Iconic British motorcycle brand BSA, now owned by India’s Classic Legends, a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, looks set to revive more models under the revived BSA brand. The company has applied for trademark rights on a trio of classic BSA model names, which include the BSA Bantam, BSA Lightning and BSA Thunderbolt. The trademark applications, filed in the US, Australia and New Zealand, are for these three names – Bantam, Lighting and Thunderbolt.
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The original 1960s BSA Gold Star with the new 2021 BSA Gold Star. Can you spot the differences?
If the applications are accepted, then BSA Motorcycles can use these badges on future BSA models, a sort of tribute to the line-up from BSA’s post-war period, when it enjoyed cult status, and even becoming the world’s largest motorcycle maker by the 1950s. In the 1960s, both the Lightning and Thunderbolt models sported 650 cc twin-cylinder engines, but it’s not clear what the future BSA models will have in terms of powerplant and mechanicals.
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Classic Legends may also go the platform-sharing route and use existing platforms from its Jawa and Yezdi motorcycle range in future BSA models.
The other direction will be to use existing platforms from Classic Legends’ Jawa and Yezdi models, so the Bantam could be a smaller capacity model, designed to address the growing small-displacement modern classic motorcycle segment spearheaded by Royal Enfield.
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The new BSA Gold Star kick-started the revival of the BSA brand in late 2021.
In late 2021, the BSA brand was resurrected with the revival of the new BSA Gold Star in the UK. The new Gold Star is currently made in India, but the BSA brand has not been launched in India. The new BSA Gold Star is powered by a 652 cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that traces its roots to the Rotax 650 engine that once powered the BMW F650, sold as the BMW F650 Funduro in India in the late 1990s.
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BSA also showcased a scrambler concept based on the new Gold Star at the 2022 Motorcycle Live event in the UK
With the trademark filings for the new names, the writing is clear; BSA will look to expand across several markets and geographies, maybe even take a shot at motorcycle segments currently dominated by Royal Enfield and even Triumph Motorcycles. The future for the BSA brand looks interesting, and if there’s a parallel-twin engine already under development, then there’s even more good news for the modern classic enthusiast. We expect more details to be revealed in the coming months.
