Gold Star ZB32 fettling

My first bike was a little D1 BSA Bantam that ingrained an affection for plunger framed Beesas. In my mind they are the best of British bikes, from a time when they were at the peak of their game. Solid, well engineered, characterful and well made machines. And, for me, the plunger framed ZB Gold Stars represent the pick of the bunch.

Finally out on the road after a long, long hiberation.

Recently I was lucky enough to get my hands on this ZB32. It came to me 90% restored and had been standing idle for a good while. As is the way of these things it has taken a little while longer to get the old girl back on the road than I had hoped for but she is nearly there. Despite much of the work having been already done, as with any bike that has been standing for a while, there were plenty of jobs, the petrol tank was a little leaky and the mag needed rebuilding. I've fitted a Bri-Tie ball valve on the oil line to stop wet sumping: some are against ball valves on the worry that they might starve your motor of oil but I've always found them reliable as long as you buy good quality and they certainly beat having a constant pool of oil on the garage floor, poor starting and smokey warm ups.

Less loved than the later big fin motor Gold Stars it was
actually the early ZBs that sealed the model's reputation
and had the most competition success in their time.

The engine ran sweetly from the off once the mag was sorted. There was a strange whirring noise that was rather disconcerting that took a while to track down. At first I thought it was the mag meshing too tightly on the timing gears but finally after some experimentation realised that it came from the dynamo. Stripping down the dynamo and putting it back together solved this, on dismantling a small piece of carbon bush dropped out so that must have been catching somewhere.

I've still got the forks to sort. They were binding to start with, a new set of stanchions helped but there is still a problem. I've a suspicion that somehow the wrong springs are fitted, or that they have worn out and shortened.

A single saddle will be fitted soon, as that's a look I prefer. Electrics are still to sort out and to get those forks working properly. After that a few gentle test rides before hopefully some serious useage over the summer season.

The ZB32 motor.

A handsome bike from any angle..