Should you buy the 2024 BSA Goldstar 650?
My journey with BSA's new Goldstar
I've written this answer on quite a few Facebook posts so only thought it right to articulate my position on the BSA Goldstar 650 and whether or not you should buy one as a written post on here. Given we are now firmly in the attention economy supercharged by short form punchy video content I hope at least one person reads and receives some value from this blog. I will note at the start that this is written through the lens of a mid-30's rider and I have little to no experience of original BSA motorcycles. I am evaluating this machine based on it's merits today and how it compares to it's 2024 contemporaries.
To begin my classic single story we must go back in time to 2020 when news of the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 first broke. This was a big deal for Royal Enfield and I immediately knew that this new bike with it's J-series ground up redesigned engine was for me. After months of frantic reading and watching videos online I put a deposit down on a Royal Enfield #CopperBeechBronze Supernova in March 2021. I joined the Facebook owners group in the early days when there were 100 or so members and made some good friends whom I still speak to today. That bike isn't the topic of today's post but it taught me that a classically styled motorcycle with a single cylinder engine and an old British name on the tank was an evocative proposition to say the least... As a side note if you do not decide to buy a BSA Goldstar 650, please go an view a Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Aurora, this bike is incredible...
Fast forward to December 2021 and the Motorcycle Live show in Birmingham NEC area, I was absolutely amazed to see a BSA stand, a brand I knew had gone out of business in the 1970's and I assumed was consigned to history. The model... the only model they had was the BSA Goldstar 650, a brave and potent choice designed to evoke memories of a time gone by. Powered by a new (well not new) a BMW F650 Funduro derived 652cc single designed by Rotax engineering and worked over by the Technical University of Graz in Austria in order to display and air of traditional air-cooled goodness (I'll return to that later). Brake's were Brembo, wheels from Excel (no one seems to mention that...) and the needle on the cluster started at 1'o'clock just like the original BSA's. The bike however was for me, more than the sum of it's parts and did one in a hue close enough to British Racing Green. I was obsessed and as soon as the order books opened in August 2022 I submitted an order to my local dealer.
As time went on the delivery date was pushed back over and over again. I began to feel disappointed in the Goldstar 650, because it was delayed but also was hyped to hell (remember THAT no engine noise marketing video!) and irritatingly came in £1500 more expensive than I wanted it to be. I had paid £3909 for my Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and didn't see why the BSA at £6800 OTR should be so much more expensive. Somewhat spooked by this and also remembering how my Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Supernova had taken 6 months to be delivered I cancelled my order with the dealer. I then did something underhand that I am not proud of I went back to said dealer and took out the demo Goldstar 650, a Dawn Silver bike for a test ride. This was to re-confirm my decision but I also recorded a video for Youtube without the dealers permission. Sorry guys! My views of the Goldstar 650 are well documented on that YouTube video, I critiqued some elements of the bike very harshly and said that it was late to market, of questionable attention to detail 'a kid's sticker book type decal' was a phrase I used, I finally summarised that it was good, but only 90% the level of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, which at that time remained the better buy in my eyes. Oh course BSA didn't like this and I took some flak... fair enough I thought, business is business and I had stirred up trouble for the dealer at time when BSA was trying to find it's feet.
Time passed and I was getting bored of my Voge 500DSX, a very capable but not at all emotive Chinese-built middle weight adventure bike. With more than a hint of jealousy I viewed on online more and more owners who had fulfilled their early pre-orders riding and uploading photos of their Goldstars. Every time I went into my local dealer to ride or make a video about a bike I looked at the Goldstar 650 longingly. Of course this lust was tempered by the vocal minority disgruntled owners on Facebook who bought bikes with early manufacturer assembly line errors on their machines. They had had the same excited expectation as I had had, but this was not matched by reality and sadly that ruined their experience of the reborn brand. It's only fair to say at this stage that they experienced engine cut outs, EML lights flickering on and in one case a fuel leak. So I waited...
I looked at the Triumph Bonneville range, I looked at a different class of bike Kawasaki ZX4RR but ultimately wanted to go retro so I test rode an Interceptor 650. It was canyon red, 9 months old, 900 miles and had it's first service it was £2800 from a p[rivat ebuyer who needed to get rid, a steal in anyone's book. The issue was, despite me having an idea in mind of what the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 should be, in person this bike didn't really do anything for me. I came back off the test ride feeling underwhelmed with the 47hp p-twin, feeling like it was a little plain even though the money added up. By this time the Goldstar 650 was now old enough to have a few second hand models trickle onto the market about £5,500 range from dealers. I kept going back and forth whether I should buy a BSA Goldstar 650, was it a risk worth taking. As luck would have it one came up in Completely Worcester a Kawasaki dealer (1 mile from my house), it was Highland Green (my fav) and £5,500 with 227 miles on it and came with a rear rack from classic bike racks, a MRA highway windshield and a fender extender... probably £250-300 worth of options. Being such low mileage it didn't have a first service stamp in the book and Kawasaki said they would do the first service for me using genuine BSA parts. It seemed like fate had transpired to offer this Highland Green Goldstar 650 up on my doorstep and so with the fully support of Suzie it must be said a deal was done. I didn't part-ex my Voge has the offer was cripplingly low but that is a different story.
Why then did I wait so long to buy this bike, one was the naysayers online which put me off, two was BSA's delay and marketing gaffs and three and importantly I didn't think it was worth the thick end of £7k and the truth be told I still don't. In January 2024 BSA shall we say generously 're-evaluated' their pricing model in line with the release of a new Shadow Black paint scheme. At £6,000 for a green one or a black one brand new new RRP and dealers doing winter offers at £5,500 new this is the right money for a BSA Goldstar 650. Even more so if you buy nearly new and your looking at £4,500. That is amazing for the bike you get, we are now taking RE Meteor 350 money for a bike with 45hp not 20.2hp. As of 2024 BSA's beleaguered accessories division seems to have stirred from it's slumber offering rear racks, panniers, flyscreens, crash bars and we are promised a Royal Enfield level of customisation. This is coupled with an expanding aftermarket scene, Royal Enfield specialists Hitchcocks have a development GS in, Moore Speed Racing have Goldstar scrambler conversion parts and TEC have a full exhaust systems to decat your bike. Youtubers like Freddie, Stuart Fillingham have been considering the BSA Goldstar for their own channels and other personalities online award it high praise. Mr Darcy and the Ole man, The Bingly Wheeler even MCN tossed it an award. I understand the attitude I'm 70 and I don't want to mess about with a bike which may be unreliable, but for me at 36 I missed BSA the first time around and now to have the badge on the tank and the single thumpering away beneath me, I'm honestly proud as punch with my very own Goldstar 650. No other bike on the market offers the good looks and the single cyclinder experience as does this bike. I couldn't be happier, at 800 miles now and the bike is a key feature in every YouTube video I make, loved by me but also the majority of my YouTube audience love her to.
After 6 months with my BSA Goldstar 650 my main regret is I waited too long and missed a summer of riding, I should have kept that original deposit. Whilst it is not perfect and built to a price my bike has been reliable as the day is long. If you are considering a BSA, then for <£5,000 get yourself a piece of nostalgia and a unique riding experience. One thing is for sure, you will have a lot of conversations at the fuel station with admiring bystanders.
Finally, the only time my EML came on is when I slide the bike down the road, even then after 3 cycles of the ignition it reset, exactly as it is meant to. That is a story for another post.