BUYING AND SELLING
BSA’S Gold Star is an enduring icon – and this one won’t wreck your right leg
A labour-saving Gold Star and taking time with a project bike
The BSA Gold Star is possibly the epitome of the traditional sporting British single. With a production run spanning almost a quarter of a century – from its beginnings as the M24 Gold Star in late 1937 for the 1938 sales season, until it bowed out of the BSA lineup in 1963 – it’s also one of the most enduringly popular. Yet it’s as well known – and appreciated – by the scrambles and trials fans as it is by the café racer set.
Its versatility is unmatched. Gold Stars have won on the Isle of Man’s unforgiving Mountain course, just about every short circuit you can name, as well as the gruelling ISDT. And Goldies have won countless scrambles, numerous trials events – and established a reputation as one of the finest road burners of the ’50s. The Gold Star is a consummate all-rounder and it’s no wonder it remains so popular today.
But, despite the fact that the Gold Star name was coined to cash in on Wal Handley’s stunning Brooklands win at 102.27mph one
Wednesday in 1937 on a tuned Empire Star, it’s the post-war models that really established the Gold Star legend. Starting with the 1949 plunger-framed 350cc ZB32 and 1950 500cc ZB34 models, and
morphing through the swingarm BB, CB and DB models into the iconic DBD34, the Gold Star became a legend.
What it never became, though, was civilised – especially in 500cc form. A clubman-spec DBD34 with rear-sets, clip-ons, close-ratio RRT2 gearbox (with its vertiginously high first gear) and GP carburettor will not be a pleasant experience in town. And it will require a certain mixture of technique and aggression to fire it up, too. But what if you could have a DBD34 with all the style and swagger, but also with a few concessions to civility – and more suitable for riders perhaps just edging past the first flush of youth?
Well, you can. Classic Superbikes in Fleet, Hampshire (classicsuperbikes.co.uk) have just such a machine for sale at £24,950. Built by renowned Gold Star specialist Phil Pearson in 2016, it’s a matching-numbers 1958 DBD34 with a difference. For a start it has a (discreet) electric starter fitted. It also has a standard road gearbox, and touring handlebars that combine with the clubman-style rearsets to provide a near-perfect riding position. And, of course, it has been rebuilt with all new engine internals, making it as close to a brand-new Goldie as you’re ever going to get.
It isn’t cheap, but for a diehard Gold Star fan, this might just be the last bike you’ll ever need to buy.