Advert
O Pure Gold
Split personality
Cynics claim it was a way to use up surplus pre-unit parts after BSA went ‘unit’ on the twins… those of us with soul say it’s the ultimate development of the A10 says Jim Reynolds.
The Rocket Gold Star is a Jekyll and Hyde motorcycle. The amiable and tractable Doctor Jekyll side is the 646cc BSA twin cylinder engine that Bert Hopwood drew up and a succession of engineers developed until it climaxed in this 46bhp version, strong, robust and easy to live with. The Mr Hyde side is the Gold Star based rolling chassis with the 1960s fashionable clip-on handlebars and rearset footrests that throw the rider’s weight onto his wrists until the speed gets up to the level where wind pressure relieves the extremities. Not a helpful requirement in the early 21st century, when such a need for rider comfort is not an acceptable excuse for maintaining a 75mph cruising speed down the high street. Unless of course you’ve tried that unlikely tale as your defence in the local magistrates court and got away with it. Please write to CBG if you have, and we’ll forward details to the Guinness Book of Records.
But it is a truly beautiful motorcycle, in its staunchly conservative British colour scheme of chrome, silver, black and just a touch of a red lining. Nothing vulgar here; this was the flagship of Britain’s largest manufacturer, which you could realistically say meant it represented the Best of British, so it certainly didn’t get a garish paintjob. Just dignified quality from what was once the biggest motorcycle factory in the world, but by 1961 that naughty little Soichiro Honda was churning out 50cc Cubs by the boatload for the whole world, building racing machines that set new standards, and was planning to launch the 450cc parallel twin Black Bomber right into the American market. Oh, let’s not go there.
The Rocket Gold Star was launched in February of 1962, one month after the company had announced that its long standing favourite A7 and A10 twins were to be replaced by the unit construction – that means the engine and gearbox were no longer separate items – A50 and A65 models. What a strange conundrum the company were offering their loyal public: on the one hand they were saying ‘here’s our new range of twins, with unit construction and the greater integral strength you get when motive unit and gearbox are all in one unit’ and, on the other hand, ‘this is ultimate development of all that road use and Clubman’s TT racing through the 40s and 50s. Here is Small Heath’s very finest’. It lasted just two years in production.
And this one is truly pukka, with a Rocket Gold Star Owners’ Club certificate to confirm that they’ve checked the records, thrown out any silly claims from C15-based 250cc Gold Star owners that they actually have the real thing, and that the factory records show when this one was built and where it went. And the owner, Chas Hadley, has the documents to show that he bought it and hasn’t sold it since that fine and fateful day.
Chas is a bike mad Black Country lad from way back, when he and biking mate Dave Stanley worked at BSR, purveyors of automatic changing record players to the world. Dave bought this 650 Beesa not realising that it was one of a very rare breed, blew it up a short time later, and put it away in the garage. At this point in the story we should all stop and offer sincere thanks to Dave for not ferrying the bits down to the local scrappy and pocketing the untold riches that a £10 note represented while the man put it though the crusher and sent the alloy bits off to Poland to be recycled and become the slats of fashionable Venetian blinds. He did dismantle it, but the resulting boxes of bits didn’t progress much.
Mr Stanley was admiring Chas’s own 650 BSA, a Super Rocket, and recognised a good home for all those boxes. “I’ve got an old BSA in the garage. Do you want to buy it?” he asked and very soon the deal was done. Chas has a long history of 650 Beesas and bought his first Super Rocket in the early 60s: “I was only on about seven pounds a week then, and Ma told me off because I couldn’t afford it,” he admits with a grin.
- End of online sample -
More in the Classic Bike Guide magazine >>
O In this issue...
To find out more about this month's issue:
O Get your copy
