‘Newbsawilllaunch mid-2021’

Anupamthareja is the force behind the return of BSA. So what’s going on and how come the new bike is to be built in Britain?

The boss of Classic Legends – the company that bought BSA in 2016 – has told Bike that a new middleweight BSA will be launched within six months. Anupam Thareja also said the bike will be the first of a new range, with several other models being developed.

‘The new bike is designed, industrialised and is currently being tested around the world at various temperatures and altitudes,’ says Anupam, who worked at Royal Enfield until 2008. ‘It will definitely launch in 2021. All I can tell you about the bike is that BSA’S legacy means we could do small engines all the way through to big triples and we are going to be in the mid market segment.’ Sounds like a 650cc twin to us – a modern version of BSA’S old A65 Thunderbolt, perhaps. ‘We think a middleweight will be a nice launch platform for BSA. Do we have more engine variations and platforms? Of course. Are they under development? Of course. But the first one has to be a worthy launchpad for the rebirth of BSA. It won’t be high powered or high performance and it won’t be a Bantam [ie small capacity].’

The new BSAS will all be designed and built in Britain, despite Classic Legends being 60% owned by the vast Indian automotive company Mahindra. ‘We were clear from the start this cannot be a labelling exercise,’ says Anupam. ‘We’re not going to make a bike and badge it BSA. That would not do justice to the brand. Frankly, we don’t even say we own the brand – we are custodians of it. BSA was here before us – the story was interrupted and we are here to take it to the next level.’

With a base in Banbury – the heart of Britain’s F1 industries – Classic Legends are using UK specialists to develop the bikes. The first was designed by Redline Studios, who’ve worked for Triumph and Aprilia, and engineering expertise is being brought in from Ricardo (BMW, Triumph). There’s also an electric BSA in development. ‘The story is in the news because we won a future technology grant from the UK government for an electric BSA. But the IC [internal combustion] project has been going on longer, and it will arrive before the electric bike.’

‘New BSAS will be designed and built in Britain’