BSA GOLDSTAR 650 – A LEGEND IS REBORN

BSA- once a figurehead in the motorcycle world, produced their first-ever motorcycle in 1910 and went on to become one of the biggest manufacturers of two wheels. But later on, it was sidelined into oblivion due to changing economics and a slew of bankruptcy filings – Only to be resurrected by an Indian Brand that’s hell-bent on resurrecting old and now defunct brands such as Yezdi and Jawa from the pages of history.

BSA’s resurrection story is among those brands that were rescued and resurrected by Classic Legends owned by Mahindra and Mahindra an Indian Automobile Manufacturer – that after establishing its foothold in the SUV space is now looking to mark its territory in the motorcycle segment. But after failing once with their two-wheeler brand, Mahindra has taken a different route than usual – acquiring tried and tested brands from yesteryear and resurrecting them to their gloried past.

 TRUE BRIT MEETS, INDIAN GRIT!

In 2016 Mahindra got an offer to buy trademarks for BSA Motorcycles and with that acquisition, some very senior officials at Mahindra-owned Classic Legends went on an expedition to the United Kingdom, the land of BSA to get inspiration for their first-ever BSA in years. Their search ranged from scouting classic Motorcycle Museums and meeting the BSA owner’s club to travelling to Austria to pick an engine manufacturer to power the new BSA.

Years of R&D and scouting for potential partners to resurrect BSA and produce a Motorcycle bearing a BSA badge in years, resulted in The BSA Gold Star 650 – which is heavily inspired by the forgone BSA models from an era when BSA was the Biggest Manufacturer of motorcycles in The World.

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Engine and Chassis

Bearing an iconic Goldstar name The modern Goldstar 650 has big shoes to fill and in an effort to inculcate the same aura – classic Legends have specced the Goldstar 650 with a single-cylinder,liquid-cooled, 652cc motor which produces 45.6 hp @6500 rpm and Max Torque of 55Nm @4000 rpm mated to a 5-speed gearbox– This engine designed by Rotax to suit the characteristics that were set for the motorcycle.

The frame for the BSA 650 is designed by Ricardo an engineering firm based in the UK – BSA comes equipped with 41mm telescopic forks at the front and 5-step adjustable dual shocks at the rear – Braking duties are handled by a single 320mm floating disc and 255mm disc sourced by Brembo and Anti-lock braking systems comes as a standard.

A very cool twin-pod instrument cluster that is sure to strike a nostalgic chord for many, combined with a very retro design kt is sure to turn heads wherever it goes – especially by old timers who know their head gasket from a piston head.

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To keep the authentic factor alive Classic Legends went to great lengths to design and engineer the motorcycle in the UK itself to keep the BSA brand true to its lineage.

On paper, BSA Classic Legends have done everything right to bring a brand back to life all the while staying true to its heritage and it has to be noted that BSA 650 has been on the shelves for the European market since 2021 and has been critically acclaimed by some renowned journalists, but will it be a hit in a country that is still cost sensitive when it comes to purchases that are more close to heart than need – costing nearly as much as its direct competitor The Royal Enfield continental 650 which may I remind you comes with a twin engine producing just as much power as the Goldstar 650. I guess we’ll let the consumer decide in the coming future.

And yeah, if you’d like to own one in India it set you back for about INR 3,34,999 \- on the road in select Jawa | Yezdi showrooms across the country.

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