CBG Workshop In the workshop
RECENT USE OF MY BSA B25 Starfire indicated that things weren’t quite running as they should. There was a certain amount of smoke coming out of the exhaust and sticky deposits were collecting around the tailpipe, which, to me, implied excessive oil consumption. The engine is also very noisy, and although I’m told ‘they all do that’, it does concern me.
This article is about the frustrations of working on an old bike – and why you should never jump to conclusions about what’s wrong. My initial deduction was that the bores were worn, and that the clattering noise was piston slap.
Work had already been carried out to replace the valves, springs, collets and guides when a valve had snapped. I resolved to pull the head and barrel off for checking. It was also possible that oil was leaking through the outside of the valve guides, so that needed to be checked too.
First job, therefore, was to remove the cylinder head. I took off the tank by undoing the
