The beer nerds out there (myself included) don't use frosty mugs because they diminish flavor and aroma on hop forward beers, like IPA's. But ultimately beer is about your enjoyment of it, so do what makes you happy and don't feel bad about it! Great BSA's and great to see you and your dad having fun, motorbikes can be generational fun!
Also my favorite year for the Spitfire; just detuned enough to be street legal and fairly reliable. It has that iconic "gutteral, growly" sound that only a slightly muffled, hotrod, 360 degree/4-stroke parallel twin can produce! That front brake, aluminum control lever assemblies, and sholdered aluminum rims are the icing for the iconic cake.
I had a 66 A65 Lightning that was constantly ending up with the same appearing no start issue. I’d pull the carbs and clean them and it was fine, but a day or two later it’d happen again. Later found out the tank petcock corks were dissolving and plugging the pilot jets. Pretty simple repair, but ever since I’ve always traveled with a piece of guitar string and a little screwdriver to probe the pilot jets on Amal’s at least to get me home in a pinch. Really love the series!!!
I bought the first Mk11 special in the spring of 66 in Lawton Oklahoma while stationed at Ft. Sill. It was the first version of the new Spitfire with Amal GP carbs but it had some teething problems. The engineers at BSA didn’t quite get the piston to valve clearance correct and it ate a cam follower at 99 miles. The 2gal. fiberglass tank was good for about 60 miles which I discovered while riding home to Delaware. Just outside of Memphis the pin holding the float in place (the Amal GPs shared a single float bowl attached to the frame) vibrated loose while entering the interstate on a rainy November afternoon dumping gas over the rear tire- someone forgot to safety wire the pin! I managed to get back to a gas station and used a cotter pin and electrical tape to fix the problem. The next day I found the local BSA dealer who had a new Spitfire apart for the cam follower issue and he told me to take what I needed from the “piece of junk in the corner!” I got home with no more problems than a split battery which dumped acid over the left side of the bike. I rode it to NYC for the night and left it on the street in mid Manhattan! My adventure with the Spitfire was short lived as I soon shipped out to Germany for a 3 year tour and my father wouldn’t let my brother keep it after he dumped it in a parking lot. I still think about that bike as it was probably the best looking 650 made… even though the magazines didn’t give it much of score.
I was 13 in 1967 and owned a BSA Bantam, the Spitfire was, and still is, my all-time favourite. What a gem that one is. As for the Victor, what a slug. AND, the best part of it is the Mikuni Carb.
I'm English, born 1957, Norton specialist but I had BSA friends. They were addicted to the A10 and especially the Rocket Gold Star. The Unit motor A50 or A65 was not hallowed, more short stoke than the A10 lighter, stronger when they had fixed the faults. The 67 Spitfire did 123 mph on roardtest, more than the 119 MPH of my 1963 Norton 650SS, less than my 750 Atlas café racer. This was a fast bike, the equivalent Triumph Bonneville roadtested at 115 mph. The Spitfire was a HOT bike. That's why they stole it in the 1968 film "IF"
I just finished restoring a '69 BSA Victor Special, upgraded to aluminum Sun Rims and '72 B50 alloy front forks. Fun watching your videos, look forward to watching you test start the B44.
Hi from England 👍👍, respect to you !!!!!!!!!!!! Rock nRoll sound !!!!!!!!!!!, the old BSA factory is not far from me in Birmingham , alas all gone except from a very small bit of building, regards Tom from Birmingham England 👍👍👍👍
What an amazing collection your dad has, and those BSAs are sweet!
The beer nerds out there (myself included) don't use frosty mugs because they diminish flavor and aroma on hop forward beers, like IPA's. But ultimately beer is about your enjoyment of it, so do what makes you happy and don't feel bad about it! Great BSA's and great to see you and your dad having fun, motorbikes can be generational fun!
Saturday, 5.45pm Uk time. Having an ice cold San Miguel, chicken Jalfrezi on the stove. Watching the best show on the tinternet 👌
Cheers from the UK.... that Beer was just about ready to drink at the end there :)
BILL,I HAD ONE OF THESE BIKES IN DENVER IN THE 70S,IT WAS A FUN RIDE,WOULD PASS ANYTHING,ALWAYS STARTED IN 2 OR 3 KIX
Also my favorite year for the Spitfire; just detuned enough to be street legal and fairly reliable. It has that iconic "gutteral, growly" sound that only a slightly muffled, hotrod, 360 degree/4-stroke parallel twin can produce! That front brake, aluminum control lever assemblies, and sholdered aluminum rims are the icing for the iconic cake.
Love the b44 victor my family has 2
A very nice score to get a 67 BSA Spitty with all the original parts !
I had a 66 A65 Lightning that was constantly ending up with the same appearing no start issue. I’d pull the carbs and clean them and it was fine, but a day or two later it’d happen again. Later found out the tank petcock corks were dissolving and plugging the pilot jets. Pretty simple repair, but ever since I’ve always traveled with a piece of guitar string and a little screwdriver to probe the pilot jets on Amal’s at least to get me home in a pinch. Really love the series!!!
I had a ‘68 BSA Spitfire Mark IV. It was my first bike. Wish I still had it. I really enjoyed this episode.
I bought the first Mk11 special in the spring of 66 in Lawton Oklahoma while stationed at Ft. Sill. It was the first version of the new Spitfire with Amal GP carbs but it had some teething problems. The engineers at BSA didn’t quite get the piston to valve clearance correct and it ate a cam follower at 99 miles. The 2gal. fiberglass tank was good for about 60 miles which I discovered while riding home to Delaware. Just outside of Memphis the pin holding the float in place (the Amal GPs shared a single float bowl attached to the frame) vibrated loose while entering the interstate on a rainy November afternoon dumping gas over the rear tire- someone forgot to safety wire the pin! I managed to get back to a gas station and used a cotter pin and electrical tape to fix the problem. The next day I found the local BSA dealer who had a new Spitfire apart for the cam follower issue and he told me to take what I needed from the “piece of junk in the corner!” I got home with no more problems than a split battery which dumped acid over the left side of the bike. I rode it to NYC for the night and left it on the street in mid Manhattan! My adventure with the Spitfire was short lived as I soon shipped out to Germany for a 3 year tour and my father wouldn’t let my brother keep it after he dumped it in a parking lot. I still think about that bike as it was probably the best looking 650 made… even though the magazines didn’t give it much of score.
This is just cool! Seeing those 2 old bikes that have been sitting, being brought to life!
Great episode and two very nice BSA's. Look forward to seeing the Victor, the singles always appeal to me. Thanks again 👍
Another great episode! Thanks for letting us hang out in the garage!!
Nice Job, Son! Always impressed with your editing skills!
I love the colors on that bike ! It seems to be in remarkable shape.
I was 13 in 1967 and owned a BSA Bantam, the Spitfire was, and still is, my all-time favourite. What a gem that one is. As for the Victor, what a slug. AND, the best part of it is the Mikuni Carb.
I'm English, born 1957, Norton specialist but I had BSA friends. They were addicted to the A10 and especially the Rocket Gold Star. The Unit motor A50 or A65 was not hallowed, more short stoke than the A10 lighter, stronger when they had fixed the faults. The 67 Spitfire did 123 mph on roardtest, more than the 119 MPH of my 1963 Norton 650SS, less than my 750 Atlas café racer. This was a fast bike, the equivalent Triumph Bonneville roadtested at 115 mph. The Spitfire was a HOT bike. That's why they stole it in the 1968 film "IF"
I just finished restoring a '69 BSA Victor Special, upgraded to aluminum Sun Rims and '72 B50 alloy front forks. Fun watching your videos, look forward to watching you test start the B44.
Hi from England 👍👍, respect to you !!!!!!!!!!!! Rock nRoll sound !!!!!!!!!!!, the old BSA factory is not far from me in Birmingham , alas all gone except from a very small bit of building, regards Tom from Birmingham England 👍👍👍👍