This really was not the video I hoped to make. I have been a SUPER HUGE fan of the Gold Star 650 since seeing them at Motorcycle Live in 2021. I was told by the CEO himself that he put 10,000km on the development motorcycle to ensure it was a great product. I was SOLD on the brand :)
I headed to my dealer in December 2022 to ride one of the first UK demo Goldies and came back from the ride no longer eager to place a deposit.
To this date of upload, every single influencer has been repeating each other nearly word for word, installing virtues such as 'watchmaker quality' and 'big thumping single'.
Their reviews have elevated this motorcycle to cult status.
What is it really like to ride? I am not posting videos on RU-vid for monetization, I derive no income from my social media and I really wanted to buy a Gold Star.
Luckily I am not an influencer, here is my real-world perspective on the BSA I so desperately wanted to purchase until I rode one.
Dont misunderstand this video. I do not HATE the Gold Star, I only feel its RRP is far too high given the issues I have pointed out.
I firmly believe buyers will take their motorcycles home and then spend £££ in correcting flaws in the finish, updating components and keeping their BSA's in immaculate condition by not riding them for fear of early aging.
Some defects noted on this motorcycle which I did not dwell on during this video include, pitting on the chassis, offset passenger foot-peg rails! They didn't even turn up an inner spigot to carry that joint which would ensurer that any shear force at the weld would not snap the welds plus a poor handling characteristic when cornering which makes you feel like the rear has lost traction which most reviewers mention but blame suspension/tyres or 'greasy roads'. When it first happened to me there was no warning and it corrected as quickly as it occurred. Which made me uneasy about trusting the Gold Star in corners.
I can not see myself spending £7,200 (inc OTR fees) for a motorcycle that became overwhelmed by just riding it normally. Every ride I would be waiting for it to happen and the experience unsettled me.
The boot marks on the exhaust are prevalent in nearly ALL of the RU-vid videos I have watched and your fav influencers have ignored them. If you don't see the marks you'll see heavy polishing to the exhaust by the dealer where the boot marks used to be.
Surely in this day and age basic things like boots marking exhausts should exist on modern motorcycles. BSA would adjust for it in the 10 years they have developed this motorcycle.
The fuel gauge has a mind of its own. In this video I started with 80 miles range but you will see the gauge showing three bars, then rises to almost full. I found on startup the gauge shows more fuel than you have, then once riding it drops significantly. This will catch most owners as they leave home to commute thinking they have plenty of fuel. Why hasn't anyone reviewing this motorcycle mentioned it?
Also I haven't shown the handling issue I encountered while cornering. I am still awaiting feedback to the video from people much smarter than I as to their opinions on why this exists.
Global demand says the BSA will sell very well indeed. and I wish the company and its new owners the best of luck with their purchases.
I will sit this one out until I see acknowledgement of the handling issue and increased quality control from the manufacturer.
If I bought a Goldie today, each and every time I sat on it I would know both dials on my motorcycle are lying to me. The 10,000 Rpm shown does seem quite daft for a single cylinder, so why did they produce a dial with 3,000 rpm sweep the needle will never reach? The same goes for the speedo. Needle movement over both dials is only two thirds of each dial an utterly pointless exercise.
I am sure that being dismissive of obvious faults, sweeping them under the carpet is something people do when they have spent good money for a product and then don't want the world to know they bought a pup.
I for one know the new owners will praise their BSAs and rightly so. When they take delivery they will be the only people in the world (at this point) to show off the first BSA's in nearly five decades, and the world will look on with adoring eyes.
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Links
Jawa 42: www.jawamotorcycles.com/motor...
ZigWheels: www.zigwheels.com/newbikes/fa...
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Leave a comment on this video so I know you exist, other than that, see you on Twitter. Bye!
Motorcycles + Excitement = Moto Tingle
30 июл 2024
