If you've been following the story of the BSA Company revival in the past few years, chances are excellent that you may have a few unanswered questions. While new BSA Gold Star 650 motorcycles have been trickling out to customers in the UK and select other European markets, whatever happened to the plans for a UK factory?
We'll get there in a second, but first, here's a teensy bit of necessary history. As you may recall, the Mahindra and Mahindra-owned Classic Legends acquired BSA all the way back in 2016. If you like to follow vintage motorcycle marques that come back from the dead like we do, you may recognize that Classic Legends is also the parent company of Jawa and Yezdi. Yezdi bikes are sold in India; while Jawas are primarily also sold there, the brand is also currently exported to Europe.
Now that you have a better grasp on Classic Legends, let's get back to BSA. Back in November 2020, Classic Legends spoke with both the Guardian and the Financial Times in the UK about its ambitious built-in-Britain bike plans. Talk at that time revolved around a UK government grant to build a new technical and design facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire, as well as a separate factory facility near Coventry.
Publicly discussed plans for the new-gen BSA bikes also revolved around offering two powertrain options: A combustion version and a newly-developed electric version. Even better, all the parts for the electric version (with the possible exception of the battery packs) were planned to be built in the UK as well. Sounds great, right?
And then, of course, you know some of what happened if you've been alive and paying attention since 2020. While BSA and Classic Legends haven't explicitly stated that the onset of a global pandemic threw a bit of a wrench into their plans, at this point, it feels kind of like a given. It's a natural disaster of a different type than we're used to contemplating, but its impact and reach are still undeniable.
Fast Forward To 2024, And Things Seem To Be Moving Forward
According to a recent report in India's Economic Times, Classic Legends plans to go ahead with building that UK factory at last. Even better, the firm wants to do it starting sometime in its next fiscal year, which begins in April 2024. Since it's the back half of February 2024 as we write this, the start of that new FY is coming up fast.
Further details haven't been made public just yet, but RideApart has reached out to BSA to inquire about its plans for the new facility. We'll be sure to update this piece with any information we learn.
For now, though, we're kind of looking at it like those first seedlings you see poking their heads above ground in spring. They're not big, beautiful greenery just yet, but just seeing them start is its own kind of hope.
