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BSA DB34 Gold Star 500

Make Model	BSA DBD34 Gold Star 500
Year	1938 - 63
Engine	Four stroke, single cylinder, OHV
Capacity	499 cc / 30.5 cub in.
Bore and Stroke	85 x 88 mm
Compression Ratio	9.0:1
Cooling System	Air cooled
Carburetor	Amal GP
Exhaust	Single, steel, chrome
Ignition	6V, magneto
Starting	Kick start
Clutch	Wet, multi-plate
Transmission	4-Speed
Final Drive	Chain
Maximum Power	31 kW / 42 hp @ 7000 rpm
Frame	Tubular steel, twin downtube
Front Suspension	Telescopic forks
Rear Suspension	Swinging arm, twin shock
Wheels	Spoked, allloy
Front Tyre	3.0 x 19 in.
Rear Tyre	3.5 x 19 in.
Front Brake	7.5 in., sls drum
Rear Brake	7.0 in., sls drum
Wheelbase	1422 mm / 56 in.
Seat Height	787 mm / 31 in.
Dry Weight	172 kg / 380 lbs
Fuel Capacity	18 L / 4.8 US gal.
Average Fuel Consumption	5.7 L/100 km / 17.7 km/l / 41.6 US mpg
Top Speed	177 km/h / 110 mph

The BSA Gold Star is a motorcycle made by BSA from 1938 to 1963. They were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s. Being hand built and with many optional performance modifications available, each motorcycle came from the factory with documented dynamometer test results, allowing the new owner to see the horsepower produced.

When café racing culture was at its height in the late Fifties and early Sixties, BSA’sGold Star was king. The Goldie’s 500cc single-cylinder engine had more than enough performance to top the magic ‘ton’ and the bike’s striking beauty made it stand out from the much more common parallel twins of the era.

Tales of slipping Goldie clutches up to 30mph in ﬁrst and snicking into top while accelerating at 95mph created a mystique around BSA’s road-legal racer, so it was already a legend by the time the last one was made in 1963.The legend remains strong today.

Away from town a good BSA Gold Star is everything the legend suggests. Fast, exhilarating and rewarding. Good ones start from around £7000, but think of them as an investment. Buy right and you won’t lose money on a Goldie; if anything you’ll make money. Not that, once you’ve bought and ridden one, you’ll ever want to sell.

Extract from article by Mick Duckworth