Tempting, but...

Parts seem to be plentiful.... and not as sticker shock as the Brit twins... I've ridden one for a day.... it doesn't accelerate... just gains momentum then settles down at a blistering 40mph.... Fun bike for back roads look'n for coffee and a slice of pie. šŸ˜Ž
 
When I moved back to Boston from North Carolina I sold all my Whitworth "kit" so I would not be tempted anymore.....
tim
 
timbeck said:
When I moved back to Boston from North Carolina I sold all my Whitworth "kit" so I would not be tempted anymore.....
tim
Click to expand...
I solved my Whitworth problem.. also works on standards and metric... right and left treaded items.. ( insert smerky face emoji here )
 

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A comment on parts ..Might not be here or for this brand
But at times virtually all parts can be found just not the one most prone for wear that everyone is looking for.
If that is a complicated machined part ,,ground and hardened ..many projects have stalled
Looking for it.
XS 650 does not have that problem YET
But for bikes older or few made It can be a Hazzle

A shop I was at for a while made parts as side order for Norton's can it have been Atlas .
He the Bossman got inquiries and made a batch when he got many enough waiting for them.
Those parts can get expensive And not available for a 250 made only a few years.

For Muscle cars there is a whole industry making all kinds of part .Because interest and cars are sought after and valuable.
 
'nother fwiw....
Using an assortment of SAE and metric combination wrenches and 6 and 12 point sockets, I was able to easily (that's subjective :rolleyes: ) disassemble my BSA Victor of the same vintage. I've since picked up some whitworth wrenches, but mix and matching what you have will do the job.

Fun fact... 'taint a nickel's difference tween that 250 and the 441 beezer. Some of the parts will interchange even.
 
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Jim said:
'nother fwiw....
Using an assortment of combination SAE and metric wrenches and 6 and 12 point sockets, I was able to easily (that's subjective :rolleyes: ) disassemble my BSA Victor of the same vintage. I've since picked up some whitworth wrenches, but mix and matching what you have will do the job.

Fun fact... 'taint a nickel's difference tween that 250 and the 441 beezer. Some of the parts will interchange even.
Click to expand...
Well, Jim, if I get it, I'll be picking your brain!
 
Yeah, late 60's to 70 hardware was mix of Whitworth and SAE, that later chassis is SAE.
Looks like they've put a late tank on the early chassis, it has larger tunnel for oil in frame backbone.
Parts can be got and as you surmised they can be expensive but you can find some deals with careful shopping if you're not in a hurry.
Engine internals are direct swap, only difference is the upper rear motor mount, cast lug, on the later engines is wider. This was done to handle the extra torque of the B50 engine and was carried over to the 250 as well. Early engine will go in late frame with additional spacer there but late engine won't fit in early frame.
Valve adjustment is pretty easy on the 250 engines as unlike the B40, B44 and B50 engines which use typical screw tappets on rocker arms, the 250 uses eccentric rocker arm shafts so the only thing you have to fiddle into the inspection holes is a feeler gage, loosen the rocker arm nut on the drive side of the engine, rotate the shaft with flat blade screw driver on the opposite side of engine to adjust the gap. Once you have it tighten the nut. Method worked so slick HD later incorporated it on the XR750 race engine.
And I made various rigs to get a seized/stuck engine apart
 
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BSA B25 Starfire in disguise!
These bikes got a terrible rep back in the day (1968 -70) and probably put more nails into the lid of BSA/Triumphs collective coffin than anything else they built.
But you have to consider the people who were buying these bikes.
Spotty faced kids with no motorcycle experience and no mechanical experience.
The fragile highly tuned engines responded appropriately.
Tons of spare parts about if you're up for it
 
A lot of truth to the comments above, the local Triumph dealer when I was young had a slew of them sitting in back after owner abuse, however with normal care I found them to be reliable easy to service little bikes that I got many miles out of.
The engine was too willing to rev and exhaust valve springs were too weak for the 8K rpm capability resulting in floating exhaust valve if you sat at a stop and revved the throttle like a Jap bike.
Like it's larger brothers it's a dry sump engine with a gear type oil pump. Unlike them it uses a plane bearing big end on the rod and relies on clean supply of oil fed through the crank shaft for big end lube rather than splash.
There's a feed line to the top end via the rocker shafts, the tranny is separate 90w gear lube and the chain primary drive uses wet clutch applicable engine oil
 
I decided to pass. EVERYTHING froze up solid, no wiring, no electrical bits, no rotor for the generator (or alternator?), cam drive shaft missing, mangled hardware...strictly a parts machine and not much of one at that IMHO.

An Anglophile collector that really wanted one might be interested, but it was way more work for way less bike than I was willing to deal with.
 
Downeaster said:
I decided to pass. EVERYTHING froze up solid, no wiring, no electrical bits, no rotor for the generator (or alternator?), cam drive shaft missing, mangled hardware...strictly a parts machine and not much of one at that IMHO.

An Anglophile collector that really wanted one might be interested, but it was way more work for way less bike than I was willing to deal with.
Click to expand...
I wish I had that PASS gene......................... :rolleyes:
 
Downeaster said:
I decided to pass. EVERYTHING froze up solid, no wiring, no electrical bits, no rotor for the generator (or alternator?), cam drive shaft missing, mangled hardware...strictly a parts machine and not much of one at that IMHO.

An Anglophile collector that really wanted one might be interested, but it was way more work for way less bike than I was willing to deal with.
Click to expand...
Dang! And I was hoping I'd be able to talk him into buying the Whitworth tools I have!:(
 
It's too far or I would snatch it up for parts and

kshansen What kind of Whitworth stuff are you trying to rid yourself of?
 
Bonneville Shop out of Colorado. They are the Dime City Cycles of vintage Triumph. Also have several informational videos. Parts arenā€™t that hard to find at least for 650 unit twins. I have a few early 70ā€™s t120s. Anything big (recast heads) can be bought from LF Harris out of England. Lowbrow Customs has 650 stuff. Not sure about the smaller CC Yet another editā€¦ This month Ohio has two excellentt swap meets. Wauseon and Mid Ohio Vintage days. You can find anything at these meets. I mean anything. If you have the $$$ Such is life. Lol LC Fabrications built his daughter a badass cub. It was featured on Lowbrows site. He has a Haas vertical in his shop. Also, this guy annoys me, but Weems Motor Co out of Florida He just won Born Free. His daughters cub won at OCC motorcycle show in Florida. Hope this helps.
 
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