1968 BSA B25 Starfire

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thanks Barnone! Good to see you're still hanging around!

Maiden voyage today. I'm not sure what's up but ice cold, it fired first kick. Let her warm up for a few minutes feathering the throttle, pulled in the clutch, hit the shifter (right side, of course) and was really expecting the "stuck clutch lurch and die"....but it went right into gear. Clutch worked great. I was really expecting to have to adjust the spring plate for flatness but I'm leaving it be. Maybe it's the tried and true Rotella T4 15W/40 diesel stuff I run in everything? Who knows.

Rode it up and down the street a few times. Shifted great through all the gears. No surprises or wobbles. Brakes work as good as 1967 drum brakes are expected too. Dang happy so far!

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by 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!

From past experience with British cars and bikes, that BSA is haunted if everything is working like it should.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by cheesy

From past experience with British cars and bikes, that BSA is haunted if everything is working like it should.

You really want a scare? I rode it around my house yesterday for about 20 minutes, Got her good and hot. Parked it in the shop and started the 300 mile service on the Royal Enfield.

I locked up the shop last night after dinner and not a single drop of oil hit the concrete. I must have burned it all. Guess I should check it this morning.

[cheesy]

If they ain’t leaking, they’re empty.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by cheesy

If they ain’t leaking, they’re empty.

Adjusted the carb some more today. Amal's are a trip. It does have a slotted needle for moving the clip so that's good. Raised it one and got rid of a small stumble at 1/4 throttle. Running pretty dang good at the moment. Took her out for another short burn today and got it good and hot. See? She must be out of oil. This was after I got back and it sat for about an hour.

[2LZ]

IT DRIPPED! IT DRIPPED!!!......but not from the motor or expected chain oiler. The left front fork. Not the seal, but the dampening rod bolt just above the axle on the bottom of the fork. I'll have to address that when I have the front tire off in the future. The guy I got it from said he just rebuilt the forks prior to putting it in storage. At least they have oil!

[TominMO]

Can you back the bolt out a little and put some grease on the threads? That'll make it stop dripping.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by TominMO

Can you back the bolt out a little and put some grease on the threads? That'll make it stop dripping.

Oh yah. It's current status is a "roun-too-it" right now though. Now that the BSA is running and I'm just waiting for good weather to paint, two bikes have moved ahead of it on the list. Just picked up a bike for Mrs. 2LZ. 2005 883 Sportster Low. Needs some TLC and it currently on the rack. Guess I should start a thread.....

[2LZ]

D-U-N!

Primed and painted the tank yesterday and cleared it today. It's actually factory original colors, from England, but I decided not to do the side covers to leave them original 1967. Hopefully in ten years, they will match!

Anyway, other than detail work, she's ready for the car show in July. I got tired of messing with the Amal and replaced it with a JRC PWK 30 Keihin remake for Brit bikes. Starts first kick, ice cold. The Amal isn't a "bad carb", but archaic. The pilot circuit isn't tuneable unless you drill and tap. Not my thing. Replace with better, right??
This has been a cool project. I've really enjoyed myself.

[Bruces]

It sure does look great .Well done !
As for it running ,riding and being reliable ,you just wait .The day you are counting on it ,is the day it will leave you stranded .The last owner clearly knew the score and let it sit for years .
Anyways ,it really looks fantastic .

[JerryHawk250]

Awesome job. She sure is pretty.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Bruces

It sure does look great .Well done !
As for it running ,riding and being reliable ,you just wait .The day you are counting on it ,is the day it will leave you stranded .The last owner clearly knew the score and let it sit for years .
Anyways ,it really looks fantastic .

Thanks guys!
Regarding counting on it to get me around, I'm not worried. It's far more a shop ornament than a rider. The most it will see is the three mile ride to our little town for a beer and back, once in a Blue Moon. Hopefully it can handle that without leaving me walking. ;-)

[2LZ]

Still not house broke.

[2LZ]

Been taking her to town for my afternoon beers. Tourist season is picking up here. Many of my local old buddy's are digging their hot rods out for the seaons and bringing them to the store. Well, I gotta say, the BSA is a people magnet. My buddy brought his '37 Slant-back Ford...and I parked the Starfire in front of it.

Folks would walk by, check out his Ford....and then see the BSA. "Whose is this??"
In less than an hour, I had five convo's with older guys, who asked me all about it and then shared their own stories of younger, glory days on their Brit bikes. Lovin' it so far.
I'll get pics next time.

[cheesy]

Beezer Delay Factor aka BDF. Similar to Ural Delay Factor aka UDF. You'll get it a lot, so get used to it.