BSA Gold Star 650. Reborn as a Modern Classic Motorcycle. Does the New Contender Make The Grade?

I really enjoyed this review, I'm retiring soon so your very credible and real world views on this have pushed it into my shortlist of bikes to take for a test run....

Thanks for doing the review. Lots of clarity

Sound is better than Royal Enfiled

Have to admit, close up it's disappointing. Plastic engine covers and welds like a 5 year old with too many sweets inside him! Very rattly engine, even more so than my Rotax 500 and it is very small. Half digital, half analogue clocks and paintwork by the Stevie Wonder appreciation society.

Not really worthy of the Goldie name, they should have saved that moniker for a well sorted racer rep.

Gold Star? No, more like 4/10 see teacher after class.

i need this in india, can buy just for its looks and that single 650cc

I think the upside down clocks are hard to look at, they are trying to break my brain 😢

I like this bike but it's a bit of a disappointment that it's radiator looks like an afterthought. I would like it better if it were air/oil cooled .

A departure from the SOHCs of the Royal Enfield. I love the styling of this bike.

Good review, however we still haven't got them in Australia, I might have to import one.. The sound reminds me of the Yamaha XT500, another bike I would like

Really enjoy your reviews enjoy eny chances you could do a kawasaki z650rs I think it's a real cross over from modern to retro .I like to watch you as the Old man is nearly the size of me I actually ride a 1987 suzuki gs 850 as my daily but she is getting long in the tooth looking for a replacement not selling her just turning her in to a fine weather bike

Ripe for customisation

I am thinking about buying one but I'd like to see a review made on American high speed roads, not little pebble lanes in England like in this one. How about it BSA. Do a video that we Americans can relate to.

I looked at one but apart from cost I thought it was trying too much to look like an original Gold Star. To me it had fake covers and looked too plasticky.
I went with a 350 Enfield classic instead.

If this bike was sold in the usa i would get one

Got to add a second post - how in the name of reason can you compare the finish of a £7k bike with a Norton costing double the price ???

Just looked and sat on one at Fowlers and I have to say I was impressed. I've been a critic of the radiator but have to say that in the flesh it blended in well. I don't think the niggles of some critics are very valid. I'll certainly be taking a test ride.

this is the bike that made for the journey not for the destination. the bike so good you want to ride all the road.

I’ll stick to the yammy sr 500. Air cooled and you can make it look like any classic bike you want.

Will it do 140kph? for passing on highways or mountain hills?

You've just got to remember when you look at a BSA or Royal Enfield that they really are copies and not uk built as the originals were, if you're ok with that that's fine.
But the Triumph brand is and always was British and a great one at that with a fantastic success story and the real deal. You will pay a little more for an English machine, but it's a pedigree made in the Midlands, or at least assembled.

The goat is the star!

You sure make wonderful videos in a beautiful setting. Thanks for sharing.

Very interested in getting one when they come to the USA. It would be my first bike. The man I consider my surrogate dad had a BSA thunderbolt. So it would be to honor him.

The motorcycle looks great, but the landscape looks even greater! What a dreamy place to ride! Wish I was there. My main issue with this bike, vs the REs, is the radiator, which sort of marginalizes the connection to the past. Anyway, have a great time riding and stay safe.

Sometimes I wish I lived in a place where a ram would just come up and say hi randomly 😂

After riding 2021 bonneville t120 black for a season I am not sure it’s possible to convince me that these exists a better classic bike. With regards to BSA, I didn’t quite like the exhaust sound…

Sorry mate but when you sit on the bike it looks like a Honda Dax. The gauges are upside down & it sounds like a tractor, Royal Enfield must be laughing at the competition.

it may be a good bike but i wish they had called it something else, not one part has anything to do with a goldie, apart from perhaps the tank badge. i am of that age where i have owned, many BSA, and Velocette bikes as well as AJS and the occasional triumph. this the same as the modern Bonneville, Kawasaki Z900 and the Enfield..... they are not what they are pretending to be. the nearest was the Kawasaki W650 which seems to be more like a 60s Triumph than triumph is

Huge cooler in the front and having had a look around one the crank casings look like they have painted with silver Hammerite .
Could have been a great retro but fails especially compared price wise to the Enfield 650 classic

I haven’t ridden one, but gee it sounds anaemic

Pug ugly! The bike Mr Darcy, not you...

The only good opinion about this bike so far. Most other's are far less enthusiastic. I doubt it will sell in the US, it's a tad ugly and the American rider is
just not all that enthused over a single for the street.

I certainly would like to demo this bike if it comes to the USA. IMHO the front radiator needs some styling. It looks like a bulky afterthought. The USB box is just plain ugly and could have easily been hidden and still accessible. The exhaust note needs modification and scream’s aftermarket. You’re right about the engine side covers in needing polished shiny ones. If it doesn’t have a center stand it should have one. You didn’t mention maintence intervals. I’m curious about that. Overall for me it would come down to this bike or the R.E. Interceptor. A good dealer network is always a factor for me and of course the price as well as cost of ownership.

Sounds like a lawnmower lol

Muy bonita y ese sonido mono mola!

I love that the BSA name has been brought back and I like the overall look of the bike. However, the engine just looks terrible with everything being flat. The engine looks like it's made of plastic. If they step it up in the next few years I might consider one. I really prefer the look of my Royal Enfield classic 350. The polished engine covers on the Royal Enfield bikes is so much nicer looking.

Would you consider the BSA a good alternative to the RE classic 350?

It will be interesting when the mk2 comes out preferably made in Britain.

Sounds terrible

Sounds like a sewing machine.

Needs an old style Lucas tail light on top of the mudguard, that would finish the back off nicely.

Nice review, thanks.

Your jacket is preetty cool. Where you bought or.

Good review, where did you get your boots?

That’s such a beautiful area.

These radiators really mess with the lines in todays classic retro bikes

I think the carburation [injection] is off , while down shifting , you were matching revs. for a smooth shift , but the engine did not respond with crisp revs .

My preference for the exhaust would be a little more bark . Thanks for the care and time you spent to make this .

It's great for people who don't know anything about the gold star legacy but it's a slap in the face to dbd34 fans

Man, it’s been said a lot, but that radiator absolutely kills it. I wish RE had a classic with a bit more power than the 350. The interceptor isn’t quite it, but I couldn’t live with that radiator. It just makes it look like an imposter.

Hello sir. I Wonder if( i am 6ft) the bike is confortable for tall riders in your opinion. Thanks for the vidéo.