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1963 BSA SS90 Star Sportsman - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Test Article
Original, vintage magazine advertisement / article.Page Size: Approx. 8\" x 11\" (21 cm x 28 cm)Condition: Good
BSA SS-90One of two major British industrial firms to switchfrom the manufacturing of guns to motorcycles,BSA has done very well with their two-wheelers, and aretoday one of the best-known, and respected, names in thefield. They offer a very wide range of motorcycles, withengines of various sizes and specification, for a variety ofpurposes — virtually the only common denominator beingthe standard of finish, which is very high for all modelsin the line.We have tested BSAs before; this time it is the B40,SS-90, Star Sportsman, which is a longish model designa-tion for a machine that is basically very straightforward.The most outstanding characteristic of the SS-90 (if wemay be permitted to shorten the title) is that it fits per-fectly into the gap between the true lightweight and thereally big motorcycle, having many of the best features ofboth. It is small enough to be easy to handle; and it hasthe displacement required to torque itself (and its rider)up and over hills without a lot of stirring at the gear lever.The engine is a 350cc single, developed from BSA’s250, and it is a design both recent and modern, enough tohave the transmission and engine constructed all in aunit, within the same major casing. The cylinder barrelis of iron, but the crankcase/transmission casing and thecylinder head are of aluminum alloy. The valves arcpushrod actuated, from a gear-driven camshaft mountedin the side of the crankcase. The pushrods travel upthrough a tunnel cast into the cylinder barrel and cylinderhead. With all of the valve gear enclosed in a chest, andexternal oil lines held to a minimum, the engine staysclean. This cleanness will be appreciated, for there is alot of polished aluminum on the engine, and it looks sonice that it would be a shame if the bright work was hid-den under dust and oil.This particular version of BSA’s small single is fairlyhighly tuned, but not to the extent that shows any signsof being fussy. No output figures are offered by themaker; we would guess that it was delivering about 25bhp at 7000 rpm, and although the power falls awayrather sharply after the peaking speed is passed, we foundthat best acceleration was obtained by overspeeding theengine to 7400 rpm. Valve float occurred at about thatpoint.Most of today’s smaller engines are being designedwith wetsump lubricating systems; the SS-90 follows thetraditional, and meritorious, dry-sump pattern, with theoil supply contained in a two-quart tank. Pressure feedfor the bearings and crankcase scavenging are donethrough a two-section gear-type pump, and there is a re-strictor in the tank outlet pipe that forces part of the oilscavenged from the sump to divert off into a line thatfeeds the rockers and valves. A wire-mesh cylinder, lo-cated in the bottom of the supply tank over the outlet,acts as a filter (of a sort) for the oil. There is also acleanable sludge-trap incorporated in one of the crank as-sembly’s flywheels.One of the more attractive features of the SS-90 was,we found, the closeness of the transmission ratios. Low-gear was just about as “tall” as the second-gear in mostmotorcycles, and quite good speeds could be reached inall of the three intermediate ratios. Top-gear was justabout perfectly chosen: at the engine\'s peaking speed of7000 rpm, the bike is doing 90 mph, and we are of theopinion that going up or down on the ratio would ad-versely affect this flat-out top speed. Experiences in rid-ing the SS-90 showed us that first and second gears areperfect for levering the bike up into its cruising range,and third, which is good for about 80 mph, if you careto press the engine that hard, was a ver}\' useful ratio forhighway passing situations. Frankly though, the enginehas enough torque to show quite good acceleration in the40-70 mph range without any downshifting.Astride the SS-90, one finds that it feels like a bigbike, but is not quite so intimidating for the novicerider. Also, it is easier to maneuver around in closequarters than a true heavyweight. Plenty of steering lockhas been provided and there is enough leverage available,due to the length of the handlebars, to allow one the funof going out and pounding around back-roads and plowed-fields. The SS-90\'s wheelbase is a bit long and the gear-ing somewhat tall for that kind of work, but the engine iswell protected by the frame, which forks out into a cradleunder the crankcase and if the bike were fitted withtrials-universal tires, it would make a reasonably good all-purpose-pottering motorcycle.There have been motorcycles with a better seating/handlebar/footpeg layout. The seat is comfortable enoughwith one\'s posterior planted back about midway, but whenthis is done the pegs are too far forward and the riderhas to lean into the bars too much for comfort. Slideforward, and the pegs and bars are fine, but the seat getsa trifle narrow. We did like the large-diameter handlebargrips; the control levers, which did not have ball-ends,made us less happy — although in all fairness it must besaid that these are of more value on a scrambler than atouring bike. A real irritation was the compression-re-
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