Testing the Notorious BSA 441 Victor!

[@stash3630tv]

My dad bought a brand new Victor Special 441 in 1969. It hadn't run since 1987. He passed away two years ago. I just got it back up and running last month.

[@gordonhall9871]

lots of love and memories from a great time

[@Americathebeautiful49]

I’m envious. I had a 68 and it was the most fun ever. I even used to give my Mom a ride to work every morning. I never had trouble starting it. It never backfired. It just vibrated the licence plate off all the time. I never went off road, I had an AJS for that.

[@deepspoke2201]

My uncle had a 441 converted to a desert sled and raced the AMA District 37 desert races in the 60’s in the Mojave at Slash X. He’d take us kids for joy rides around town and in the Santa Ana river bottom (Riverside). That was the bike that hooked me for life.

[@JagLite]

The 441 was my dream bike as a kid, then I saw a Rickman Metisse and instantly my love of the stock BSA ended. After 45 years I finally built my own Rickman Metisse Mk III with a Triumph TR6C motor.

[@stevekennedy8264]

Nice tr6c mettisse french for mongrel!

[@johnwebley3790]

These bikes won the moto X world championship with Jeff Smith, The also won long distance road races with Mead and Tompkinson, Very solid motor, Check the sports history

[@gregshamieh6339]

EMGO makes a set of bars they call 'Universal Vintage Dirtbike Handlebars'. I have a (don't laugh) BMW /5 Enduro, and although i cut them slightly narrower to work with stock cables they could be just what youre looking for - braced with a crossbar, good rise and pulback.

[@Ghostdog4]

Back in the 70s and 80s you could grab those for $500 or less all day every day. Like everyone else I turned my nose in the air. Now I realize how much I want one

[@SirBeauJangles]

carb wasn’t correctly set up if the slide wasn’t sitting on the throttle stop screw, must’ve been hanging on the cable. (Tut Tut….) Monobloc carbs weren’t that great, the later Amal Concentric was a definite upgrade. We used to direct the crankcase breather outlet to “breath” over the upper run of the back chain, was mostly as effective as the later Scott Oiler. All before the days of O Ring sealed chains, they were usually std Reynolds chain. There was a product then called “Linklyfe” that was a waxy black grease with lubing colloids like graphite and Molybdenum Disulphide in suspension, the practice was to keep two chains of the right length. Keep one clean and waxed, the other in duty. When wanting to swap the freshly lubed chain was connected to the one needing removal and run into place. Then the dirty one was cleaned with paraffin (kerosene in the US) allowed to dry off somewhere warm then laid onto the grease surface in its tin. Then the grease tin was heated till melted, the freshly cleaned chain sank into the grease and after a short while was fished out using a wire left through the end link. hung over the tin of grease to let it drip excess into the tin, then it was wrapped and stored till the process needed repeated. chains maintained like that outlasted all others lubed more conventionally.

[@williamleonardo8478]

Back in the sixties and seventies I remember when I had a sack that I always rode against guys that had 441 victors in the hill climbs in oak view California a place called The gulch which was all hill climbs and some Motocross riding the victors and the CC's and the BSA 441 were the s*** to have it was an awesome time to be alive I remember it as if it was yesterday have a nice day

[@howlinhog]

When I was in college in Denver, 1980, the premier British bike engine builder is in Denver. I have my 441 and I'm gonna take advantage of this guy, which I do. What a wheelie monster that bike was! As a side note, president Reagan has a scheduled motorcade right by the repair shop I work at. I told everybody I was going to do a wheelie along side his car. My boss said he would fire me if I happened to not get shot by the secret service. I still regret not taking that chance.

[@goldilocks913]

Reagan would have been cheering you on 😂

[@howlinhog]

@@goldilocks913 Yeah, but Nancy would have accused me of being on drugs and screamed out the window, "just say no". I probably would have had a joint in my pocket.

[@goldilocks913]

@@howlinhog 😂😂

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

BSA sold every 442 Victor that they could build. It became the B50 and then became the CCM 608 for 10 years. Great bikes .

[@Vipermotard]

441 not 442

[@LumberjackT100]

Thank you for another great episode, Bill. I have a whole new appreciation for the 441 Victor now.

[@wheelhousegarage]

My pleasure as always Al! Thanks for ordering another shirt!!

[@ghalston5641]

Love the valve clatter. Reminds me of my misspent youth.

[@nickbristol3457]

I think it was 69 when I bought a new 441 Shooting Star and then also bought the 441 Victor Special for an off road bike. Love the Shooting Star on the street and did some dirt track racing with the victor. loved those bikes. My dad sold BSA, BMW and Honda back in those days.

[@johnv2730]

Thanks for the video. I aspired to a Victor in the early 70's and, instead, got ahold of a Shooting Star in 1977. Great bike. Always reliable and a great urban bike. Put some drag bars on it to get the cafe racer/Brit bike look. Only drawback was that it shook terribly on the open road, so I stayed in town with it.

[@bruceparr1678]

My first bike was a B40 BSA "Rough Rider". Almost identical but it had an iron barrel. It was a bloody good bike.

[@brianfoltz-p9y]

I just came across this video. I had a BSA Victor Special in 1969. They were slow(would not keep up with a Honda 160), hard to start (especially when warmed up), kicked like a mule and every time it rained the cluch cable would fail. Nostalgia is one thing and reality is another.

[@liamgorman1421]

Hard to start while warm sounds like an ignition timing issue. I cured my warm hard starting issue by correctly setting the timing.

[@philhawley1219]

I love your videos. I am about two days away from getting my identical B44 up and running. You were having so much fun riding it, I'm so looking forward to taking a shakedown ride around the farm. On the subject of tyres (that's the English spelling) I chose Continentals. They look just like proper old fashioned knobbly dirt tyres from the 60's. Obviously I can't comment on their performance yet but they look very promising. The sizes and type are - Front TKC80 100/90 19" Rear TKC80 4.00/18 Twinduro. I hope this info is helpful, keep making more of your great videos of proper bikes and if ever you find yourself in England you can have a go on my nasty old Ducati caff racer. Best wishes to you and your family from Shropshire.

[@andycarter4888]

Once again an excellent video! Great bike, nice ride, good chat. I have a soft spot for these Beezer engines having had them in a few specials back in the day, so today's ride was a really good one for me. Keep it going!

[@BrianPierson-pk8ee]

This Video put a smile on my face and was one of the deciding factors on re-opening EMP. Shinny Side up Bill.

[@olddirtbiker5088]

Had one when I was 18. The mirrors on it were useless due to the vibration, but what a beautiful bike. I'm selling my 1968 BSA 441Shooting Star, the road version of this bike on Craigslist/ Western Slope now for a reasonable price in good condition. Southwest Colorado, near Durango.

[@mikehuesser1058]

I bought one ten years ago and parked it in the barn . I need to get it going.

[@larrymorris1699]

Bought my Victor in early '70 so I don't remember if it was a '69 or '70. You are right about the stock handle bars. I put my front wheel in the fork of a tree and with a long pipe I bent the bars out to a straighter configuration. Worked great.

[@csblondie71]

❤ the Victor special! I have a 69 and put bars from a 69 Triumph Bonneville on it. Feels much better than the stock ones. Love your channel :)

[@johnhudghton3535]

There was a good reason why people modified these bikes with non standard parts - like carb swap outs - it was to make them perform better. Originality is gteat for a museum but not necessarily for usability. You got that with your discussion of the bars.

[@blacksquirrel4008]

Great video, as usual. That music at 2:00 was perfect, I could see Diana Rigg dancing around Patrick McNee to that. On the bars, I like the width but I’d want a little bend back at the ends. You are a bold man to keep stopping that bike on a hot day, kept thinking “No! Don’t turn it off!”

[@Mike40M]

Bought a brand new Victor Special in 1970, replacing a Gold Star Clubman which I hated. Sadly it died in a barn fire in -83. A few years ago bought an almost original one. The year after got another one. Both running well. Why two? Firstly for going for a ride with my son. Second reason, when something goes wrong (they're British), I can take the other one.

[@lae52]

Recommendation for bars. I have a '67 Norton P 11 desert sled with stock bars. They have a little more pull back or angle to the ends than yours. They are chrome with a welded cross brace like yours. They are comfy enough that I can ride all day until vibration gets to my aging wrists.

[@TheWanderingGeezer]

Well done. There were a few of these around my area when I was a kid. I thought they were badass, still do.

[@winchester92stevebrook44]

I had a Cheney BSA Victor enduro bike with a 475cc conversion in the early '70's, super light and great fun. Wish I still had that one now.

[@ronpage101]

I just picked up a 71 Cheney Victor B50MX. Beautiful bike. Going through it right now. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be hitting some trails. Almost too geogeous to ride!

[@KenNelson-b1p]

A buddy of mine had a 441 and a later model BSA 500. Both felt like they wanted to flop right over (lowside) in the middle of a turn unless you fed it some throttle right now!

[@boblynch7535]

If you like the bars get them chromed and stick with them! First view of your channel. Great stuff. I’m just turned 70 and still ride my 74 Ducati 750 Sport I bought new. Need a few ibuprofen though. Always loved the Victor. I think it would stand up to the latest offerings!

[@ronpage101]

My neighbor had a new 69 441. I drooled all over that bike every time I got near it. At 9 yrs old, thats all I could do.

[@thomasbible9383]

I rode one of those one time. Really cool old bike.

[@peterbennett4948]

I have a 1969 BSA B44VS that I used as my ride to work bike in 1996/97. I loved it but I also have admit its been sitting in the barn neglected since 😂 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@williamnethercott4364]

Nice bike! A little bit of blue smoke or was I mistaken? Sounds great, starts really well. I'm sure you'll have fun.

[@MollysPa]

I had one in the 1970s. I tried to ride the 300 miles from Tacoma to Spokane but had to stop for the night after 150 miles because I lost the feeling in my hands.

[@keithmueller9860]

Hilarious. I rode mine around the Mountain Loop from Granite Falls to Darlington, by which time the sidestand had fallen off due to vibration. It's probably still up there somewhere. Happened over 40 years ago, Great memories, lots of fun. 😅😅😅😅

[@keithmueller9860]

PS, wish l still had it, lots of character.

[@Nudnik1]

In mid late 70s I raced modern Husqvarna Honda Suzuki etc motocross bikes and no one wanted these 441 s anymore many were junked or sat in barns etc. Now I want one to plonk around on . I have a new efi plastic Kawasaki KLX 250 on road now but want an old bike .. Nice bike 👍

[@davidanderson2393]

Ahhh!! every time you post a Victor special video I kick myself in the rear for not having mine running, a few too many projects. I have a new electronic ignition to install, and need to deal with the rest of the intermittent switches and charging system.

[@chrisbaucom4832]

Bars are such a personal choice, they can really change the comfort, handling and look of the bike .

[@daveallen8824]

Really ought to do something about that throttle cable - looks like it's just waiting to get grabbed by something and give you a full throttle surprise.

[@carolinemcnabb9957]

Great video That creek crossing looks like it came out of O Brother Where Art Thou better watch out for Sirens

[@KellyBarron-c2k]

Just to be clear….the rabbit won the race? Love the looks and the sound of that 441. Great video.

[@richrocketlll]

I just put my 1966 B441 back together last year. It runs great. I like the old iron.

[@Solitarius-Lupus-Moto]

You live in some sort of moto paradise. Cool channel.

[@ianbaines1]

The chain is lubricated from the primary drive, so it may be what's on the tire.

[@johnmarsh2078]

I once had a BSA Shooting Star 441. The engine was very torquey but it could not have been described as powerful as it only developed 29 bhp. The compression was 9:1, fairly high ..... enough to bite you if you kicked it over gingerly. I liked it but I liked the prospect of a Thunderbolt better so I sold it on.

[@jimdale9187]

Another awesome video, Bill! Personally, I really like a trials bend bar. They are great for standing, but ergonomically good for sitting position as well. Wide enough for good leverage, but not too wide for woods riding, unless you are going fast in tight woods. Probably have a little more rise and back sweep than what is on the bike now.

[@deepwoods_dave7368]

Great video! I love my 68 BSA Royal Star (A50). It is a parallel twin 500, not as much torque as that tho! Love your enthusiasm!

[@theobster]

I had a B40 SS90 for many years (very rare) it was basically a high compression B40 and a bit more chrome. It went really well for a 350 single and as long as you ket on top of things and didn’t expect to run it flat out for hours on end it was surprisingly reliable. I alway wondered what the 441’s would go like and seeing you wheelie them on the throttle answers my question!!! Don’t believe the naysayers they’re fun bikes!!

[@geneahart5607]

Nice shake down run Bill. I think the 441 will be a solid addition to your stable. See if Renthal has some bars you like. Cheers! Love your channel!

[@robertparker8863]

A buddy tried to sell me his 441 in 1972. I rode it for a couple days and loved it...except that it kept kicking out of 4th gear. That was the deal breaker.

[@jimbowie307]

Renthal is a British company and they make some very nice alloy handlebars! Keep the low rise!

[@jimmarshall807]

Looks like a fun bike for sure!

[@mirage3450]

That is a proper hooligan bike Bill. I re watched the first video when you cleaned the carb and those bars don’t look too different from the original competition ones.

[@jameshisself9324]

Saturday morning coffee and a ride video from WG! nom nom nom Thanks for another great one.

[@jeffreymoorbeck2752]

Nice! You are fearless to be riding around on tires that dry rotted. 😄

[@williamleonardo8478]

I think that one is set up for trials writing because the 4401 Victor had a high front fender and a little bit longer rear suspension it had Bay tour forks and girling shocks in the rear

[@geraldmerkel7145]

Cool bike dude

[@michaelglynn2638]

I always liked the big singles, especially the BSA's. The engines always look neat too. That's a nice example, a little more fettling wiil have it even better. 👍

[@Vipermotard]

Road Trial tires for sure, they will get you everywhere 😊

[@claycarley9201]

I was totally looking at the bars wondering what your plans were and then you asked! My '67 has a set of chrome bars that are similar to what you have but taller. I don't think they are original, but probably similar to the GP bars like you mention (wouldn't it be funny if they were and I had no idea). Definitely not what I see as standard replacement bars, these have a little sweep to them but not as straight as what you have. Being chrome they definitely have a period look to them but nowhere have I found exactly what they are. I'm very curious to see what you go with; I did notice you run those Webco bars on the Triumphs...

[@Roscoe_B]

If the ''new'' BSA came out with a faithful modern 441, I believe it would sell.

[@philhawley1219]

I don't think it would. It is just a marketing gimmick using a generic multi- platform copy-cat engine. At least Enfield design and make their own individual motorcycles. All BSA would do is to paint the front of the tank yellow and sell it as a new model, the original 441 was a world championship winning bike for two years with Jeff Smith.

[@Roscoe_B]

@@philhawley1219 Understood...but most people have zero hope of owning a useable original, the ''new'' 441 would offer some degree of consolation imo.

[@kyleteasley3419]

Owned 1967 441 great for river bar & hill climb ; straight pipe was beautifil😅

[@bradleymorehouse7462]

I used to see 441s out in the California deserts back in the 70s. Joke was that you could always tell the Victor noobs because they walked with a limp.

[@Anotherflyonmyvisor]

Hi Are you using a DJI wirless microphone? I'm asking as I am using both version 1 and two and had a similar audio challenge. If you listen to your video with headphones you'll notice 90% of the time it comes out of only the left side. Listen to it change from mono to stereo as you fade into music. I submitted a question to DJI support - this is what they said. I ended up using two DJi microphones to achieve stereo - this is what DJI Support sent me this response: “As per checking with the internal team, our DJI Mic must use two transmitters which can achieve stereo effect, if you only use one transmitter, it will only have Mono effect.” This was my suspicion as each transmitter looks to only send a signal to one channel if you choose that option. The only way to get stereo is to turn on and use both transmitters at the same time. The alternate is to plug in our stereo mic directly into the USB-C - then in post overlay a separate mono lav track from another recorder. All the best - Cloughie - Cambridge UK.

[@stan5513]

I bought one like that in 73 for $150 and enjoyed for many years of freeway, desert sand and commuting. Once you learn how to ride it the starting mythology seems silly. Mine was box-stock except for solid alloy bars and tyres from K81 to trials. I sold it to buy a $300 69 Triumph 650. Brit bikes could be had for nothing back then and salvage yards put them in dumpsters. Good times. What bikes thrown away today will become rare?

[@simoncarr7254]

I swapped my stock bars to a Honda 1984 dirt bike bars much more comfortable.slightly more swept back better riding position. Good videos btw

[@wheelhousegarage]

Nice! And Thank you!

[@39MercFlathead]

A friend bought one of these after he and I almost killed ourselves on his 1965 Sportster. It was a great bike for running around town or the mountains. More than a hundred mile trip and I stayed with my BMW. It couldn't hold a candle to the Bonnevilles and Norton Atlases that were the really fast bikes of the '60s, but it was definitely sexy enough to park at a bar. Unlike the Nortons, you didn't have to torque the heads every 50 miles and unlike the other BSAs things weren't always falling off. You can still get K70s today??

[@TheHypnotstCollector]

In c.1968 it was "take off that Amal and put on a Mikuni" Or in my case "Take off that Del Orto and put on a Mikuni". They just were a better carb and that's what we did.

[@wheelhousegarage]

Totally get it!

[@ChollaJJ]

I believe it was 1958, my biking buddy and I were seriously going to buy two new 441s and hit the road….bumming ,camping, etc. we had two concerns…gas quantity and could they run 70mph extended. For whatever reason ? We did not do it 🫣. Thanks

[@rustyspanners]

If the bar position is good, maybe just clean and paint? From the video, there seems to be minimal crud. Like the way the bike sounds-keep it going.

[@gordonhall9871]

i wanted one in the mid 70s when I was 14-- daddy was afraid of motorcycles --- well other drivers not looking out for 2 wheelers

[@alleyoop1234]

My first thought was Honda handlebars too. Sell them at the next bike swapmeet!

[@JessBottom-m5i]

Is that a new Amal carb w/ the more wear resistant slide? The single cylinder engine vibration and the solid mount carb was hard on the old Amal carb slides. AIso, is there a carb spacer offered now that replaces the old solid carb spacer that will dampen the some of the engine vibration? Less gasoline frothing in the carb's float bowl..

[@michaelcarberry594]

Maxxis TrialMax trials tires. A good trail bike tire.

[@mrbilly_k]

"Run rabbit,run rabbit...run,run,run". Very British,Ol chap.😊

[@davidblack7528]

If you had arms of steel, you could use them for moto cross in the early days. Better have a compression release or they will break your leg starting.

[@oldbikedavey]

Run a B.40 engined 1961 C.15T here on the outskirts of London , and a remarkably fine machine it is. Something like ISDT or touring trim, but it goes well, handles well, and returns 90 mpg. Twin - plugging the things helps a lot...

[@TheArrow1100]

Bars . Same but no cross bar?

[@grahamovenden9007]

you were right , don't crash the tank . Because you will sit down and cry when you see what a replacement or a good quality repair costs .

[@macias1751marcos]

Yea that’s a pot of gold find of a bike!

[@andrewbernard9571]

Wow this is totaly Awesome.. ❤

[@RobertAdams-wd6pt]

Check out the Renthal bars

[@kyleteasley3419]

Bury iy axle deep in in soft mud 2ed geR fll throttle will not stall fantastic torque

[@brianmarsh4498]

Jobs to do= I don't think you mentioned replacing the rear hub with the crinkly one. thanks

[@philhawley1219]

That is the original hub for a 1965-66 B44. It's based on a C15 with a bigger brake drum and sprocket carrier.

[@byrnestuff]

I have a 68 B44, I wanted to use modern adventure tyres (I didn’t want the old school trials made by shinko etc). After buying a couple of rears that fitted the rim size but which were too wide and hit the rear chain I settled on bridgestone AX41 front (19x90/100) and rear. (18x410) I had to make a custom front mudguard support/fork brace though, that went on the outside of the guard not inside. Your bike needs a chainguard? I have the oem handlebars and they are fine. I was wondering if your bike is the early Victor GP or later Victor Enduro/Special?

[@raylocke282]

Mine was a POS.Traded it for a gas barbecue.

[@scottdiehl565]

LMAO with the jack rabbit chase down.

[@TheStevemcqueen68]

Another Sunday morning , and another great film to watch , on the mighty BSA 441 , Bill have tried reaching out to the BSA club in the UK ,for your air filter, Thanks for posting, KIWI

[@EricConnolly-n9w]

I still have the scar on my shin from kick start

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

My BSA 441 Victor has only 6,000+ miles on her. I prefer my BSA C-15 250's because they are easier to start. My Triumph TR25W Enduro is light weight for the ⌛ sand trails and goes 60 mph down fire roads fast enough for me. Haul it with my URAL side car outfit on my 3 rail bike trailer behind it.

[@kyleteasley3419]

Raplaced concentric with mukini from yam dt1 much better!

[@bigfoot-id8bv]

There ya go, replace that Mikuni’ with an Amal’ now it should run like crap, as it should.

[@airspro5666]

Talking with your hands gonna get u hurt . Be careful please . I do enjoy your commentary .

[@rapidrrobert4333]

Like the one that bad kid had in high school in the 60's.

[@lanceneuman9528]

British bike, British tyre. D606 is the call.

[@wheelhousegarage]

I was thinking a 606 would be appropriate too!

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thanks for your input!

[@blacksquirrel4008]

Me, too.

[@daveallen8824]

Um - there was a reason that Mikuni was on there...

[@duggdog9102]

And ????????

[@dennisyoung4631]

Was the original Amal badly worn?

[@SLED649]

Bad Ass Bill!

[@TheStevemcqueen68]

Hi Bill , I sent you a link, on the air filter ,you are after , check your mail . KIWI

[@wheelhousegarage]

Thank you so much!!!

[@TheStevemcqueen68]

@@wheelhousegarage Cool .clad I could help, anytime . KIWI

[@scottdonbrosky5968]

You need some Webco bars

[@wheelhousegarage]

Ooooo good call Scott.

[@Mr39knuck]

Nuthin sexy at watering hole 😂. Very unlike the BSA advertisements of the day, which were all about the man with the BSA getting the hottest chicks!