It’s no surprise that Mahindra Group-owned Classic Legends is working in reviving the BSA Motorcycle brand. The storied British brand will be revived soon and preparations are underway to not only bring internal combustion motorcycles but electric motorcycles to the market with the BSA moniker. Now, there’s more news about the upcoming BSA offering that could get a 650cc single-cylinder engine upon launch.
The single-cylinder motor is an interesting proposition. BSA was known for its singles, twins and three-cylinder motorcycles that were produced between 1910 and 1972 before the company going defunct. The new 650cc offering could see one of the brand’s previous names being resurrected and will be a premium middleweight offering. Unlike the Jawa by Classic Legends that competes against Royal Enfield, the BSA Motorcycles will take on the offering from Triumph and Kawasaki, reviving some old school rivalry.
So, the new BSA 650cc motorcycle is likely to be a contender against the Kawasaki W800 and the Triumph Street Twin. Details on the bike are scarce but the report suggests that the motorcycle will produce about 50PS and 50Nm of peak torque. It will also make do with a 5-speed gearbox. For markets like Europe, power could be detuned to 47PS to meet the A2 licence requirement.
We also think the BSA 650cc motorcycle could be positioned as something on the lines of the Norton Atlas range. While that bike is yet to hit the production line, BSA could bring a limited production 650cc single-cylinder motorcycle as a halo product to get the momentum going around the brand. This, of course, will lead to the brand introducing other motorcycles, particularly the electric ones. So, a history lesson would be a nice way to market the new range.
We can expect the upcoming BSA bike to get those classic lines along with a handful of modern elements. The bike is being developed in the UK and production too will take place there. This further fuels our theory of a high-specced, high-priced BSA along the lines of Norton Motorcycles, another storied British brand owned by an Indian manufacturer (TVS). The BSA bikes will be primarily sold in the UK and Europe initially, and we could see the bikes roll out in other markets too later. In India, Classic Legends cannot sell bikes with the BSA moniker due to a name conflict with BSA Cycles. So, India launch in the near future isn’t on the horizon.
