1968 BSA B25 Starfire

[TominMO]

Even apart like that, it has good lines.

[dirtbkr188]

I see that Johnny Strabler is keeping a close eye on things, in the background...

[2LZ]

Going over all the normal stuff. The valves, even back in 1967, set with eccentric (cammed) rocker spindles. Loosen the nut on the backside of the spindle, spin it with a flat blade screw driver till the feeler drags. Tighten nut. Make sure push rod still spins freely. Easy-peasy. After messing with two "bucket/shim" bikes in a row, this was a refreshing change instead of a major tear-down, just to set valve clearance. The rear cylinder on the V-Strom was a true challenge.

In the Brits infinite wisdom, they ran a long cable to the rear wheel for the speedo drive. It was routed by some ham-fisted mutant in the past, and was up against the exhaust. Fortunately it wasn't burnt. Fixed that and service the cable and sheath at the same time.

New, properly gapped, NGK B8ES installed of course.

Gutting all the oil lines, hopefully today, and replace with new. Also, adding an inline oil filter on the return line to the oil bag. I hear it's imperative for the B25 big end bearing on the con rod. So far, nothing has been hidden or terribly hard to get at on this thing.

Not sure why the pic isn't opening...???

[2LZ]

Went over the entire wiring harness today, bumper to bumper. No stone un-turned. Had a big eyebrow raised over this part of the project, thanks to Lucas.

I sanded and/or cleaned every connection and frame ground, and then applied dielectric grease to every one. Then zip tied everything in place. Even disassembled the zener diode and got it cleaned up and greased.

It was amazingly simple and all in excellent condition. I didn't break or damage a single connection. I also found no rubbed or frayed wires anywhere. Everything look tucked where it should live. Not even any shade tree splices or jumpers over the past 57 years. Weird. I figured the odds would be that someone would have done something to it along the way.

One thing Lucas did right was the color coding. Every color has its meaning and as opposed to the Japanese stuff I've worked on, all the colors matched. No "orange to green" connections anywhere. Inside the headlight looked brand new. I expected to find at least spider webs or something. It appeared showroom clean. This is starting to worry me......

[2LZ]

Spent some quality shop time today. The snow melted enough so I didn't feel like a fool trudging out to a frozen metal building.

Went over the entire throttle assembly since I have the carb off replacing parts with ethanol-resistant pieces. The throttle was gummy feeling, so I got all the pieces and bar cleaned up and lubed, cleaned and lubed the cable. She snaps back nice and quick now. Also took the slide off the other end to lube the cable, and checked the clip position. Glad I did. It was set at full-rich (lowest position).

Hope to finish up the rest of the controls and cables tomorrow.

[2LZ]

Finished servicing and adjusting the rest of the cabling. Put gearbox fluid (80/90) and primary fluid (ATF) in it. So far, nothing is pouring out anywhere. It's a good idea to run three different color fluids in a Brit bike, so when something hits the ground, you know which fluid is leaking. I may go to purple gearbox fluid after I get it running. Also got the clutch push rod and cable all set up and feeling good.

Getting closer. DMV on Monday for fun and frolic. Oh boy......

[TominMO]

Given that you are living in the scary-sounding town of Volcano (population 115), where do you have to go for DMV? Jackson?

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by TominMO

Given that you are living in the scary-sounding town of Volcano (population 115), where do you have to go for DMV? Jackson?

Yup. Jackson and so far, they've been good to deal with.....but ya never know when walking in.
Volcano's population depends on which end of town you enter. One sign says 103. The other sign says 85. I hope the pics open someday. Feel free to click.

[2LZ]

Geez.... I'm really beginning to think that it's not Brit bikes that are bad or unreliable, it's the morons who have wrenched on them over the last 57 years.

Example: While attempting to adjust the valves, per the manual and additional BSA TSB, I couldn't get the intake spindle clocked into what was supposed to be the normal range. I figured maybe the intake seat had been ground in the past, throwing off the rocker angle a little.

So, being bored a couple days ago, I removed the rocker box off the bike and disassembled both that box, and the one I bought off of http://www.ebay.com for research purposes. Come to find out, some moron reassembled the rocker box completely wrong! It's amazing to me with how utterly simple this bike is, how someone can get shit so bass-akwards!? Can't wait to see what else I find..... This bike is fast becoming a CSI project.

[cheesy]

Sounds like the stuff I found on my brothers' Tiger Cub.

[dirtbkr188]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

...This bike is fast becoming a CSI project...

Click to cue the music...

[2LZ]

Got the corner stone in the mail today that's been hanging the entire motor assembly. The CORRECT rocker box gasket. The B25's had very subtle changes to the rocker box over the first few years, which also slightly changed the shape of the gasket, sometimes just a mm...but if it's not correct, it will leak. After all, it's British, right?
It's funny. It's really weird now working on something now that's "pre-computer" design. Just some guys with pencils making changes year to year. Some so slight, they're hard to detect. Thankfully BSA put casting numbers on everything, and the Brit Bike forums have tons of info available to decipher these numbers. Pretty cool for research freaks like me.

All needed parts have been readily available, but this gasket took three tries. Hopefully get in some wrenching tomorrow before heading to our local store for the game.....and a few beers, of course. ;-)

[2LZ]

Got the motor reassembled, valves adjusted to (Mr. Ratio's) spec, the compression release installed and adjusted, and the last oil lines run today. Glad it's finally together.

Next, prime the oil system and check for leaks. These bikes are dry sump with a separate oil tank. The oil pump has a feed and scavenge side. Fingers crossed.

If that all works out, then it will be install the new battery (positive ground), fire up Uncle Lucas, pray the Magic Smoke stays inside the wiring, and check for spark.

[2LZ]

Got her fired today! Fourth kick, didn't toss me or wreck my knee! WOO HOO! Oil pump working great, seems to run ok. I'll tweek the carb a little more....and all the lights work! Lucas comes through!

[Barnone]

Wow! Great news on your BSA. I had a 650 back in 1967, forget the year it was. Had a single carb. Sold it and bought a Suzuki X6 Hustler which was so reliable that it was boring!
Glad you are restoring the BSA.