A couple of weeks ago, Classic Legends announced the launch of BSA Bantam at the Bike Shed Moto Show in London in the United Kingdom. What surprised everyone was the fact that Bantam was built on the Classic Legends’ 350cc platform and not the 650cc platform that underpins the likes of Gold Star and the upcoming Scrambler.
Soon after it broke cover, the Indian media got excited on the prospect of a smaller and more affordable BSA in the country. However, the Mahindraowned motorcycle manufacturer might have some other plans. According to our sources, Classic Legends isn’t looking to democratise the BSA brand in the near future.
In an offtherecord conversation, the official said that Jawa and Yezdi brands will focus on models with displacement under 350cc which includes two engines: a 293cc and a 334cc. There is no plan for these brands to go higher up in the displacement ladder since Jawa and Yezdi are planned as the two highvolume brands. On the other hand, BSA has a stronger aspirational value with a more powerful engine and supposed premium build quality.
Hence, the homegrown bikemaker intends to position the BSA brand above its other two peers. Moreover, the BSA brand was revived with the primary objective of Classic Legends tapping into the more developed foreign markets of Europe. Although we have no confirmation on writing, it is safe to assume that we aren’t going to see the BSA Bantam in India anytime soon.
Moreover, the BSA Bantam looks heavily inspired by the Jawa 42 FJ launched in India in September last year. In fact, most of the visual cues have been lifted from the 42 FJ making the BSA Bantam 350 essentially a rebadged iteration of the former. The blackedout treatment for the engine and gearbox assembly, tailpipe, front forks, exhaust and other mechanical bits emphasize on its sporty nature.
Mechanically again, the BSA Bantam 350 is almost identical to the Jawa 42 FJ with the exact same underpinnings. The bike sits on telescopic hydraulic front forks and twin rear shock absorbers. It rolls on 18inch front and 17inch rear alloy wheels shod with tubeless tyres. Braking duties are carried out by 320mm front disc and 240mm rear disc aided by dualchannel ABS.
Powering the BSA Bantam 350 will be the same 334cc, liquidcooled, singlecylinder engine paired with a 6speed gearbox. This motor kicks out 29 bhp at 7750 rpm and 29.62 NM at 6000 rpm. The bike weighs 185 kg (kerb) while offering a tank capacity of 13 lires and seat height of 800 mm.
