Author Topic: BSA B50SS (Read 6195 times)

Rookster · « **on:** September 23, 2017, 06:20:58 AM »

I have wanted one of these bikes for a long time but they never seem to be available near me when I have the ability to buy one. This bike showed up on Craigslist about 3 hours away from me in July. I contacted the owner and eventually went to see and buy it a few weeks ago. The goal is to completely rebuild this bike into the B50 that I always wanted - a street scrambler with the emphasis more on scrambler than street.

The Good:
It started right up and ran really well

The electrics have been updated a little bit with a modern Reg/Rectifier and a new AGM battery

It has a new JCR carb. This is not a performance mod but basically an economical way to get decent carbueration.

The Bad:
Everything Else: The bike looks better in pictures than real life. The quality of the work done to it is not great.

The Ugly:
Its Brown

There are some P.O. bodges that need to go away.

Inspiration:

My B50:

Scott

innovativems · « **Reply #1 on:** September 23, 2017, 06:51:14 AM »

Oh man! Love that bike. BSA thumper!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stev-o · « **Reply #2 on:** September 23, 2017, 08:37:42 AM »

Congrats...looks like a very good start to a project bike.

Rookster · « **Reply #3 on:** September 23, 2017, 03:09:18 PM »

The tear down has begun. I'm happy to say some of the brown parts are no longer in my possession and hopefully they all find new homes. It looks better already. I will be getting the frame powder coated so there is much more work to do. Here is a list of what needs to be done:

- Head needs to be sent out for valve job and fin repair
- Barrel and new piston need to be checked
- Fix oil leaks - The gearbox sprocket is leaking along with just about every other gasket
- Clean up the oiling system - The P.O. did some mods with the return and added an oil filter. The filter stays but otherwise it goes back to stock
- Alloy fenders and tank
- New Single Seat
- New high exhaust and silencer
- New handlebars
- Shouldered alloy rims with stainless spokes
- Pirelli MT90 tires
- All new cables and bearings
- A million little things I can't think of at the moment

The goal is to have it completed by Spring.

Scott

FuZZie · « **Reply #4 on:** September 23, 2017, 03:45:36 PM »

It's a good look, I'm liking it. Always had a soft spot for the old British bikes and one for scramblers.

MoMo · « **Reply #5 on:** September 23, 2017, 04:42:14 PM »

Nice score, good luck with it - you'll have a cool ride when finished.

For some reason unbeknownst to me I've had a desire for a 441 Victor since the late 60's.

jgger · « **Reply #6 on:** September 23, 2017, 08:29:55 PM »

That's because they were a cool bike, Larry. I used to get a kick out of watching those things cruse down a dirt road and see the dirt fly off the rear tire like they were painting a dotted line! Puff, puff, puff. Ha ha!

MoMo · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2017, 10:05:24 PM »

Quote from: jgger on September 23, 2017, 08:29:55 PM

That's because they were a cool bike, Larry. I used to get a kick out of watching those things cruse down a dirt road and see the dirt fly off the rear tire like they were painting a dotted line! Puff, puff, puff. Ha ha!

My memory of them was seeing some of the Brit riders at the ISDT in Mass. bullying the thumper through the woods

scottly · « **Reply #8 on:** September 23, 2017, 10:29:31 PM »

Quote from: MoMo on September 23, 2017, 04:42:14 PM

For some reason unbeknownst to me I've had a desire for a 441 Victor since the late 60's.

You probably saw the 1966 movie "The family way", starring Hayley Mills, like me.

I did luck onto a Victor in 1978, bought from a co-worker for $150 after I pulled it out of the weeds behind her house. After getting it running, I sold it a few months later to another co-worker for $300. It was possibly the only bike I ever regretted getting rid of...
A guy here has a B50 stashed away, but I've never seen it. He told me the motor is seized, and he doesn't have the time, money, or inclination to fix it. What did you pay for yours, Scott?

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #9 on:** September 24, 2017, 10:42:45 AM »

There were a couple at today's DGR

Rookster · « **Reply #10 on:** September 26, 2017, 06:26:51 AM »

Here's some gas tank archeology and a few questions. I always knew my B50 would have an alloy tank. The bike will be primarily ridden on the street so the tank had to be the 2 gallon version. I won this beauty about a week ago.

Unfortunately it showed up with old varnished gas still in the tank, bubble wrap and box. There are a few dents but overall I am happy to have an original BSA tank. I cleaned it out this weekend.

There appears to be yellow paint under the black paint. The decals are the older style and there is the remnants of a red pinstripe. Does anyone think this could have been repainted by BSA?

There are dents. These will have to be pushed out from the inside. Once the dents are removed then I can get the tank polished. I'm still unsure if I will be getting it painted in the original style or just leave it polished.

I try to do a little bit every day. I'm almost ready to pull the motor and break down the frame for powdercoating.

Scott

tbpmusic · « **Reply #11 on:** September 26, 2017, 09:15:04 AM »

Pretty cool bike, you done good!
Good luck with the oil leak thing.
I had a 440 Victor for a while, it leaked all the time from everywhere.

Rookster · « **Reply #12 on:** September 29, 2017, 04:23:39 PM »

The motor is out. It was heavier than I expected but nothing like my CB750 motor.

Scott

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #13 on:** September 30, 2017, 05:13:55 AM »

Sweet! I love those old Beeza thumpers, I'd never find one here, so I'll have to just be happy with my 1983 Honda XR500RE.

Stev-o · « **Reply #14 on:** September 30, 2017, 11:14:14 AM »

Quote from: Terry in Australia on September 30, 2017, 05:13:55 AM

Sweet! I love those old Beeza thumpers...

+1. Not many BSA come up for sale here, only one currently on my local CL.
At $2500, might be a good buy?

https://sanantonio.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1971-bsa-a65-lightning/6290197653.html

Rookster · « **Reply #15 on:** October 01, 2017, 06:44:25 AM »

There are lots of Triumphs for sale on craigslist but the BSAs are more rare. Its tough if you are looking for a specific model and year. I had been looking for a B50 for a while but they just don't come up for sale locally.

The top end is off. I got a chance to see the new piston the P.O. installed. It is a GPM piston. I will be replacing the this with a JE piston from E & V Engineering. The head and cylinder are being sent to Ed V for refurbishing.

Scott

BPellerine · « **Reply #16 on:** October 19, 2017, 03:24:21 PM »

triumph 500 twin engines fit in those frames,sold a frame to a guy who did that.bill

Rookster · « **Reply #17 on:** May 15, 2018, 01:16:56 PM »

I forgot that I had started posting this project over here. This is what it looks like as of this week. I'm still waiting to get the motor back from a crank rebuild and new Carrillo rod. Most of the other systems are complete.

The tank is back from having the dents removed. The goal was to salvage the original paint and add new red pinstripes and decals. That turned out to be impossible due to a dent within the painted area on the side. I finished removing the paint and polished the rest of the tank. For now it will stay bare polished with no paint. Possibly in the future I will add the original style cross in Hi Violet. I bolted up the mufflers to give the final shape to the bike. I'm waiting to get the front rim back from being drilled so I can then refurbish the front hub and lace with new stainless spokes and nipples. Here it is so far:

Scott

Stev-o · « **Reply #18 on:** May 15, 2018, 02:49:16 PM »

Looking good!

MoMo · « **Reply #19 on:** May 15, 2018, 06:04:50 PM »

Quote from: Stev-o on May 15, 2018, 02:49:16 PM

Looking good!

big plus 1 to that

Rookster · « **Reply #20 on:** May 16, 2018, 05:53:02 PM »

Thanks Guys
Scott

scunny · « **Reply #21 on:** May 16, 2018, 09:31:27 PM »

did they have to cut the tank to get the dents out ?
I'm running an alloy tank on my 650, it has a couple of dents I would like fixed.

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #22 on:** May 19, 2018, 01:52:32 AM »

Looks great mate, except for that second muffler, that looks silly.

Rookster · « **Reply #23 on:** July 02, 2018, 03:51:19 AM »

June update:
I finished up the front wheel.

Next up is the motor.
New black diamond valves.

The cylinder was bored and a new 86mm JE piston is ready to install.

The crank was rebuilt as well with a Carrillo rod and new bearings. The sludge trap was cleaned and the cases assembled.

The top end assembled and engine back in the frame.

I got the gearbox installed and bolted up the Amal Premier concentric and some of the cables. Next up is the clutch.

I got the primary side back together. The friction plates are measuring thin at .125" so I will be ordering up a new set. The plain plates are ok at .065"

Scott

Stev-o · « **Reply #24 on:** July 02, 2018, 06:21:35 AM »

Looks great! And seems to be going very smooth, are you having any challenges finding parts or anything?

Rookster · « **Reply #25 on:** July 02, 2018, 11:08:49 AM »

Thanks Steve. Parts for British bikes are readily available. The later BSAs, Triumphs and Norton's have really good support. There are a few places that cater to the BSA unit singles: bsaunitsingles.com for just about any parts new and used and E & V Engineering shopevengineering.com for machine and motor work. E & V did the crank, rod, bore and head on my bike. There are also some specialists in England like ccm-britain.co.uk. These bikes have somewhat of a cult following and there is a nice little industry around improving and keeping them running.

Scott

simon#42 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 02, 2018, 11:14:37 AM »

nice work mate !

Rookster · « **Reply #27 on:** August 02, 2018, 11:55:24 AM »

The B50 is done for now. They are never really done though and I can already think of changes to make over the winter.

Thanks
Scott

Stev-o · « **Reply #28 on:** August 02, 2018, 04:16:54 PM »

Looks beautiful Scott, great job! Love the polished bits on it, bet it is not going off road for awhile?!

How 'bout a short ride report?

Rookster · « **Reply #29 on:** August 04, 2018, 09:38:23 AM »

I took the B50 for the first real ride today. It runs strong. It revs real nice and has good power from 1500 to 4500 rpms. I didn't go over 4500 because the rings are new. I'm doing a lot of thinking while riding about shifting with my right foot and braking with my left. By the end of the ride it was feeling more natural. It is definitely something I am going to have to get used to.

Scott

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Author Topic: BSA B50SS (Read 6195 times)