BSA Gold Star In India — What Distinguishes It From Royal Enfield's 650-cc Offerings

India is warming up to big bikes, finally. The space has been occupied by Royal Enfield with four offerings of 650-cc engine powered bikes. Now, they have a competitor. British brand BSA Motorcycles is set to enter the Indian market with Gold Star 650, a retro motorcycle.

BSA Motorcycle has expanded its presence across 23 countries since its re-launch in 2021. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Classic Legends, which also manufactures Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles. Classic Legends is backed by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

What distinguishes it from its competitors? The key differentiator is that the Gold Star will have a single-engine liquid-cooled engine versus a twin-cylinder air-cooled one.

Here is what you need to know about the retro motorcycle.

Design

The motorcycle has a prominent retro look and draws heavily from its 1960s predecessor. The wire-spoke wheels, circular headline, faux cooling fins, teardrop fuel tank and flat single seat establish its vital credentials.

The BSA Gold Star 650 sports chrome accents on the exhaust and engine components. It gets a two-pod analogue instrument cluster housing the speedometer, and tachometer with the multi-information LCS display. The bike, however, does sport modern convenience features including a USB port on the handlebar and 12V socked near the throttle body on the left side.

The motorcycle sits on a cradle frame suspended by a 41mm telescopic front and adjustable twin shock absorbers at the back.

A 320mm front and 255mm rear discs paired with a dual channel ABS (anti-lock braking system) will perform the braking duties on the bike.

The motorcycle is 2206mm long, 1093 mm high, and 817 mm wide. It comes with a ground clearance of 150 mm and a seat height of 782.

The bike rises on an 18-inch and 17-inch rear spoked wheels.

Engine

BSA Gold Star 650 will be powered by a 652-CC liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine expected to deliver up to 45 bhp of power and 55Nm of peak torque, as seen on the variants already available in the international market.

Pricing

There's no word on the pricing of the BSA Gold Star 650 as yet. However, it is expected to be priced aggressively to make room for itself in a segment dominated by the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, which comes with an ex-showroom price starting at Rs 3.03 lakh.