Just did the balance payment for my new BSA Gold Star.. it will be delivered (and the KTM collected) in two weeks time. I'm excited by that! I am in Spain, just doing very little (as I do) but I do watch YouTube videos about the Gold Star. Most are utterly shitely. One I watched, claimed it useless, as it now had liquid cooling, disc brakes and the exhaust was too big because of the emission stuff you need these days, so it can't be a Gold Star. And it is not built in Birmingham, so everyone's being conned ! I find that sad and ignorant. Times change. Deal with it! What attracted me was that I found it easy to mount and dismount. To me, nothing else matters. I made a mistake buying the KTM. I was obsessed with kerb weight, but ease of mounting and dismounting is all that matters. I agreed to buy it, put down a substantial deposit (I think a grand) without knowing anything about kerb weight, top speed, or tank range. I know a bit more now, but nothing that I care about. I just want something that is easy! Apparently, according to Mr YouTube Star, I am only buying it to pretend that I am a ton-up boy. Recreating something that happened before I was born! What crap is spoken in YouTube World! I still don't have a clue about what to do about satnavs. I'll have to have the bike in my possession to see what fits. I am not so put off Beeline, now I know that O2 are doing me on data. My other number has twenty times as much, so I could use that phone. And if I am in the Brecon Beacons without a signal, no big deal. Just keep following the road, wherever it may lead. It's not complicated! The other attraction for me is it's small and light. I'll always have a phone with me,
Times change, but the issue is the temerity of it. As with Triumph, and, now, Norton. The whole point of the naming is to amass unearned sales, and in that sense times have changed for the worse; though in many ways integrity has improved in the modern world, such as less overall prejudice. They should just retire the names. Using them is just a sales con. I'm not prepared to fight anyone over it though.
Nah. The styling is typically similar. I very much doubt the current purchasers of BSA/ Norton/ Triumph think they are still produced in Birmingham factories owned by Brits. But far more important is the clear proof that people want to buy them and why they should they be denied that option?
Perhaps what you need is ........a scooter ! It has got taillights like a Porsche 928 and a sat nav dash - what more do you want If you want easy to ride then it doesn't get any easier than this - collect mine on Wednesday.
If I lived in Spain, where I am now, I would consider a scooter. They are popular here and it's hot and dry, but deffo not in the UK. If the BSA doesn't work for me, then that's it. I'm done. Motorcycling is fun, for me. I drive and have a car, for shopping and stuff where I don't want to carry a helmet about. If motorcycling with the BSA is not fun and I avoid it (like the KTM) then I must face reality. My accident was over seven years ago and I am never going to get any better than I am now. Went through years of shit, but eventually got my money and can do things like spend weeks in Spain, without worrying about how much it's costing. Now, all I want is to look forward to doing more travel and riding for fun. I have to ensure that I enjoy myself. Not only did I damn near lose a leg, do lots of recuperating, but was put through a ton of shit by the insurance company for what was, for them, just good fun at my expense, I know now that is all over with. Maybe we could of held out for a straight million but nobody knows. I don't care as I got enough. I might go to Madrid later in the year and have Milan, Berlin and Bologna on my list for next year, or the year after. And Orkney Isles sometime. I don't have to worry about affordability and so, I got there in the end!
The gullible outnumber the savvy by a long way. And who said anything about denying the right to buy them. The point is that they're the same bike with an original name and the only reason to call them 'Gold Star', 'Bonneville' and so on is to trade on the mystique. Resting on your own laurels is regrettable. Resting on someone else's is reprehensible.
Good luck with the BSA, and like you say you have a car for the sensible stuff, so no need for a scoot. Still lots of summer weather to enjoy being out and about on a magnificent BSA Gold Star. A while ago I bumped into an old friend Ginger John in the shop - I asked how he was doing and he said - "above ground and breathing ". There is a lot to be said for being above ground and breathing (mostly ). You will have to take some pictures of the gleaming new bike and get out into the World - stuff to look forward to hey.
I’m not buying the Gold Star because it’s a BSA. I wouldn’t care if it was a “Bali Bali Curry Muncher”! It is just easy for me to mount and dismount and that’s important to me. The price and performance are fine as well. I haven’t gone against Ducats and I will make an effort to sort out the mirrors on the ST3 to get that back on the road. In fact, I may even delay Madrid so as to sort that bike out.
I was talking to an American living in Madrid who is married to a Spanish lady, but she talks perfect English, and he used to work in insurance. He reckoned that both sides would have known what the final figure that I would get, well in advance of his meeting at my barrister’s chambers. It’s all just a rictual dance they do to impress the ignorant ie ME!
There are some complexities to the calculations, for personal injury. They take into consideration loss of earnings - that canb be substantial for a younger person with a lifetime ahead of them - not so much if you are 65. Cost of ongoing care is added as well. The process is well established with legal precedent in the UK. Reminds me I got an insurance payout when someone crashed into my parked car. An insurance company sent me a cheque - upset by the amount I ripped it up and sent it back to them. They sent me another one exactly the same - which I cashed
I am just glad that all that insurance shit is behind, me. Although, one may argue that buying this Beeza means that I always risk beginning another battle. I have no answer. I don't want to sit around at home all day going senile, but just want to be happy. Around going home time, say between five and seven pm is a time that I will avoid, or if it can't be, just be super careful. At that time of day, working people have too much shit in their head to concentrate on the roads!
