bsa starfire anybody had one ?

jackassdave

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i have a hankering for a little bike run around (where i will run around to i am not sure)and liked the look of the bsa starfire ,i know nothing about them ,never had one ,never ridden one but i like them .
#any advice other than dont bother or terrible i think allthough not sure were they allso called the barracuda in export trim
 
i have a hankering for a little bike run around (where i will run around to i am not sure)and liked the look of the bsa starfire ,i know nothing about them ,never had one ,never ridden one but i like them .
#any advice other than dont bother or terrible i think allthough not sure were they allso called the barracuda in export trim

No but my mate did in 1974, we pulled it completely apart the last summer holiday when we were in the upper sixth and then rebuilt it the following summer - it started first kick despite us having a few shims left over :) I had the slight more modern equivalent the B25SS street scrambler - it was a pile of crap really but it was my first bike so I loved it anyway :)
 
Starfires were really just over-tuned C15s and notoriously fragile back in the day.
 
My Lambretta LD150 was more reliable than my mate Dave's Starfire, also other mate Kevin's Ariel Arrow was quicker.
I remember it overheating and seizing up more than once from new - handling scary due to a grabby front brake as well.
 
My first big bike in 1976 was a Triumph Trailblazer which I think was the same thing. My Dad insisted I had a British bike.

Absolute junk I remember and was slow and unreliable. Wasn't happy until I had a smoking 2 stroke rocket ship of an RD250 like my mates:thumb

I'm sure I'd think differently if I had one in the garage now though.
 
i might have to rearange my plan

Or your mind set :loopy

... yes they were relatively crap, I used the same engine in the 250 grass track class, ok it was in a Hagon frame, CCM 14:1 piston, open pipe and running on methanol etc.

Clayton Williams won the British Championship at that time on a similar bike whilst there was supposedly faster and more modern machinery around.

So I doubt your planning on an overnight ride to Italy with it but if your looking for a different kind of fun it may surprise you .........
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......at just how heavy a 250 can be when you're pushing the fecker :D
 
What you have to remember is that engineering has moved on.You can now upgrade/improve almost all of it with a little bit of effort. A lot of people are now starting to see the old C15's etc as a viable little classic bikes rather than a leaking hand grenade.

Clayton Williams , Now he was an exciting rider to watch!
 
Or your mind set :loopy

... yes they were relatively crap, I used the same engine in the 250 grass track class, ok it was in a Hagon frame, CCM 14:1 piston, open pipe and running on methanol etc.

Clayton Williams won the British Championship at that time on a similar bike whilst there was supposedly faster and more modern machinery around.

So I doubt your planning on an overnight ride to Italy with it but if your looking for a different kind of fun it may surprise you .........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
......at just how heavy a 250 can be when you're pushing the fecker :D


Mad..............

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/keUjjKcLuZE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
exactly i think with a little care and attention and mantinence most things could be reliable

More than a little in the case of the BSA 250 but in principal I'm sure it could be worked on.
 
I know you want a British bike and you mention a Triumph 500, but why not go for a modern Japanese classic. A good one would be a Yamaha XS650. More reliable than a Brit, less spanner work, and it will not depreciate in value. IMHO.

YamahaXS650streettracksilver.jpg

1975-Yamaha-XS-650-For-Sale.jpg
 


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