BSA Goldstar 2022: Where is it?

Alright you lot, Wildlife Moto here. So back in December 2021, we all got very excited by the big announcement of the all-new BSA Gold Star. And here we find ourselves in April 2022 asking ourselves, where on earth is it BSA? Let's jump in and find out. So before we get into all the meat of this video, if you do want a full overview, if you like, of the BSA Gold Star, that video is up on the channel to watch. I went down to Motorcycle Live, as I said, end of last year, took a ton of photos and a ton of video all about this bike and made a complete film all about what you can expect with this new 650 water-cooled thumper, which is coming out, we're told, at some point in 2022. Now originally we were going to be looking at a March release date for this bike, but I think a lot of fans have been a little bit surprised at the, well I suppose, silence ever since that big hurrah towards the end of last year. I mean there hasn't really been an awful lot said about this bike. I for one have been kind of scouring the internet trying to find even basic bits of information about pricing and all that kind of stuff, maybe even looking at where you might be able to pre-order one, nothing. So not a lot has happened. We were expecting the in March. March of course came and went and we've now had another update from BSA saying that actually the bike is going to come out probably around May time, so we've got a few fairly significant delays there to talk about. Now we're not 100% sure what the issue is, although BSA have put out a couple of little statements alluding to some of the reasons why those delays are currently happening. So one of the things they've been talking about is the dealer network. So they talk a lot about the fact that they're not just launching a new bike, they're launching a whole new bike brand. So they've got to establish a new dealership network, they've got to make sure there's support there for the customers wanting to get involved in this bike, and there may be people out there who actually think this is actually a good thing. The fact that BSA want to make sure they do it right, they want to make sure that people buying into this brand are going to have all the support from a well-established dealer network moving forward. So that's their official reason, that's what they're saying. But there may be some other reasons at play as well. So we know the world is in a bit of a messed up state at the moment, we've got all kinds of supply chain problems, we've got wars happening in Europe. Manufacturing in general is hard enough without it necessarily being a brand new production line, a brand new manufacturing operation. We know that established motorcycle brands are finding it hard to get silicon, they're finding it hard to get enough labor because people are sick. We're living in pretty unstable times and although they haven't come out and said it, there is of course a lot of speculation that there may well be some production issues or some challenges let's say in production that may have put a little bit of a barrier in the way of that March release date. So it could be that there's some production issues, it could be genuinely that they are just trying to get that dealership network going on. But as I said they were planning to get this bike out for everybody in April time. So we're now looking at May which of course means if you kind of add in a little bit of time for the dealers to actually get the bikes and make the sales and money to change hands and that kind of stuff, we're probably looking at kind of June time before we even see the all-new BSA Gold Star actually out and about on the road. Now all this is you know maybe a little bit of a minor inconvenience for the most hardcore BSA customers who are absolutely committed to getting their hands on this bike. But I think this is potentially going to cause BSA a bit of a problem because you might look at this and go well it's only what eight weeks or something like that they're saying with delay. But this is a really important eight-week period right this is the start of the 2022 riding season. This is the time if you're launching a new bike you want customers to be changing contracts, buying the bike because this is when people are going to go out and go riding. The problem that BSA's got is they're going to miss that. So a lot of people who you know really wanted this bike, really thinking about getting one, they might now be changing their minds. Might be thinking about something else and maybe you are. Maybe you were a potential customer for this BSA Gold Star of a 650 single but now you're thinking well I'm going to miss a There are bikes out there that are ready to buy today that are incredibly exciting in this space. Bikes like my Interceptor, you know what a wonderful machine. 650 parallel twin, a little bit different potentially in character to the big Thumper but you know if you want that modern classic styling, something that looks retro, something that's very cool, something that's easy to look after, something that's got the heritage, you know it's kind of already out there in the market. So this potentially could cause BSA a lot of problems this year because of course once we get deep into the riding season, June, July time, people may have already made those purchases and BSA might have missed a big chunk of sales. So it's going to be interesting to see just how quickly BSA can turn this around. Undoubtedly there is going to be a lot of angry faces at BSA Towers because this is a deadline they definitely didn't want to miss but seemingly they have. So stick a comment down below if you're one of these people that was thinking about getting a BSA. Let me know what you're planning to do. Are you still holding out? Are you committed to the cause or are you thinking do you know what now there's Triumphs out there, there's Kawasaki's out there, there's Interceptor Royal Enfields out there. There's just so much choice. Why would I wait for something that might not materialize? Why would I lose all this potential warm weather riding time and especially in the UK which is you know really the flagship market for this bike we have quite a narrow window where most riders do most of their riding so it's definitely going to be a bit of an issue for BSA. Hopefully they sort it out. I saw the bike down at Motorcycle Live as I said. What I saw was a pre-production unit so it wasn't necessarily the thinnest thing but it really did look to me like a bike that you know deserves to do well. You know they've managed to really pay respect to the original BSAs from the 50s and 60s. They even had original gold stars down there just to kind of put it next to the bikes that inspired it and it does stand up you know it does look like a quality bit of kit. What I really want BSA to do though while we're waiting for the actual bike to come out is to tell us how much it's going to cost because I think that's also going to be a really big deciding factor for a lot of people. You know the people out there who've maybe got Interceptor money or GT money or even W800 money or whatever and they want to know is the Gold Star a contender but we just don't know how it's going to be priced. You know personally I think we've all got our opinions on where we think it should be priced. Personally having seen it and looked at it I think they have to position it around kind of Interceptor money otherwise they're going to be pushing into Triumph territory and looking at the build quality I just don't think it's quite up there with some of the Triumphs. You know that's all a little bit subjective and hard to tell because it was a kind of pre-production unit but at the same time I think that's probably where it's going to land but I just don't know. But again let me know in the comments what would you be prepared to pay for a BSA Gold Star and critically are you prepared to keep waiting until May June time before you can get your ride. Anyway don't forget to hit subscribe to the I'll keep you kind of up to date on things as they progress with the Gold Star and of course other bikes as well. I know I've been away for a little bit, been dealing with you know Covid, all the usual things that have been happening to people but I am back. There will be regular videos up on the channel as expected so until the next one, ride safe.