2023-05-25 07:00:00
No, the small motorbike convoy circling around Malaga wasn’t the annual outing of the BSA Owners Club – even if the mighty roaring pack hardly suggested anything else. It was a train of journalists who carried out the new Gold Star. And new in this case means that it looks as close to the original as possible. No other retro bike currently looks as authentic as the BSA 650.
As MG has already done successfully in the car sector: First, you bring a traditional brand name back to its original home country. And from there you slowly conquer the other European markets. This happens a little quicker in the case of BSA than in the case of MG. The Gold Star was launched in the UK just last year and is now making its way to mainland countries just a year later. These include Germany and Austria as well as France and Spain.
The project was started in 2016 by the Indian company Classic Legends, which revived the Jawa brand in 2018 with a classically designed 350. Now follows with the Gold Star one of the icons of British motorcycle construction. The original was offered at the time with 350 and 500 cc. And only as a single cylinder. That’s why no twin, like Royal Enfield, came into question for the new edition, emphasizes marketing manager Roy Pinto.
In any case, the development team has done a great job to keep the appearance as true as possible. There is the almost 1:1 reshaped engine housing, and even the vertical shaft cover of the old valve train can be seen – albeit as a fake and in a shortened form. It also bears the three crossed gun barrels as a sign of Birmingham Small Arms (BSA)’s tradition as an arms manufacturer, which the company remains today, but which ceased motorcycle production in 1973. There are chrome fender holders on the Gold Star and the original logo on the tank, which – of course – is adorned with a chrome cap. For the press presentation there was a picture with the original on the left and the new interpretation on the right. It actually looked like one and the same model.
The main features of the mighty single-cylinder go back to the Rotax engine from the 1990s, such as that used by BMW in the first F 650 GS back then. It was further developed in cooperation with the Austrians and, among other things, adapted to the current emission standards. With 45 hp and 55 Newton meters, it is sufficiently well fed. From 3000 rpm, the BSA delivers a decent amount of torque, which keeps its level for a long time from 4000 rpm. The well-formed single-cylinder is almost a little snappy on the gas and is surprisingly revving from 5000 rpm until it hits the limiter at 7200 rpm. The power zenith of the steam hammer with dual ignition and stylish peashooter exhaust is reached at 6500 rpm.
Consequently, the makers in India have also dispensed with a sixth gear. The gear stages change with a rich “Klong”. The non-stepped seat with the old-school pillion seatbelt literally invites you to stretch out. That quickly awakens nostalgic café racer feelings. This also applies to the brakes. Brembo contributes, but they should still pack a little more force. In addition, the 41 millimeter fork dives in quite deep and also twists noticeably with stronger deceleration. But that should hardly impress nostalgics. The rear suspension struts can be adjusted in five different preloads.
Of course, the instrumentation does not come without concessions to modernity. But they are limited to the odometer and fuel gauge as tiny displays in the chrome-plated round instruments with pointers running to the left. As a little treat, there is also the integration of the control lights in the lamp pot. There are even fork sleeves to go with it. And of course you won’t find adjustable hand levers.
Something – in both senses of the word – is out of the ordinary, however, the very wide cooler, which one wanted a little slimmer as a technical concession to modernity. A real troublemaker, however, is the standard (!) box with a USB-A and USB-C connection flanged to the left side of the clutch lever. Customers demand something like this these days, it says. However, Roy Pinto understood the reference “ugly” in the trade press. The positioning of the 12-volt connection on the bottom left of the frame is a much more elegant solution.
In addition to accessories, Classic Legends has also designed a small clothing collection with Merlin around the gold treasure, so that not only the machines but also the drivers appear stylistically authentic. Behind Classic Legends are two private investors and the Mahindra Group, formerly the parent company of Peugeot Motocycles. So the French were chosen to take over the distribution of the BSA. In addition to Peugeot partners, multi-brand dealers also carry the new edition of the legend. There are initially 20 in Germany. There should be 30 more.
Nostalgics and single-cylinder fans have to invest 7400 euros. For this they get a Gold Star in Highland Green, not dissimilar to the British Racing Green. The other color variants Midnight Black, Dawn Silver and Insignia Red cost 7800 euros. The “Legacy Edition” with even more chrome is the top model in the price list with eight thousand euros. The three letters on the gearbox and clutch cover are red instead of black. This is intended to remind of the DBD 34, which was popular and successful at club races at the time. (cen/jri)
Data BSA Gold Star 650
Drive: 1-cyl., 652 cc, double ignition, liquid-cooled, chain, 5 gears
Power: 33 kW / 45 hp at 6500 rpm.
Max. torque: 55 Nm at 4000 rpm.
Top speed: 167 km/h
Tank capacity: 12 liters
Seat height: 780mm
Weight (ready to drive): 213 kg
Standard consumption: 4.0 liters
Price: from 7400 euros
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#Driving #report #BSA #Gold #Star