BSA Rocket Gold Star

I SAW MY FIRST BSA ROCKET GOLD STAR IN THE EARLY 1980s. It was lurking in the back of a barn, covered in dust and bird poop, propped up between a Vincent Comet and a Rapide. Even in such inauspicious surroundings and auspicious company the class of the RGS shone through.

The RGS has poise and a legendary reputation that makes it one of the most desirable BSAs ever made. And yet when it arrived in February 1962, it was already out of date, at least as far as BSA’s management were concerned. BSA had not, until 1962, turned out pure racing big twins for the UK market. Tuned off-road twins had appeared in BSA livery in the US, as Hap Alzina, the US West Coast importer had created a tuned version of the Super Rocket, dubbed the Spitfire Scrambler.

In 1959 Eddie Dow, tuner and Gold Star specialist, built the first of 20 bespoke café racers, also based on the Super Rocket. These specials had parts from the Gold Star including clip-ons, rear-sets, close ratio gearboxes and tanks. Dow tried to get BSA interested in building their special at the factory, partly to ensure a continued flow of the Gold Stars