Classic Bike Guide - Real rides, real riders

Gold standard: BSA Gold Star

It’s one of the most evocative model names in motorcycling and it endured for a quarter of a century, its production run punctuated by the maelstrom of WWII and brought to an end by advancing technology and production engineering techniques rather than lack of demand for the product.

BSA’s Gold Star is arguably the pinnacle of the traditional British sporting single’s development, and it’s one of the most versatile machines to emerge from an industry well known for extracting the most out of all its designs. In competition, Gold Stars have won on the Isle of Man, short circuits, scrambles, trials and the International Six Days Trial (ISDT). It’s also been a road burner par excellence, the darling of the café racer set from the early 50s to the mid-60s. In short, the Gold Star is the consummate all-rounder.

Despite all its competition success though, the Gold Star really came about as a result of the BSA factory’s reluctance to commit to the harsh spotlight of road racing. After all, 14 BSA works machines shipped to the Island for the 1921 TT failed to produce a result, the factory withdrew all backing for Tarmac racing and threw its resources into trials and six-day events, but one quiet Wednesday, at Brooklands, in 1937, saw the exception to their self-imposed exile create a legend.

The signs were there for any who cared to read them. Four times TT winner Wal Handley, out of retirement thanks to the entreaties of BSA’s Bert Perrigo, was entered on what looked like a pretty standard Empire Star model. In fact, it was a highly tuned factory special, running on alcohol, with 13:1 compression and a racing magneto. In his first race out of retirement, Handley blasted his machine round the Brooklands banking to collect the race win (despite a hefty handicap of nine seconds), at an average speed of 102.27mph and a fastest lap of 107.57mph. At the same time he claimed a Brooklands Gold Star (a badge awarded to anyone who completed a lap of Brooklands at over 100mph during the course of a race) and generated a huge amount of publicity for BSA.

Factory bosses weren’t slow to cash in on Handley’s winning comeback. The following year, the M24 Gold Star appeared in the model line up. A star was born.

Based on the Empire Star, the new model benefited from an alloy head and barrel, an Amal TT carburettor, a lightweight Elektron gearbox shell and a 7.8:1 compression ratio. With each machine being carefully assembled and tested at the factory, a power output of 28bhp at 5250rpm was guaranteed. A competition (trials) version was also offered alongside a track racing version (though it’s unclear as to whether any were actually produced) tuned to run on alcohol fuel and give up to 36bhp. Already the Gold Star was beginning to show its versatility.

Despite modest sales, the Gold Star remained in the BSA range for the following year 1939. However, other events that year would overshadow the impact of the Gold Star. The war effort took priority at BSA and it would be nine long years before the Gold Star made its reappearance.

Without wanting to disparage the pre-war Gold Star, it is probably the postwar models that are regarded as the archetypal Goldies. The first to hit the showrooms was the 1949 model. Based on the B31, the ZB32 followed the pre-war example of alloy head and barrel, but went one step further by being supported by a whole range of factory options for engine specification. Cams, carburettors, valve springs, compression ratios and gearing could all be tailored to suit the buyer as could tyre choice, electrical equipment and fuel tank capacity and design. In effect, the Gold Star could be a tourer, racer, scrambler or trials iron.

Notwithstanding the mix and match engine and ancillaries though, most of the Gold Star, including the brazed and lugged, plunger frame (a rigid frame was also offered on competition models) and the gearbox, was firmly based on the B31. Critically though, the Goldie could deliver more in the performance stakes, nudging 80mph even in touring trim. With a dip into the competition shop toy box for cams, a revised cylinder head, high compression pistons and an open pipe, 90mph was a reality. A win for Harold Clarke in the 1949 Junior Clubman’s TT proved the racing potential of the Goldie and they would go on to win every Junior Clubman’s TT until the race was dropped from the TT schedule after 1956.

With the 350cc Gold Star proving a success in its first (postwar) year, it made sense for BSA to offer a 500. So, for 1950, the ZB34 Gold Star joined its little brother in the catalogue. The engine was based on the existing B33 design (though with alloy head and barrel) but both the new 500 and the 350 benefited from a 8in front brake with a finned, cast iron drum and pressed steel hub.

Both models continued unchanged well into 1951, when the 500 gained a separate rocker box and revised valves and cotters. For the 1952 season, the 350 Goldie followed suit with separate die-cast rocker box, as well as a shorter con rod (with the barrel shortened by one fin to suit), bigger valves and a steeper downdraught for the inlet tract. ‘Motor Cycling’ recorded a series of runs at over 95mph on the new 350 (in clubman’s trim). The Goldie legend was growing.

The revised engine in a new swinging arm frame (a development pioneered on the factory scramblers) became the BB model for 1953, also gaining a more modern gearbox ‘borrowed’ from the A7 and A10 twins. The swinging arm frame was of all-welded construction, with duplex down tubes forming a cradle under the engine – and it’s the right hand cradle tube that has the distinctive ‘Goldie kink’ to clear the oil pump housing.

The following year, engine development took its turn after the arrival of the springer frame the previous year. Although the BB engine continued in production, it was used only in the touring and scrambles specification machines, while clubman and racing specification machines got a new engine. The ‘big fin’ CB series engine, with eccentric rocker spindles, five-bolt head mounting, swept back exhaust, short con rod, oval flywheels (on the 500) and GP carburettor brought the Gold Star bang up-to-date – and almost to its final form, visually at least.

With power up to 30bhp (in clubman’s trim) for the 350 and 37bhp for the 500, it was no wonder that Goldies scooped the wins in both Junior and Senior Clubman’s TT that year. Motor Cycling  tested a 350 in clubman’s trim at 102mph, but there was still more to come. For 1955, the DB series joined the BB and CB variants, adding clip-on handlebars, vented brakes and a four bolt head – as well as a redesigned cylinder liner for the 350 models. There was a revised oil feed to the crank too, using a bush on the crank end, rather than the previous quill-type feed – a modification that greatly improved big-end life. Speedo and rev counter were standard equipment on the new model and the oval flywheels of the CB reverted to a more conventional, circular form following the adoption of short-skirt pistons.

The final incarnation of the Goldie emerged for 1956, when the iconic DBD model took its bow. Produced only in 500cc form and equipped with a 11⁄2in Amal GP carburettor, megaphone silencers and the final 190mm front brake offered as an option, the Gold Star was as near perfection as it was going to get. 1956 also saw the introduction of the RRT2 gearbox. The adoption of needle rollers on the sleeve gear gave rise to the extra ‘2’ in the gearbox code. The ‘T’ refers to the layshaft needle roller bearings and ‘RR’ is the designation for extra close ratios.

However, all that development became part of the problem for the Goldie’s future. By now, performance of the 500 was up to 110mph and 42bhp – fine figures for any bike in 1956 – let alone a ‘simple’ push rod single. The trouble was, there was nowhere for the Goldie to go. Although it remained in the BSA line up until 1963, the Gold Star had reached its peak in 1956.

By 1963, the Goldie was no longer competitive for road racing. In scrambling too, the lighter unit singles from BSA had eclipsed it and lightweight strokers from James and Greeves were much easier to pilot through the trials sections of the day and, to cap it all, Lucas announced that they were ceasing production of the magnetos and dynamos on which the Goldie relied. It would have required a fair bit of work to modify the Gold Star to accept an alternator, but the bald truth was that, by 1963, the Gold Star had – fine machine though it was – had its day.

Some 37 years on though, the lure of the Gold Star shows no sign of diminishing. Certainly late model Goldie prices have continued to head skywards and, if you’ve always wanted one, don’t wait for prices to drop – they won’t. The DBD34 – seen by many as the definitive Gold Star – is the most desirable model and, consequently the most expensive but it still delivers the real, raw essence of sporting single cylinder motorcycling with panache and a remarkable level of reliability, allied to relative ease of maintenance.

Out on the open road, there’s little to beat the thrill of piloting a well-sorted DBD34 Clubman Gold Star with the RRT2 gearbox. It’s one of classic motorcycling’s finest experiences to be able to wind open a 500 Goldie and snick through the ratios imagining yourself in the Clubmans TT back in the 50s. The 190mm drum at the front (if fitted) will swiftly haul you back into reality if the occasion demands and the sure-footed handling of the excellent BSA duplex frame allows you to exploit the full potential of the 42bhp on tap. Single cylinder motorcycling doesn’t get much better.

Don’t expect an easy ride through town though, and a Clubman isn’t the best tool for pottering around the lanes on a Sunday morning. For that, a touring spec Gold Star – or even one of the earlier (and less expensive) BB or CB variants – is a better bet. Indeed, a rigid ZB is a delightful machine for life in the slow(er) lane and it’s considerably rarer than the 500cc counterparts. 350cc Goldies tend to sell for less and are well worth considering. What’s more, many in the know feel them to be a nicer machine to ride – more willing to rev and smoother than the full-house 500.

All this pleasure inevitably comes at a price. A really top drawer DBD34 can cost over £15,000 now – which sounds a lot of money for a push rod single, but with a Goldie, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts – and there’s an undeniable pose value to owning one of the last generation Clubman’s models. Modern updates can make the Goldie infinitely more practical and reliable than any 50s sporting single has a right to be – without altering the classic Gold Star look.

They may be costly, but a Goldie can be a machine for life.

• There's much more to this 11 page feature in this months magazine (July 2010).