B441 Oil type?

[franknjan]

Hi everyone.
I'm the proud owner of a BSA 441Victor, my first BSA.
It's a lovely thing to ride.
I want to change the oils and I'm not sure what grade to use.
I would be grateful for other members advise on both engine and gearbox oil?
Also should I make any modifications to the filtration system? It is as standard at the moment.
Any other useful information would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[Spaceman]

A recent thread addressed the same issue - although concerning an A65, the same applies to a B44:

https://www.bsaownersclub.co.uk/bsaoc_forum/index.php?topic=14237.0

For classic bikes like the A65 or earlier BSA singles that use plain big-end bearings, the use of more modern paper element type filters in the lubrication system is probably a good idea. However, the B44 uses a roller big-end and so is a bit more tolerant to oil quality. If you added such a filter to the bike, it would at least allow you to use more modern engine oils that deliberately keep small particles suspended in the oil so that they can be filtered out.

Personally, I would keep the B44 as is and, provided you change the oil regularly, there should be nothing to work about.

[B44R Victor]

Hi,

I use Castrol Classic 40 for the engine, Castrol Classic 90 for the gear box and Castrol TQF for the primary chain-case.  These are readily available at reasonable cost and come in Castrol tins!  I use them to be authentic, British oil for a British bike, but is Castrol oil still made in the UK? I don't know.