There’s not a lot of Internet noise on the revivified BSA motorcycle company and I don’t see any reason why ExhaustNotes.us shouldn’t try and create some buzz with wild speculation of our own. We haven’t got a test bike and if we did we’d be riding the wheels off the thing so we’ll just imagine we have a BSA to examine. If you haven’t learned by now not to trust things you read on the Internet then there’s really no hope for you and you can take everything I say in this review as gospel.
In the US market BSA is re-entering the motorcycle business at a bad time. Our customer demographic for street motorcycle riders becomes older by the minute. 1950’s-1960’s nostalgia-driven motorcycle sales simply must die off with the customers that lived that stifling, bland era. In just a few seconds I was able to gin up a statistic that said the average age for motorcyclists in America is 73 years old. That number shocked me even though I knew it was false because I was the one that made it up. Soon enough I came to believe that number because it was on the Internet in this ExhaustNotes.us story.
In the video below new-BSA’s Indian owners appear to realize the American market is awash with nostalgic motorcycle choices and don’t seem to be in any rush to lose money chasing the urine soaked, grey-haired, pony-tailed, ancient American rider even though that dried up shell of a man would appear to be the natural audience for such a bike.
The motorcycle might be built in Britain, but most likely will be made in India with a steadying British hand on the design choices. BSA has really nailed the look. The new 650 is as close to the old Gold Star style-wise as you can get without having survived the bombing of Coventry. To me, the bike looks great and is so much classier than the swoopy, exo-framed modern bike. BSA even made the engine clatter like an old British single even though it’s a liquid-cooled, double overhead cam, 4-valve engine. I looked on BSA’s website to see of it was fuel–injected but didn’t see that spec. I’m sure it is. Claimed compression ratio is 11.5:1 so hopefully the combustion chamber is shaped well enough to use regular unleaded gas. Finding high-octane gas is a problem out in the hinterlands.
The claimed 45 horsepower BSA thumper comes with all the modern conveniences like ABS, headlights, turn indicators and a hose bib for a washing machine. The bike is also equipped with a 23,000-watt inverter allowing the rider to power a typical suburban home for up to 5 days. The bike is fairly lightweight compared to your average adventure motorcycle clocking in at only 33-1/2 stone. One disc brake on each wheel should stop the light-ish BSA fairly well and with a claimed 70 miles-per-1024 dram you should be able to go roughly 210 miles on the 3240-dram tank. Of course, your mileage may vary depending of which rose-colored glasses you are wearing at the time.
BSA’s website doesn’t mention a counter balancer but one of the guys in the video says it has one so I predict a tolerable vibration level even with that big slug flying around between your legs. Traditional telescopic forks and two rear shocks are nothing earth shaking. I like simple things so I’m good with boring old suspenders. Spoke rims and what looks like tube-type tires are all well-trod design choices that leave plenty of space for improvements on subsequent model years.
As it should, my opinion means nothing to you but I like the new BSA. It looks right, and it has the bare minimum modern junk bolted on. I’ll go as far as saying it’s an honest motorcycle. The only thing wrong is the price. Even with the collapsing British pound, 10,000 British pounds is over $11,000 US dollars and that’s almost twice what Royal Enfield’s 650 twin sells for, a bike that is every bit as cool and most likely better. The Enfield even wins AFT flat track races. I won’t be buying one but don’t let that stop you from buying one.
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My mindset about these things centers on unreliability and rusting chrome, same as the Enfield. Sorry, I’ve heard the stories on the internet. Now, had they brought back the BSA Rocket 3 (pronounced “Beeza”) I would have gone eventually to a dealer to not buy one. But I would have checked it out.
I don’t have any experience with the new BSA, but I have roughly three years under my belt with the new Enfield. It’s reliable as an anvil. No rust. The older Enfields, the Bullet series, were much less reliable machines and they were prone to rust. The new 650 Enfield is incredible. Admittedly, I don’t have that many miles on my Enfield, and here in So Cal, there’s no humidity to speak of. I like the new BSA. The ideal of a 650 single is appealing, too. I rode a KLR 650 for a few years. I like a big single.
I have seen the 650 Enfield Interceptor in person in a showroom. I really liked it. On the right roads it must be a blast to ride. That engine is what Janus needs. That and cast wheels.
You’ve probably seen the blogs Gresh and I took turns writing about our trip through Baja on the Interceptor and a Bullet. I liked the Interceptor so much I bought one when I returned to California. I need to ride it more.
The Baja story is here.
I did have a look through your Baja trips and it reminded me of well over 20 years ago when it was the Bullet 500 that I had seen at a motorcycle show. My brother and I saw the very cool retro looking bike and they were cheap as chips. We thought “why not?” On closer examination we found out why not. The thing just looked like it would need constant adjusting and fixing. And later researching the bike revealed a lot of problems with the bike. The fact that you could buy low mile used ones for next to nothing sorta verified the stories and that owners just wanted them gone. So that’s where my fears originated. I watched carefully the introduction of the new 650 and was hopeful but my prejudice born of the Bullet had me focused only on the bad reports on the new 650 bikes. Maybe I am wrong. Anyways, I’m biked up right now (I have four with only room for two, maybe three) but who knows?… any motorcyclist knows how that story goes.
Gresh and I found the 650 to be an excellent bike on that Baja trip, and my ownership experience has confirmed. The Bullet was a disaster. I don’t how much of that was due to the bike itself and how much was due to the terrible job the dealer did in maintaining the Bullet press bike. The dealer was godawful, and convinced me I’d never buy anuthing from them. I would have liked for the Bullet to be a better bike, but it was not.
?????
cant wait for this bike to show up for sale!
Your description of older riders isn’t funny. Perhaps you are “urine soaked”. I am 79 and in good shape. I would buy a new Gold Star if one was available here in Canada. Your arrogance for “reviewing” a bike you have never seen is a bit much.
He didn’t mean you
No, I did…
Good review/read. Best wishes from Australia.
Harry, as a guy in his mid-60’s, Gresh is just a youngster. A pup, as it were…
Like you, I am in my 70s, and I constanly have to remind Gresh to respect his elders. I don’t know that he’s ever pissed himself, but he’s sure pissed a lot of people off.
right on!!!!
When I was a teen a neighbor had a BSA. It was the first motorcycle I had gotten close to, and it embedded itself in to my “wants” list. My first motorcycle was a 1971 BSA 250 SS – a “dual sport” with skid plate and high exhaust, although I never took is off-road. My third moto was a KLR – I put 30k miles on it with lots of off road, loving most every mile (except uphill, into the wind, on I-80 in Wyoming). So, even though I don’t need it (I love my Moto Guzzi’s) I’ll be getting a new Gold Star when they get to the US — unless I get a test ride on a Janus 450 and fall in love.
I usually have an open mind on these type things. In addition to the more popular brands, I’ve owned a Powell, Sears Allstate Sport 60, and an Ossa Pioneer. But is this BSA a motorcycle someone brought to market that no one was asking for?
“Build it and they will come!” I suspect that there are many who thought it was “unobtanium” so they weren’t asking for it. But when it becomes available I believe it will be as successful as the Royal Enfield’s.
Over 70 hear so right in the target market. It looks right. Hopefully 19” front and maybe 19” ( or it least 18”) rear.
I owned a BSA Rocket 3 back in the day. One of the m a n y bikes I wished I still owned. I do still own a Honda NX 650 and a BMW G650GS. The BMW has been my favorite mount (out of a stable of 5) for the last 10 years. Like the big counterbalanced singles, and would like to have the nostalgia look, weight, balance; coupled with the reliability and performance of modern machines.
I wish them the best of luck.
The new BSA has pretty much the same (Rotax) motor your Beemer has, which is a great lump. I have the GS as well, and enjoy riding it. I’m sure the new BSA would be a hoot to ride, and will undoubtedly be much more reliable than the old ones.
The thing looks great, it’s just that at $11,000 for the BSA or $6,000 for the Enfield my cheap ass is going Enfield.
You get a whole extra piston with the Enfield, too!
Less is often more
No idea why the halfwit who wrote this article got his made-up price of £10,000GBP from (which incidentally equates to nearly $12,000US).
BSA have officially published the prices in the UK which begin at £6,500 and I suspect they’ll start around the $7,500 mark Stateside.
Do the words ” Hasty Conclusions” mean anything at all to you? The entire premise of the story was that it was based on rumors and incomplete information.
The 10,00 number came from BSA’s own intro/interview video attached to this story. Since the story was written the new price came out.
The British Pound has been taking a beating. I rounded it off to get the US dollar price.
And being a half-wit is much better than having no wit..,
It ain’t gonna be 11,000 pounds. The announced price in the UK is 6,500 pounds for the model with the least farkles. Right in the same ballpark as the Enfields.
Bring BSA back to the market is going to be a financial Hail Mary, requiring tons of money, slick marketing, and a large dose of luck. I’m in my mid 70s and can remember when BSA was still selling new bikes….but that was so long ago I can’t put a finger on the exact decade. At the time the big three in the UK were Triumph, Norton and BSA. Each brand was locked in a death spiral of older ideas, very old machine tools and horrible finances. Triumph has done a great job of rising from the ashes but that was a strong brand and it got a deep pocket owner to bring it back to life. Also, the economy at that time was such that motorcycle sales were pretty good. Norton stopped being a viable company around 1975, got at least two new starts, and is now trying to come back to life again. It is selling itself as a premium brand (Triumph also) to justify a lofty price. It appears that BSA is having to take the same approach. For my $11K USD there are too many good bikes to choose from. Joe is correct, the market for a new BSA is mostly those of us were around when BSA was a going concern. As a long time Guzzi owner (not one at present) I can recount many times that someone asked ‘what’s that and who makes it’…this for a marque that has been in continuous production since 1921! BSA will have to climb that cliff of recognition and it’s going to be a leap of faith for any dealers who jump in. As an aside, Enfield only has two dealers in my state. Neither closer than 3 1/2 hours ride each way. I’d still consider the Enfield to be the better buy.
Here’s another video on the BSA. This one says the price will be 7000-8000 pounds, which is a lot better than 10,000.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8AQWhJG14Qg&fbclid=IwAR21cOASrISL8TJByZTUiYxRrGYfWM2D_WHhP4uW5UmFmBXMUGkHT4ltT2o
Radiator kill the classic
In this case the radiator enables it.
Love this bike!
Just saw some more numbers on the BSA price. 6500 to 7000 British pounds. So maybe the US versions will be around &7000/$7500? That’s getting much closer, price-wise.
Also I read the engine might be built by Rotax but I don’t put much faith in that.