BSA Gold Star: A roadster that offers the pleasure of motorcycling

The BSA Gold Star launch was held on 15 August at the opulent Bombay Opera House. The attendees included auto scribes, influencers and motorcyclists whose riding prime was in the 1950s and 1960s.

After all the BSA Gold Star of 50s and 60s was no ordinary machine. It was the holy grail of motorcycling. It expressed everything that motorcycling, unrestrained by today’s sound and pollution norms, embodied. A distinctive design that made it stand apart from other Brit bikes like Norton, Triumph and Enfield, a celebrated exhaust burble, buckets of torque, and a glorious and potent single cylinder engine capable of triple digit speeds at a time when the world measured velocity in miles per hour.

Also read: Apple Intelligence will come to iPhone, iPad, and Mac soon. But there’s a catch

It was a machine that had made the motorcyclists present in the audience weak in the knees then and they came now in the hope that the very sight of the new avatar would turn their knees to jelly again.

The Gold Star was made by BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) from 1938 to 1963. They were 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s.

During the time, they set records and won races and also served as personal everyday commute vehicles. Even today, BSA Goldies are prized objects of desire among vintage automobile aficionados.

On Sunday mornings when vintage motorcycle clubs go on a breakfast run, among the many exhaust notes the distinctive exhaust burble of a BSA almost always stands out.

Also read: Mercedes-Maybach SL: A plush sports car that celebrates logomania

The new BSA Gold Star is made by Classic Legends, the Mahindra Group subsidiary that acquired the BSA brand in 2016 and is manufactured in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. The 652cc single cylinder-engined modern Gold Star draws its design cues from the 1956 DBD34 and its looks pay homage to the original 1950s version.

When I first started it, with a button rather than the long drawn starting sequence its granddaddy required, the sound that poured out of the chrome exhaust was not what I had hoped to hear. I expected Luciano Pavarotti—and Phil Collins played instead. That made me pause for a moment and reset my expectations. I realised that I hadn’t yet ridden a mile on this machine and I was already judging this motorcycle by the past glories of its badge.

Regarding the new BSA Gold Star purely as a new motorcycle with no strings attached to the previous motorcycles that sported the three rifles logo, I can tell you that this 45bhp retro styled roadster delivers the simple pleasure of motorcycling.

I had the motorcycle for just four days. I used it for my daily commute for which I usually use a 350cc motorcycle. Not once while I was riding the BSA did the words “cumbersome” or “cantankerous” cross my mind for any kind of Mumbai traffic and road conditions.

The gearshift is slick, the clutch is light and the gear ratios are so well spaced out that the engine seems to be happy at all speeds. The stance, thanks to the geometry of the seat, foot pegs and handlebars, is spot on and I assume that long rides on this will not be taxing for the shoulders or the back.

On the third day, I took the motorcycle out for a ride along the eastern seaboard. The road runs under the elevated eastern freeway. There are long stretches here where I could whack the throttle open and the BSA streaked across the tarmac like a shooting star as I worked through the smooth gearbox. The needles in the twin upside-down instrument pods, housing the speedometer and the rpm meter, swung smoothly in a clockwise direction with the former going to 120kmph easily before I had to start braking for an upcoming speedbump. I hit this at a very non speed-breaker like speed and the suspension easily absorbed a large part of the jolt.

That morning the roads in the erstwhile Fort area of Mumbai were devoid of traffic and I could ride with the unbridled joy delivered by flicking the bike around corners at speed. The Gold Star was my enthusiastic accomplice in these swinging schemes.

But at one a particularly bumpy corner it did feel a little unresolved and I could feel the suspension working hard to keep things in control.

Also read: I drove the Kalki 2898 AD car. It's fit for an apocalyptic world

There is no doubt that this is a good-looking motorcycle thanks to the design cues from the past. When I parked for a cup of tea, the Goldie turned heads. With oodles of chrome and glossy paint, it is no doubt a handsome motorcycle.

However, the switchgear and throttle grip seemed to be built to a price. They just lack that premium feel. The LCD insets in the two dials that tell the distance travelled and the amount of fuel in the tank are simply too small to read at a quick glance. Another issue is the fuel cap. It took me ages to get it off. It is unhinged and needs careful alignment to put it back on so as to be leak-proof. Perhaps, this is a retro aspect that could have been modernised.

Thankfully, the engine is leak-tight and doesn’t “mark” its territory with oil drippings that used to plague British motorcycles of the past. It features fuel injection, an electric start and a halogen headlight. The Brembo disc brakes have a nice bite and feature ABS. There are also USB ports to charge devices.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this 45bhp roadster and at the introductory price its being offered for, I am certainly tempted to book one. If you hop on to it hoping to relive the deep sound and a very involving feel of motorcycling in the 1950s, you’ll be disappointed. But if you swing a leg over it without any historic expectations of what the forbearers of the BSA badge delivered, you’ll be delighted.

The BSA Gold Star is available in six colour schemes and is now on sale, with prices beginning at ₹2.99 lakh (ex showroom).

Rishad Saam Mehta is a Mumbai-based author and travel writer.

Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com