New colour scheme - Shadow Black
It's nice but I still prefer the chrome models. However at £6k it's a good buy.
It's nice but I still prefer the chrome models. However at £6k it's a good buy.
BSA Gold Star
- Thread starter Arsey
- Start date
Waiting for the new Himmie ...
Sent from my moto e30 using Tapatalk
Sent from my moto e30 using Tapatalk
Agreed, nowhere near as nice as the white / chrome IMO.
yours has the best colour scheme Stu.
The new black looks good...
Indicators, mirrors and fork reflectors removed.
Yep! I think it looks so much nicer, any thoughts?
A 1960’s style rear light and number plate bracket on top of the rear mudguard instead of the modern looking tail tidy would look better in my opinion.
^^^^^^^^^ looks great , big improvement. Not a million miles away from the rear light on the Beeza SS80 I had
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Update.
Went to Moore Speed Racing yesterday, spoke with a guy called Nick. Really nice chap, really nice place. They are an Indian Dealer, the place is like a maze, loads of bikes, was offered tea straight away, loads of clothing and accessories, all in all a nice bike shop. Now, the NEW Gold Star...I have to say I was sceptical before I went, but thought 'lets put the fact that its not an old Goldie to one side, and view it for what it is'.
My first impressions were good, its a good looking bike, but on closer inspection there were some alarm bells ringing for me. They customise their own bikes, and had customised a few which they showed me, some good work, they have created a scrambler version, which although its not finished looks quite good, high front mud guard, knobbly tires, trick lights/exhaust/etc, but where they had been working on the bike, in the areas where they had fitted extra parts the original paint had come off, exposing bare metal (fork surrounds) and it looked like the paint was super thin!
They have started to create a cafe racer style bike as well, that again looks nice, lights/seat/clip-ons/exhaust/etc, looks like it will look fab when done. They are working on creating a retro/vintage version as well, in the BSA green from the 1920's, that again will I'm sure look great, but.......
The ride..
Now before I make comment, I have old bikes, have had an original Gold Star in the stable, and have ridden original DBD34 ETC, so am totally aware of how the old bike sounds and rides, and that this is NOT the old version, but the new version...
The seating position is not bad, quite comfy in fact but after a few miles feels kind of wrong? It feels like I am perched up on top of the bike, rather than sat in it. I think maybe the seat is too high for me (I'm 5'9") and it just didn't feel right.
The engine was disappointing, it sounded weak. I started it and it felt like it was idling too high? (to get through emissions tests no doubt) and when I revved it, sounded (for me) too soft, too clinical. I expected it to be a bit vibey/throb a bit, but no, it felt like a 250. On the road though the engine is strong, and I think pulls well for a single, but again, no vibes/shakes/feeling from the engine. I like a bit of feedback from a motor, some might call it character perhaps, but I found this engine distinctly lacking that. I also looked at/started a few bikes before I went out that they had 'played' with re the exhaust. One had a aftermarket can on and was de catted, it just sounded too shouty for me. One had a standard can with the baffle removed, this sounded again too loud and the test bike had a modified baffle fitted (they shortened it by about 8"). On the road, which is where it matters to me, this bike (short baffle) sounded quite fruity, but again lacked the 'depth' and 'bark' I felt a 650 single should have.
Gearbox is OK, lever is a little long but it all works fine. It was raining and I was only on it for a short time, but the gearbox feels fine.
Suspension is very soft, now I know its not a sports bike, but just standing at the rear and bouncing the bike kind of tells me its too soft. I have trawled the internet and there are lots of opinions surrounding the suspension, sadly all negative. I know the bike is built to a price, and more expensive bikes obviously have better/more expensive suspension, but I for one would definitely consider a bike which offers the option of a suspension upgrade for say, £500? They don't offer it.
The brakes are Brembo, so will be good. Like I said I didn't ride far/fast as weather/rain kind of stopped play after about 20 minutes, but they felt strong. ABS is standard on these, although I never (happily) got to experience it I'm sure it works.
Warning/Idiot lights. A really small round clock thingy in between the 2 main dials houses these lights. This (for me) is far too small. Im not blind, but my vision is comparable to most people my age, and I found the lights/symbols in there unreadable, as was the trip computer/fuel gauge. They (in my humble opinion) would have been better placed in the speedo/rev counter dials, and a small analogue clock better on place of the warning light clock?(or indeed an ammeter, like the older bikes?). I found the speedo numbers also a bit too small, which is clearly a quite important one to watch!
Switchgear is good. A lot of moaners have said 'the switch gear is cheap and tacky'. I personally didn't find this the case. They were (are) functional and have a direct feel to me?
One area that I think they have seriously got wrong, is that there is/cannot ever be a centre stand (on a chain driven bike?). There is no provision on the frame to fit one, which I think is a bit odd really? To ease maintenance you would need a paddock stand (c. £40 online), but, the exhaust gets in the way! TEC do offer aftermarket SS brackets but its a bit of a faff isn't it?
Overall, the bike, for the money is OK. Didn't set me alight, but then I cannot get the sounds/feeling of the original Gold Star out of my mind, so found myself subconsciously comparing the two, not a good idea really... I worked out that to make the new Gold Star 'look' how I would like it to, it would cost me (including the bike) c.£8k, but I can never make it 'sound/ride' like the older machine, which is a great pity as I am sure that with a bit more thought/work/money it could have been possible. So, sadly,(genuinely as I love the look of the upcoming 'Shadow' edition), I'm out.
For c. 8k, you are stepping into original DB32 money, and although prices are low regarding old stuff at the moment, they will without doubt go up again.
Lastly, I took an old friend with me to look at it, he has owned an old Goldie as well. His comment was quite poignant, "They've given it the wrong name"...
Just my thoughts...
Went to Moore Speed Racing yesterday, spoke with a guy called Nick. Really nice chap, really nice place. They are an Indian Dealer, the place is like a maze, loads of bikes, was offered tea straight away, loads of clothing and accessories, all in all a nice bike shop. Now, the NEW Gold Star...I have to say I was sceptical before I went, but thought 'lets put the fact that its not an old Goldie to one side, and view it for what it is'.
My first impressions were good, its a good looking bike, but on closer inspection there were some alarm bells ringing for me. They customise their own bikes, and had customised a few which they showed me, some good work, they have created a scrambler version, which although its not finished looks quite good, high front mud guard, knobbly tires, trick lights/exhaust/etc, but where they had been working on the bike, in the areas where they had fitted extra parts the original paint had come off, exposing bare metal (fork surrounds) and it looked like the paint was super thin!
They have started to create a cafe racer style bike as well, that again looks nice, lights/seat/clip-ons/exhaust/etc, looks like it will look fab when done. They are working on creating a retro/vintage version as well, in the BSA green from the 1920's, that again will I'm sure look great, but.......
The ride..
Now before I make comment, I have old bikes, have had an original Gold Star in the stable, and have ridden original DBD34 ETC, so am totally aware of how the old bike sounds and rides, and that this is NOT the old version, but the new version...
The seating position is not bad, quite comfy in fact but after a few miles feels kind of wrong? It feels like I am perched up on top of the bike, rather than sat in it. I think maybe the seat is too high for me (I'm 5'9") and it just didn't feel right.
The engine was disappointing, it sounded weak. I started it and it felt like it was idling too high? (to get through emissions tests no doubt) and when I revved it, sounded (for me) too soft, too clinical. I expected it to be a bit vibey/throb a bit, but no, it felt like a 250. On the road though the engine is strong, and I think pulls well for a single, but again, no vibes/shakes/feeling from the engine. I like a bit of feedback from a motor, some might call it character perhaps, but I found this engine distinctly lacking that. I also looked at/started a few bikes before I went out that they had 'played' with re the exhaust. One had a aftermarket can on and was de catted, it just sounded too shouty for me. One had a standard can with the baffle removed, this sounded again too loud and the test bike had a modified baffle fitted (they shortened it by about 8"). On the road, which is where it matters to me, this bike (short baffle) sounded quite fruity, but again lacked the 'depth' and 'bark' I felt a 650 single should have.
Gearbox is OK, lever is a little long but it all works fine. It was raining and I was only on it for a short time, but the gearbox feels fine.
Suspension is very soft, now I know its not a sports bike, but just standing at the rear and bouncing the bike kind of tells me its too soft. I have trawled the internet and there are lots of opinions surrounding the suspension, sadly all negative. I know the bike is built to a price, and more expensive bikes obviously have better/more expensive suspension, but I for one would definitely consider a bike which offers the option of a suspension upgrade for say, £500? They don't offer it.
The brakes are Brembo, so will be good. Like I said I didn't ride far/fast as weather/rain kind of stopped play after about 20 minutes, but they felt strong. ABS is standard on these, although I never (happily) got to experience it I'm sure it works.
Warning/Idiot lights. A really small round clock thingy in between the 2 main dials houses these lights. This (for me) is far too small. Im not blind, but my vision is comparable to most people my age, and I found the lights/symbols in there unreadable, as was the trip computer/fuel gauge. They (in my humble opinion) would have been better placed in the speedo/rev counter dials, and a small analogue clock better on place of the warning light clock?(or indeed an ammeter, like the older bikes?). I found the speedo numbers also a bit too small, which is clearly a quite important one to watch!
Switchgear is good. A lot of moaners have said 'the switch gear is cheap and tacky'. I personally didn't find this the case. They were (are) functional and have a direct feel to me?
One area that I think they have seriously got wrong, is that there is/cannot ever be a centre stand (on a chain driven bike?). There is no provision on the frame to fit one, which I think is a bit odd really? To ease maintenance you would need a paddock stand (c. £40 online), but, the exhaust gets in the way! TEC do offer aftermarket SS brackets but its a bit of a faff isn't it?
Overall, the bike, for the money is OK. Didn't set me alight, but then I cannot get the sounds/feeling of the original Gold Star out of my mind, so found myself subconsciously comparing the two, not a good idea really... I worked out that to make the new Gold Star 'look' how I would like it to, it would cost me (including the bike) c.£8k, but I can never make it 'sound/ride' like the older machine, which is a great pity as I am sure that with a bit more thought/work/money it could have been possible. So, sadly,(genuinely as I love the look of the upcoming 'Shadow' edition), I'm out.
For c. 8k, you are stepping into original DB32 money, and although prices are low regarding old stuff at the moment, they will without doubt go up again.
Lastly, I took an old friend with me to look at it, he has owned an old Goldie as well. His comment was quite poignant, "They've given it the wrong name"...
Just my thoughts...
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