Description
Widely recognised as one of the most desirable of all factory built ‘café racers’, the Rocket Gold Star arrived in 1962 along with the first of BSA’s new unitary construction range. A combination of Gold Star parts and the A10 Super Rocket 650cc twin-cylinder engine, this represented the last of the old ‘pre-unit’ line rather than a new departure and thus was destined to be built for eighteen months. The idea of making what was effectively a twin-cylinder Goldie originated with Banbury motorcycle dealer Eddie Dow, who had built up a considerable body of expertise in looking after BSA’s high-performance single cylinder machines. Dow believed that his hybrid would bridge the gap between the end of Gold Star production and the introduction of new unitary construction sports models, and so it proved so. The Super Rocket engine’s compression ratio was raised to 9. 25:1 for the RGS and claimed maximum power increasing to 46bhp. But for some reason best known to BSA, the RGS frame was unique, although not that different from the production A7/ A10 item, as was the wider dual seat. The model was offered in a number of different forms and with a host of options relating to controls and equipment. Motor Cycle tested a Rocket Gold Star in November 1962, summing up the new BSA as a ‘scintillating high-performance road burner: good brakes, excellent rider comfort and docile traffic manners.’ A top speed of 105mph was achieved.
This BSA Rocket Gold Star 650 Replica was based on a 1961 BSA A10 Super Rocket. It was brought up to the Rocket Gold Star specification in 2006 when it was restored and included changing the mud guards, chain guard, fitting a new petrol tank and fitting the correct, cable driven twin instrument cluster. This excellent example is supplied with a V5C registration document and an MoT test certificate which expires in September 2015. Around 1, 800 original Rocket Gold Stars were made over an eighteen month period and, today, genuine examples are rare and highly sought after. This is an opportunity to own the closest you can get to the original but at half the cost.
