It’s almost like the plot of a British movie; in a once-busy mining valley where all the pits have now closed, one man fulfils a dream of resurrecting the finest British motorcycle ever made. Well this isn’t ‘Brassed Off’ or the ‘Full Monty’, this is the reality of Bruce Nichols’ venture, producing replicas of that great British thumper, the BSA Gold Star.

In nearby Blaenavon, the pit has been turned into a tourist attraction, giving visitors the chance to experience a sanitised version of life in a coal mine. Ex-miners guide you to the pit-head lift and you are taken down deep underground, but there’s no swearing, no arguing, no coughing, no sweat, and no shouting, it’s not quite the real thing. Bruce’s Goldies, on the other hand, are not sanitised for the modern world. The frames may sometimes come from the humble B33 and some of the parts may be new, but the end result is flawless. Bruce insists on 100% originality and is a perfectionist when it comes to chrome and paint. He sells the end result for around £9,000 and already has a healthy orderbook.

Being a cheeky bugger, I emailed Bruce about his Goldies, with a view to writing about them for the Thumper Club newsletter, and he responded by inviting me to his workshops. When I turned up, he’d just returned from a trip to Ireland, he and his wife having travelled there and back on an Ariel 650 sidecar outfit. This man is obviously serious about his biking. After the obligatory cup of coffee, Bruce invited me into his well-appointed double garage, partly I suspect to see my reaction when I saw what he keeps in there. Most of us would be happy to own an Inter, or a Velo Thruxton, or a Goldie; not many people own all three, it was like thumper heaven. In one corner stood a Norton ‘manx’ Inter, alongside stood a lovely Velocette Thruxton (with Avon nose-cone half-fairing). These were parked behind a ‘Plunger’ ZB Goldie (that has a Clubmans TT pedigree). When I’d stopped crying at the unfairness of it all, Bruce said that he’d show me his workshop, “what,” I asked, “there’s more?”

Guarding Bruce’s large workshop is his 600cc Goldie. Yes, I did say 600cc, Bruce may be a stickler for external originality but the internals of his engines are a different matter. As well as offering a capacity increase over standard, he fits a Phil Pearson 5-speed gear cluster and a Bob Newby belt drive and dry clutch. Given the Goldie’s reputation for frying its clutch after pulling away in the high RRT2 first gear, these mods make perfect sense. In fact Phil Pearson (who machines Goldie parts for a living) supplies all the major engine components.

I was interested to know how many new cycle parts Bruce has to use for each bike, and how he rates these. The new mudguards he uses are a good example of how serious is he about quality; each item is checked for fit and then sent off for re-chroming. Anyone who has used British-made pattern cycle parts will know why he does this, but it’s still sad that he has to. It’s easier for Bruce to buy the chrome and tinware new because the original items are hard to find in good condition. Having said that, he does go out of his way to salvage some items and he scours autojumbles for the raw materials for his bikes. Petrol tanks are converted items that have been re-chromed and repainted; these are horribly expensive, but that’s the only way to ensure high quality. I won¹t embarrass Bruce by repeating how much his bikes cost him to build (excluding his time) but I will say that they seem like bargains to me. Especially when you consider that Len Haggis was selling his re-built Goldies for £8,500 ten years ago.

On a bench in the workshop, another project was taking shape, but two conrods were sticking out of the rags wrapped around the engine cases. If there is one machine missing from Bruce’s collection it is a Rocket Goldie, and he’s about to remedy this. I was beginning to hate him. The workshop is well fitted-out and more equipment is due to arrive soon. As well as building Gold Stars to order, from 350cc to 600cc, he also rebuilds Goldie engines and gearboxes. Bruce can supply either original or reproduction spare parts, including brand new GP carbs. Recently he has also started to offer a full beadblasting service for alloy and cast iron parts.

If Bruce had offered me a ride on his Goldie I’d have had to say no, it’s been years since I last changed gear with my right foot and I¹ve been diagnosed as ‘Disc-Brake Dependant’. However, he did offer to accompany part of the way on my journey home. Donning my helmet, I made the mistake of starting my bike after Bruce had kicked his 600cc Goldie into life. I couldn’t tell if mine was running, especially as my rev-counter is shafted, his bike is loud. Snaking our way up the steep twisty lane from Bruce’s secluded house was easier on the XBR, but that was where any advantage ended. Out on the open road, the BSA boomed along in front of me at a fair old pace, until we got to a section of dual carriageway... then he buggered off. ‘Bloody hell,’ I thought, ‘that¹s powerful.’ I had to wring the neck of the XBR to keep in touch with him. His bikes aren’t just for show.

For obvious reasons I’m not going to print Bruce’s address, but you can contact him via his excellent website: www.bsagoldie.co.uk, or by phone on 01495 773119. Now where can I get £9,000?