BSA Unveils Gold Star 650 Clubmans Cafe Racer Custom Motorcycle

Another iconic British marque, BSA, has joined the Indian motorcycling scene with its brand new motorcycle, the Gold Star 650. It is a proper throwback to the Birmingham-originated icon in full roadster trim, just like the yesteryear Gold Stars that used to roll out of the Small Heath plant. And while most remained roadsters, some of the classic machines became clubmans or cafe racers.

So, to pay homage to those customised old school Gold Stars, a clubmans racer version of the new Gold Star 650 was conceptualised by automotive historian Adil Jal Darukhanawala and crafted by Bombay Custom Works. The idea was to create a near-identical modern replica of the 1954 Gold Star CB34 Clubmans racer version that is currently owned by Pune’s Reuben Solomon. This very same bike was raced at the hallowed Isle of Man TT race by Kolkata’s Jack Wilks in the late 1950s as well as earned a lot of victories in the Indian races held in those days at Lohegaon, Yelahanka, Barrackpore and even Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The new creation comes equipped with proper clip-on bars and a hump seat to give you that thoroughbred classic racer vibe to tuck in behind the short fly screen. The headlight makes way for the competition number panel, with 61 being the competition number of Jack Wilks. The same number plates can be found on either side of the bike, like a racer bike would. 

Bombay Custom Works has devised a brand new exhaust layout with a straight pipe setup and a custom megaphone end can to make the already beautifully sounding 652 cc thumper mill sound even more melodious. We expect a small performance bump thanks to the same but not a lot.

While this bike is a celebration, we would certainly want BSA to really put an effort into creating a factory cafe racer custom for the masses. We have loved what the Jawa Perak and 42 Bobber offer as an expression of individualism and style, and hence, the cafe racer concept on a Gold Star should not be out of the realm of possibilities.

So, BSA, can we first have a go on the new Gold Star 650 and then on this baby as well?