The return of the BSA Gold Star. Or is it?

It’s rare for OBM to give house room to brand new motorcycles, but you can hardly fail to have heard of one recent launch – a new BSA Gold Star.

The BSA name was purchased by Classic Legends Private Ltd in 2016, a subsidiary of the Indian company the Mahindra

Group which has set about collecting and resurrecting classic brands. It’s already brought the Jawa name back to life in India, and so there has been much speculation over what it would do with BSA. But producing a new motorcycle with both BSA and Gold Star on the tank? That was a brave move. So, what’s it like?

Well, it’s a single like a Goldie, but the resemblance ends there for this is a 652cc liquid-cooled, DOHC single cylinder, with four valves and twin spark plugs. It brings modern technology to the table with Brembo discs forward and aft and a five-speed gearbox, although Mahindra is playing very much on the heritage factor of the name, which is also quite a brave move given that no new BSA has been produced in more than 40 years. But, that aside, the new Gold Star does capture some of the essence of the original with its round headlight, chromed fuel tank and BSA Gold Star logo. The engine cover, the kink in the exhaust pipe and the rear mudguard with its trademark struts also echo the model from which it takes its name. For its publicity shots, BSA Company Ltd had the courage to put its new model alongside a classic Gold Star and the new kid on the block does hold up pretty well, looking a little sanitised perhaps, but certainly not disgracing itself against its inspiration.

Mr Ashish Singh Joshi, director of BSA Company Ltd, says: “For us, the new BSA Gold Star is not just a motorcycle, but an emotion and we pursued the journey of bringing BSA back with utmost passion. To stay authentic to its roots, the new Gold

Star was designed and engineered in the UK. The new motorcycle incorporates BSA’s DNA and stays a Gold Star that is true to its lineage.”

We do have to wonder, however, exactly at whom the BSA Gold Star is aimed. Will it be enough to tempt older riders away from the original or will it tap into the current trend for retro-designed machines and inspire younger buyers? Of course, much will depend upon the price which has yet to be announced. We feel that, if the BSA Gold Star is aimed at being more than a niche motorcycle, then its main competitor will be the Royal Enfield twins and, if that is the case, then the BSA needs to match the Enfield in price, or certainly come close. There is also the additional factor that Royal Enfield already has an established dealer network which is something that BSA would have to put into place.

But we would like to know what you think of the new BSA Gold Star. Are you horrified that a hallowed name has been desecrated by this new pretender, or do you welcome a new chapter in the long and varied history of BSA? Would you buy one or would you cut your children off without a penny if they turned up at your house on a new Gold

Star? Oh, and there is a whisper that there may be an electric version in the future…