Not an off road bike but never the less:

https://www.visordown.com/news/new-bikes/bsa-motorcycles-reveals-new-gold-star-650-2022-preview-event

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.

Probably far more relevant for every day use then the latest crop of techno laden bikes fitted with things you will prob never use . If it's as good or better then the Interceptor then it will sell shed loads .

First reaction was I hope it's better than the old one but I know there's loads of BSA enthusiasts out there so I'll hold back.

Actually, are there loads of BSA enthusiasts out there? The original company went bust about 50yrs ago. You'd have to be my age to have even heard of BSA. At least Triumph and Norton on staggered on in various forms into the modern era but BSA?

We seem to be living through the motorcycle equivalent of Jurassic Park at the moment where fossil genes are mixed with stuff from frogs or crocodiles or whatever to bring an extinct behemoth back to life. Except in the case of motorcycles it's buy the rights to an extinct name and slap the badge on anything you can either get out of China or can 'design' for an 'exclusive' clientele. So we've had Ariel, Brough, Indian, Norton to come (again) no doubt, and probably many more I can't remember. And now BSA.

Good job the Japanese didn't go down that route in the 60's or we'd now be riding round on Hudson Fireblades or Ascot-Pullin Teneres.

I'm sure it's a lovely bike and kind to its mother and all that, but really, is sticking that badge on the best they can do to market it? It all seems like a kind of reverse imperialism.

I can't wait for the 'new' Ariel Square Four with Supercharger
or the rebirth of my old Triumph Tiger Cub, possibly with a turbine? What do you reckon B-O-B?
Happy Sunday everyone!

I think there's a big market for rose tinted Mk8 goggles.

In fact, chuck in some similarly coloured Bob Heath visors and you'd cover every bike more than about 10yrs old.

The bike looks fun. Definitely one I'd consider if I was in the market for a bike just to move me. With the Bonneville and V7 now 20HP up on power/price these will be the serious competition for the 650 Enfields.

I have no idea why they keep resurrecting these ancient brands. A company that went bust before I was born because they made rubbish bikes that leaked oil when Honda didn't just seems like bull**** and borderline dishonest. Mahindra have no need to hide their name. A local scooter place sells AJS. Relatively inoffensive semi-disposable 125 commuter bikes, but even the Old Boy (77) can't see why anyone would want an AJS instead of a Keeway or one of the dozens of other plainly Chinese brands. What next, Flying Merkel and Zundapp to impress pizza delivery riders? I suppose if they hadn't resurrected BSA they'd have got less response from various old hacks in MSM, but do bits of tree bark 90% covered in advertising really still have any influence? MASH seems to have got going without buying an old name.

I'm still surprised Harley Davidson stay out of this. Their engine in a European style frame gives you a Vincent style bike that would get a lot more people through their show rooms than yet more variants of leather tassels and tiny petrol tanks.

Andy

That combination - or something like it anyway - turned up with Buell stamped on the tank. And look what happened to them. I think I'd be a fair way to having my eyeballs pulled out before prising open my wallet in a Harley dealer, but even I started looking seriously at Buells at one point. The fact that they could hardly get into top gear without breaking down wasn't their best feature but even so they did something different to the usual weekend badass / beauty parades that seems to be the Harley world (I'm sure a few exceptions exist - if anyone reading this is one then count yourself out )

Theres a few interesting points about this bike, and Im not commenting about the fact that companies from India and China are using ancient european brand names to sell new motorbikes.

1. They have made a 650 cc single cylinder engine thats actually Euro5 compliant. Not even Kawasaki seems to be able to do that with their new KLR650. So it cant be that difficult to make a relatively big single cylinder engine thats Euro5 compliant as it seems….? Come on you Japanese brands - do you hear me?!?!?

2. BSA Gold Star 650 2022 wet weight is said to be 213 kilos? What da heck?!?!?!? What is it made from? Is the frame made out of lead? Or have they made a keel on it? A single cylindred 650 bike should be around 160-170 kilos wet weight! Even my RTW Yamaha Tenere 660 was several kilos lighter…

3. This bike is said to have 42-43 NM of torque already at 1800 rpm and an almost flat torque curve. Hmm - my RTW bike the Tenere 660 year 2011 didnt even pull clean in the two highest gears until I got above 3000 rpms - and that was with a lot of altering and changing of parts. So I guess Mahindra eh….BSA have done something better than Yamaha.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I visited Motor Cycle Live today at the NEC.

The BSA to me looked and felt (quality-wise) very Royal Enfield, maybe a little less.

On the other hand, the new Norton Cafe Racer was stunning and oozed quality!

The Husky Norden felt just like my KTM 890 with a wider seat and better dash, funny that :-)

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Is that the new Chinese Norton? Or if not, what is it. Can't be the UK factory - can it? With all of the who's sold what to whom going on both under and over the table in the last few years I've completely lost track of Norton's ownership. If someone said that Stuart Garner was still running it from jail I wouldn't be surprised.

The weight is mostly caused by legislation.

ABS, I'd keep, is going to add 10 kg, maybe more with a bigger battery, loom and alternator.

St. Gretas box I'd give a good kicking to and chuck in the corner of the garage. The exhaust is 2-3 kg heavier, the catastrophic perverter another 1-2, the fresh air injection, charcoal etc. etc. then the frame/wheels/shocks to support them.

It all adds up.

Andy

Yep, designed and built in the UK. Norton is now owned by TVS.

Garner I'm sure will be in jail soon :-)

TVS is not Chinese.
It is a Indian company

Very large manufacturer of small bikes.

Ok, so Norton is now Indian owned - is that right?

Didn't S.G. do some deal with the Chinese though? I thought he'd sold them the rights to the 961 or something? Or maybe I've dreamed it all in some alcohol fuelled nightmare. I hope so, otherwise I can imagine a time when the only way to get a 'real' Norton will be to buy an Indian one, chuck the engine away and replace it with the Chinese one. They'll be known as 'Norton Superiors'