Here’s All You Need To Know About The BSA Gold Star

After showcasing the bike yesterday, Birmingham Small Arms or BSA has unveiled the full details of their comeback offering, the Gold Star, unveiled to the public today at its home in Birmingham. Here’s all you need to know about it:

As Retro As It Gets

One look at the BSA Gold Star and it looks nothing short of swell. Staying true to its rich heritage, the Gold Star bears a retro design with a round halogen headlight, 18/17-inch (F/R) wire spoke wheels, and plenty of chrome touches. 

Towards the rear, you get a relatively high (780mm) bench seat, an LED tail lamp, and a chrome fender with a big gap from the tyre, which, in our opinion, could’ve been designed better.

However, moving on, touches like the offset fuel lid and pinstripes, all topped off by a brushed aluminium finish on the engine (almost as premium as the Triumph Bonnevilles) and classic pea-shooter exhaust, enhancing the bike’s attention to detail. All in all, the Gold Star is certainly a handsome machine and will be quite popular ‘if’ it comes to India. 

Not JUST Retro

The BSA Gold Star may be a retro motorcycle but that doesn’t stop it from packing some rather modern features. The list includes a twin-pod analogue instrument cluster with digital inserts, a handlebar-mounted USB charger, an immobiliser, a 12V socket (for jacket heaters), dual-channel ABS, and even slipper clutch. Not to forget, you also get floating Brembo calipers at both ends. Now that’s how you make a retro bike up to date. 

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A Punchy, Modern Heart

At the heart of the matter lies a liquid-cooled 652cc, single-cylinder engine putting out 45.6PS and an impressive 55Nm (2PS less and 3Nm more than the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650). Add to this the peak torque kicking in at just 4000rpm and the Gold Star should certainly be quite fun on the go. The motor comes mated to a five-speed tranny and the addition of a slipper clutch is a sweet touch. 

BSA claims the Gold Star has a service interval of around 10,000km. 

Trusty Underpinnings

The engine is housed in a dual-cradle chassis, which is sprung on a 41mm telescopic fork and five-step preload adjustable twin shocks. And to slow down this 213kg (kerb) heavyweight, you get 320mm and 255mm front and rear disc brakes. 

Meanwhile, the bike rides on Pirelli Phantom tyres.

India Arrival

Sadly, the BSA Gold Star is mainly targeted at international markets, since the bike was designed and engineered in the UK. But, and this is a good ‘but’, the Gold Star has already been spotted testing here, meaning there’s a good chance Mahindra (parent company of BSA) might launch it in India eventually. 

However, we don’t expect it to be nearly as affordable as the Interceptor 650, the prices for which start at just under Rs 3 lakh.