BSA Gold Star - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

All that glisters is not Gold Star.

Get real it's not a BSA Gold Star, it's a crappy jiggly built* sad imitation of a once great British built bike aimed at cheapskates and sad old timers looking for a bit of nostalgia on the cheap......*(Classic Legends Private Ltd., a subsidiary of the Indian Mahindra Group) The wrinklies would do better and saving their pension and buying a Triumph built in Britain which unlike the Indian Sub-Continent makers will not depreciate like a cannonball in a bucket of water.

Love the extra power on this bike, but these inconveniences, like no centrestand are dealbreakers for me. And it's about 1000 euros more than the classic 350. A pity, and right now the RE classic signals green which I've tested and loved has my name in it as my 60th bday gift 😊

I didn't realise it had so many plastic parts on it and no centre stand is a no-no on a chain driven bike. Customer service sounds like my energy supplier, almost non-existent. Looks like it's going to be a Royal Enfield instead. Very thorough video, thanks.

Comprehensive going over, thank you

I'm very impressed with this bike glad it exist will definitely look forward to buy it in the future. Love the mods on the interceptor ❤

Good review,..I'll look for something else.

What an honest and though review.

After a year of riding, perhaps over cobble stone roads, do you feel that
YSS Progressive Damping ("PD") Fork Emulators would be worth the money/time to install?

Another video said they over tightened the headlight why the front light shattered.

Glad i didnt get one it doesn't look like a good bike even for the price 🤔 ide rather spend that sort of money and buy a proper BSA an old one and get something thats not going to depreciate 👍

No, it does not look like an old BSA at all, I'm old enough to remember the original.

I was seriously considering buying a BSA (to replace my Triumph, which I'm now finding too tall and too heavy) but I'm currently seeing relatively large numbers of used Gold Stars for sale with very low mileages, this is making me wonder why ?.. Also I'm a bit concerned about the implications of Euro5 (not BSA's fault of course..) with regard to the GPS tracking function, on-board recording and storage of performance data and the GPS speed limiter. I know the speed limiter function on bikes is not being activated yet due to it being deemed dangerous when cornering, but I'm not sure whether it is still being fitted, with a view to activating it at some point in the future (which the EU insist it will be once the 'gremlins' have been ironed out..)

Absolutely disappointed, I was looking forward to watching this video but it soon became very clear that there is absolutely no sign of Clint Eastwood..

I ran BSAs, for 12 years in the 70s and 80s. I think they have done a good job, in a "DNA" way, it looks like a modern reincarnation of a BSA single and has the original Gold Star, (not the later, B50 GS ss model), look, almost uncannily! I appreciate, what Enfield has done and Triumph, though I think their engines are bulky and do not have the grace of the original Meridan machines.

I think it's a good start! Everybody seems to think it rides well, damping aside?

Very honest and comprehensive review. I respect your objectivity and rationality.

My son picked up a new BSA Goldstar yesterday and rode it home.but gear changes were awful. Shifting up especially 2nd to third took 3 attempts to engage. Hes done about 150 mikes on it and the gear changes are dificult. Is this normal for a new engine? Thanks.

side panels look awfully wonky imo ............... the top edge needs to be horizontal, or in line with the seat base ...........

MY BIGGEST NIGGLE IS NO CENTRE STAND. THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE AS IT IS SO INCONVENIENT!

I owned a clubman it was quite a peace. I had three people. That help my do the build. From stock to a real scapper. Distplacement. 608 cc. Stainless. Valves. And double valve springs. The ride was snappy. All cases were glass needed. I can’t till you what size the carb. I beleave it was 38mm. It only had a velocity stack. I wish I had it now. The maintenance. Was quite frenquent. I ran for oil Castro R. Every third oil change. I would flush the engine. I had now problems. With oil leaks. Celicone. sealer. Sorry for the spelling. Lemay.

That has been very sobering.

Thanks for a very informative video, this is just what I suspected with this particular price level of bike, you get what you pay for. Cheers

Does make me wonder about the ease of which nostalgia can be exploited. But, no self-righteousness here; it appeals to me too . . . just not sure what “it” is.

See, this is what I liked about the 70's and 80's.... A dealer being an arsehole would get five gallons of waste engine oil tipped on his showroom floor and told if he didn't buck his ideas up the place would be getting burnt to the ground next....That usually gained their attention when dealing with customers who had spent fortunes with them.

I am very disappointed about the amount of plastic build in what should be a retro bike and about the poor quality of the tank painting. Your improvements of the fork and the rear shock absorbers are very well done and your occasional comparisons to the Royal Enfield delivers insights how price worthy the BSA made in India really is respectively is actually not. After seen some reviews of the BSA I would really prefer to get an original BSA from the sixties. You may get your hands on spare parts even more easily than for the modern BSA.

I OWN A 69 BSA FIREBIRD SCRAMBLER A 71 BSA LIGHTNING A 64 BSA SHOOTING STAR A 71 TRIUMPH TRIDENT A 70 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE AND A 69 TRIUMPH TROPHY AND A 68 TRIUMPH DAYTONA. I ALSO COLLECT MANY OTHER MOTORCYCLES BUT LOVE MY STABLE OF BRITISH BUILT MOTORCYCLES. WITH LITTLE RESPECT I CAN'T STOMACH THE NEW ROYAL ENFIELDS OR NEW BSA GOLD STAR. TOO CHEAP THE LOOKS AND CHEAPLY MADE WITH CHEAP MATERIALS. TOO CHEAP FOR ME.

Of course we will stop noticing the radiator. You know, that great carbuncle on front of the bike that I finally stopped seeing; but when I opened my eyes and it was still there.

An obese lump, and a betrayal of the immortal DBD 34.

Had fancied one Myself but after seeing this not a chance ...unbelieveable that they could be so poorly finished and NIL dealer support ...disgusting .

That big, square radiator looks AWFUL. A deal-breaker for me. The new BSA needs to be schooled by modern Triumph in designing a radiator that has rounded corners & blends in to the rest of the bike.

I have a red version and one thing I find a bit annoying is the white stripes are on the rear and on the tank but not on the front mudguard ,and it gives it the look that it’s had front end damage and it’s a replacement one less the strips

So, mon ami, am I to assume then, that the bike won't start...since you didn't run the beast ?

I fell in love at first sight to this bad boy bsa scrambler 650😍

My old iron barrel Bullet 500 needs transmission work. So I got the perverted desire for an overpriced, underpowered vintage looking bike. Thought the new beezer might fill the bill but there are no dealers here in the states. After watching many reviews of the Gold Star I've been sold...on the Royal Enfield. Be forced to ride my Harley till then.😊

The original BSA Gold Star was the result of some very gifted Development Engineers who took a pushrod valved BSA 350 and 500 cc engine'd motorcycle to unbelievable heights of performance.
It was COMPLETELY misunderstood by BSA "management" as to what these gifted Engineers achieved and what they the BSA "management" COULD have done with the market opportunity that lay before them.
That opportunity also lay before the Honda Management Team and they DID...NOT ...MISS. An across the frame four cylinder overhead cam four carburettored, disc braked motorcyle that OUTSOLD the Triumph/BSA triple in the FIRST YEAR.
The rest....is history.

A CBF 500 will murder it let alone the new Hornet. Hondas simply have better quality, even second hand. Its kinda cute, but you don't buy a new bike only to have to fix it's shortcomings.

It would be interesting to see how it would look in clubman's trim. Clip ons, rear sets & a chrome headlight bucket. And a tail tidy of course.

It looks like it’s made to a price but good presentation thanks.
The Aprilia 660 looks to be similar; as a new bike, built to a price but the sum of the parts make it look better than it actually is.
I’m not a fan of the retro bikes/cafe racer apart from maybe the Triumph Speed Twin which apparently has very good performance.
I’m showing my age by sticking with Sports bikes.
You can by a relatively recent used 1000cc machine far cheaper than 5K and you have the joy of that engine which I never get board of (GSXR1000K2 and ZX10RC1)

I live in the usa and i want one so bad

Was this filmed in a windy zoo??

I had a very close look at the GS at Fowlers in Bristol last week and I have to say I pretty much disagree with a lot of the comments on finish. This is not an expensive bike and a few after market tweaks will sort most of them. Even the radiator didn't offend in real life. I own a RE and have no axe to grind but I've ridden the Interceptor and though it was a nice bike. I didn't expect 100HP performance but there isn't a great deal of character from the engine as a whole. If the GS has good large cc single cylinder characteristics it would tip the balance for me.

Excellent video! Thanks for your honesty. Now, please buy a wireless microphone! DJI and Rode make fantastic mics so we can hear your voice instead of the wind and birds.

Owned a 2005 BMW F 650 that had the 652cc Rotax motor. Fuel injected, 4 valve, dual over head cams, 2 spark plugs. A fantastic motor. Torque up the waz-ooo. Never got less than 65 MPG (US). 50 HP, capable of 114-117 MPH. BSA, where are you in the US?

Had broken headlight today. spoken with BSA and replaced under warranty, second one reported to them today. that not coincidental.

I wouldn't tolerate no centre stand. What do you do if your in the sticks with a flat tire ?

Sounds a lot like a rushed through prototype, rather than a well thought out and tested production bike.not for me.

I'd like to see Royal Enfield make another go at a 500, a similarly pretty engine like the last one but smoother running like their current 350. Hopefully, an air or air/oil cooled engine without a cumbersome radiator. I like many of the styling cues of the new BSA, but the radiator and painted engine cases sort of kill it for me.

These BSA's need more development I worked for an engineering company as QC and this item is not yet good enough to match the Royal Enfield products, the chrome on the tank looks like it was sprayed from a rattle can yuuk.