65s, I KNOW how to make them run! Full blown spring in the South, eh?

Leon,
I sold most of my stuff about 5 years ago. Sort of got tired of moving stuff around. I kept the B50. Sorta got into small sailboats. They don't require as much tinkering. I dragged a couple of sailboats home for the price of hauling them off. Kinda like barn finds. Once I figured out the physics, tides, and wind direction so I could get home in any conditions it became big fun. I still miss taking apart those old BSA's and making the run the way they are supposed to. Nothing like tearing a motor completely apart, reassembling and have it start on a couple of kicks.

Mr Mike.

They're all different. My first T150 had no chokes, but it started easily by turning the idle bolt on the gantry up a little. I put chokes on my current T150 when I replaced the carbs, it was a bit ore difficult to start without chokes. The fun part is guessing how much choke it needs on any given day.
My A65 had no chokes. It would start when the temperature was below 60 degrees, but it wouldn't stay running or take throttle.

The Mk2s I put on my Bonneville are a joy, flip the levers and it fires right up. Turn the enrichment off after about 30 seconds and it's good to go.

The choke on a b44 is different than a twin. I need it when the bike is hot, but not when cold.