Description
National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands
Viewing: Tues 24th March from 1pm
Auction: Wed 25th March from 9am
Location: National Motorcycle Museum, Coventry Road, Bickenhill, Solihull B92 0EJ
1939 BSA M24 Gold Star Competition
Originally used for dirt racing in Denmark
Estimate
£15, 000 - £17, 000
Registration No: TXS 602
Frame NO: KM24-261
MOT: Exempt
A very rare, genuine Competition model supplied new to Denmark
Raced when new by Eberhardt Fisker of Copenhagen
Meticulously restored in the 2000s
Complete with a large history file and period photographs
The Road and Race Collection
By the 1920s, BSAs were often at the front ranks of competition, and when Wal Handley received a Gold Star award for lapping Brooklands at 100mph on his Empire Star model in 1937, BSA was justifiably proud; Gold Star duly became the designation for BSA’s top performance models from 1938. The first iteration was the M24, a 496cc single with an aluminium head and the option of close-ratio gears.
This Gold Star was furnished as a Competition model (as confirmed in the factory records), with a 21in. front wheel, 20in. rear wheel, upswept exhaust and no speedometer panel, and was despatched to BSA Motors in Copenhagen on February 1st, 1939. The first owner was Eberhardt Fisker, a racer and dirt-tracker whose name lives on in the Copenhagen motorcycle dealership he founded. He already owned a 1938 Gold Star, but wanted the latest model. Several period photographs are supplied of Fisker and his girlfriend with both bikes, including this one (‘Y 536’) being raced on dirt. After the war it changed hands several times until it was bought in 1961 by a machinist’s apprentice, used until 1964, and then stored at his house until 2002. The next owner subjected it to a meticulous restoration, retaining all the original metalwork except the mudguards, which were beyond repair; even the original nuts and bolts were retained and replated. Sparingly used thereafter, it was bought and imported in 2021 by our vendor for his collection and will require recommissioning. It is sold with historic photographs and registration papers, plus the Danish number plates.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
