2022 BSA Gold Star – first ride review & old vs new 2022

March 23, 2023



In this video we have our first ride review on the 2022 BSA Gold Star 650. We also compare it to the 1956 BSA Gold Star DBD34, which is the exact model this new bike is styled on.

Location for this video is Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, UK.

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The Classic Motorcycle Channel is for people who love classic, vintage and antique motorcycles. We are passionate about classic motorcycles and produce high quality motorcycle profile videos, restoration videos, restorer profile videos and also anything that takes our interest.

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– Alex Rollings – director and producer for the channel.
Instagram: @motofilmer
– Dave Mitchell – in house mechanic, presenter and producer. Dave also owns and runs a classic motorcycle workshop called Mitchell’s Classics.
Website: www.mitchellsclassics.co.uk
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// A BIG THANK YOU TO
– BSA and the team for inviting us along to test ride the new 2022 BSA Gold Star.
– Alex Rollings for filming and editing the video.
Instagram: @motofilmer

#bsa
#bsaisback
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47 Comments
  1. Excellent review.

  2. My BSA was able to drive in the very traffic jam in Bangkok it was reliable engine and tappet noise looked so loud when it ran at high speed but it made funny to go with it's

  3. For preventing engine overheat I used Bardahl 2 tiny can with #40 engine oil 500ml for it

  4. I owned BSA 500 plunger model 1949 and confirm till now no machine to compare it in durable and tough more than a decade that I used to drive around Thailand with happiness

  5. I've never had mine soot a plug up yet and what's this about a flat spot? If that pilot screw is adjusted slightly rich, there's no flat spot. Please, get someone to make an aftermarket rear number plate bracket to replace that horrible Enfield looking thing currently fitted to the new Goldie.

  6. If it was 1960 then it would be a pleasure to ride but not in today’s traffic, best thing for an original goldstar is on a track day, bomb round a track for the day. There’s no place on modern roads for it anymore, this is where the new model takes over.

  7. You have just said it it's not quite a repro or a commuter so what is it. It's a overpriced inferior bike trading on the name of an ikon to make money

  8. I used to ride my DBD 34 , RRT2 box 59 to work all weathers , with clip on's when set up properly even with a 10.5 to 1 slipper piston I could , run and bump it off …. and it would start very easily…. never used the decompression lever….took it off , took the kick start off ….. yes, so gonads are required … must have a modified roller clutch or burns clutches all day long .. but once fixed …. magic …. the old Goldie is race bred… thoroughbreds are temperamental….. so yes it takes determination…. but over 70 with a mega ..is real music. The new Goldie is a piece of S… for pussies !

  9. Reply
    Jean-François Rondeau March 23, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    Excellent narration – great presentation 👍 😎
    BMW also uses Bombardier Rotax engines on its thumpers. They’re highly reliable.

  10. A Suzuki Savage 650 single is a much better-looking motor. Classic motorcycle magazine article about a guy who took one and turned it into a cafe racer with alloy tank and fenders and Cafe seat and it looks really good it's a shame you can't buy them from the factory like that but everybody likes fake Choppers

  11. You don't ride a Gold Star Club in like a commuter bike. A gold star Clubman is a bike you take out on the weekends and strafed the corners with. Someone wanted a real BSA Goldstar they're better off saving their money and buying the real thing that a fake copy. With a gold star you can also put an electric starter on it to make it easy to start so you can write it like the Alton starter on the Norton Commandos that were not equipped with an electric starter from Factory. I imagine the resale value of the fake BSA gold star is going to be crap so if you want a fake BSA Goldstar just wait and someone who has previously disappointed buying a new one will sell it to you at a discount price.

  12. ROTAX Engine. say no more Bulletproof, Rotax are used in hovercrafts and microlight aircraft etc total reliable.

  13. old is better less electronics

  14. Reply
    Kreton's Love Child March 23, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    I like the new Gold Star and imagine it will become a success sales-wise, but at some point I would love to try out an old bike like the original just to see whether I could master the starting process.

  15. Where did they get that radiator, out of a 67 Chrysler? That thing is huge! Other than that I like it..

  16. To compare the Origonal Gold Star to the new model is a bit daft, as they is at least 65 years between manufacture.

  17. Can't fkin understand WHY the UK is getting the strangled version with only 45 bhp and the Indian version gets 90 bhp this might very well back fire on them I won't be bothering even test driving one

  18. Great little bike, but other than a few stickers and emblems it in no way represents a true BSA, the new owners have zero relation to the original company, buying a name does not give heritage.
    In contrast, RE have continuity of production, greatly incorporating UK design, they have evolved rather than this producer buying a dusty old name from the archives and creating, effectively, a mongrel!
    It's like badging a Honda c90 as a Velocette LE, no more, no less.
    The old Goldy with that carb was not designed for modern roads/ traffic,as well you are aware,to slight it on that in your comparison is in my mind an 'influenced' comparison, good for sales of this modern effigy of an old classic.

  19. You can ride it quickly, you can ride it slowly, thats when its on the market mind you😅

  20. If this bike didn't have the badge, no one would be talking about it. It's okay. Also, it should be noted (and this is just my understanding), that these bikes that everyone have been reviewing isn't the production bike – and, as such (if this is correct), shouldn't be reviewed.

  21. Great and different review; thanks.

  22. it's a big 350 classic

  23. Just look at them, the old one was beautiful and sounds fantastic.

  24. Fabulous that BSA is being produced again. Very welcome addition to the range of retro bikes available. Pointless to compare with the original Goldie… May just as well try to compare a new iPhone with a 1950s telephone.

  25. Single cylinder 🤮🤮
    Seat looks cheap and chinese

  26. Excellent and well informed review of the new Gold Star, thank you. It’s an intriguing bike with positives and negatives. Can’t say I’m totally won over with the style and I think it’s slightly porky. Not fitting a centre stand and rear grab handle is not good and it sounds no better than the Hunter 350 with the baffles in place – but nice with them out. As I have previously said, the engine looks a corker, it rides, brakes and steers and has a two years warranty. Would I wish to part with my electric start Yamaha SRX 600? No, because it does everything and more I want from a 600 single.

  27. The old Goldie has character though …
    I’d still put up with it compared to the new bike ….
    Sorry guys

  28. You buy the BSA go home and immediately remove the baffle. Sounds so much better.

  29. I read a few motorcycles books and they all mention that the BSA Gold Star DBD34 was the best handling motorcycle in the 50s and mid 60s.

  30. Great review. Straight to the point. No fluff. 👍

  31. No thanks keep it

  32. Hahahahaaaaa nobody is interested in this Indian thing…its nothing to do with BSA , if you want a Goldie …buy a proper one not a fake plastic phoney lash up , Nothing else to say .

  33. This thing looks so awsome! it s so great to finaly see it rolling!

  34. Beautiful take on the old bike and worth looking into if they come the USA. HOWEVER: they have GOT to redesign that ugly radiator!! Look no further than how Triumph does it. Please.

  35. Never trust quality of anything mechanical made in India…fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

  36. I don't understand the emissions BS on motorcycles. It's a damn motorcycle. Even the worst polluting motorcycle is orders of magnitude better than any car or truck.

  37. I wish they had made the gas tank cleaner instead of the exposed edges.

  38. Great review thanks.

  39. Reading the comments here I realise all the experienced gentlemen would rather have the original Goldie.

    But had this Mahindra Goldstar appeared in the 40's or 50's – just as it is, price difference and all – I wonder which one they'd have actually jumped for.

  40. Well, it uses the name Gold Star but is nothing like the old Gold Star at all, apart from being a single cylinder. The old one was specifically developed and sold for use in the Manx Grand Prix races that took place on the Isle of Man sometime in September, and was for amateurs, and was not part of the World Championships. Of course neither are the TT Races now, but they were, back in the day.
    I have ridden the old Gold Star. A friend of mine owned it and called it a Caveman's motorbike, and that is the best description of it, it is totally uncivilised but a joy to ride once you have started it. Starting was quite involved but provided you knew the procedure was fairly easy to do.
    I expect the new "Gold Star" is a very nice bike, but it is not a racer as the old one was.

  41. La comparaison avec l'ancienne est réaliste.Le "c'était mieux avant"on connaît.
    Ne pas oublier de rappeler que ces anciennes sont bien trop surestimées en prix .
    Pour ma part ayant possédé des Twins :w650 1999 ,Bonneville 800 2006, un mono Royal
    Enfield 500 classic ,je jugerai cette BSA uniquement au niveau des sensations moteur.

  42. c'est un vélo maquillé , tius les carters sont faux et le radiateur est immonde avec un son très moyen !!!

  43. Genuine question:
    I’m nearly 60 and having been riding since I was 16, but the original Gold Star is still something from my late father’s era.
    What is the appeal in a reproduction bike from previous generation’s youth?

  44. This reminds me of the new "Indian" motorcycle. This proves the point that you get what you pay for. Calling it whatever you want doesn't make it so. Similar looks doesn't make it the same machine. Capitalizing on a name, that's all it is. Just another motorcycle. If you want a Gold Star, get the real deal. All of the rough edges of the real Gold Star is what makes them desirable, pain that it may be for some (I call it "charm"). Make no mistake, it is NOT a DBD34! Too bad they "stole" the name. A motorcycle should stand on its own without stealing fame from another motorcycle from an earlier era. Why not call it a Rotax 650? Isn't that what it is?

  45. The new one is more B33 which is cool. But nothing like the old Gold star. Which is a high revving fire breathing monster It is a race bike. My old man has one and when he let me have a go it gave me a shock. Surprisingly quick for an old girl

  46. How t.f. was we supposed to differentiate the difference in sound between left and right when both running at the same time!!😂😂😂

  47. Rear light and number plate needs to be mounted higher up on the mudguard. Just looks wrong where it is..

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