c.1955/60 BSA Gold Star, Project, 349 cc. Registration numbe...

Hammer

£5,300

c.1955/60 BSA Gold Star, Project, 349 cc. Registration number not registered. Frame number CB32 10146. Engine number DB32 GS 592. Gearbox STD.
The evocatively named Gold Star did not return to BSA's post-WW2 range until 1949. First displayed at the Earls Court Show in 1948, the B32 Goldie boasted the telescopic fork first introduced on BSA's larger models for 1946 and came equipped with a new alloy cylinder barrel and 'head. For 1950 a 500cc version - the B34 - was added to the range and this larger Goldie was the first to switch to the new die-cast top-end, with separate rocker box, in 1951. The 350 followed suit in 1952 and the pair continued as the 'BB' Gold Stars after the swinging-arm frame was introduced in 1953, changing to 'CB' designation for 1954. This change marked the introduction of the classic 'big fin' engine but the designation lasted only until the arrival of the 'DB' series in the autumn of 1955. The 'DB' incorporated a much improved lubrication system and, in the case of the 350 only, a stronger cylinder assembly; as such it represented the 'Junior' Goldie in its final form, there being no 350 equivalent of the final 'DBD' version.
CB32.10146 was supplied with engine DB.32.GS.1761 in Clubman's trim to T. Cowie, Giles gate, Durham on 12.09.60 (the despatch date from BSA). Interestingly the last '350' was engine 1788 in frame 10429 on 22.12.60. DB.32.GS.592 was in 'touring' trim (so would have been supplied with an 'STD' gearbox), and fitted in frame CB32.3078 and was despatched from the BSA works on 14.10.55 to Eborn's Garage, 44 Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
This example was owned by Jimmy Maughan of Guisborough, Cleveland, who had a motorcycle sales and repair business. It is not known when he bought it. He passed on some 30 years ago and his wife retained his collection which included the 1957 Norton International in this sale. Local undesirables began breaking into the shed where they were stored and started removing parts from the machines. His widow then covered them with furniture and the roof later collapsed. Rescued by our vendor when she needed a new roof on her home she could not find the paperwork for either machine.
Offered in the condition found, with a Dunlop front wheel and a Borrani rear, buyers should decide how much is missing when bidding for this rare original CD32 project.
There is no paperwork with this lot