BSA’s original Bantam was a real lightweight champion of the motorcycling world.
Based on German DKW designs offered to allies as war reparations, the little two-strokes were made by a number of companies around the world – with BSA’s interpretation conservatively thought to have sold over 350,000 units alone. It was a perfect machine to mobilise the British public in the post-war years, being cheap to buy, easy to fix and inexpensive to run. Production lasted for 23 years (between 1948 and 1971) but times change and BSA was one of the first casualties in the demise of the British motorcycle industry. By 1972 BSA, once one of the most powerful names in motorcycling, ceased production and, for so long, looked never to return.
But in late 2022 that changed. The BSA brand had been bought by Indian company Classic Legends (a subsidiary of the giant Mahindra Group) and a 650cc single bearing it’s most famous nameplate – the Gold Star – emerged. Washed in a hue of nostalgia, the modern Goldie was a decent effort but today we have the follow up, a new 350 bearing the Bantam badge.
Just like the 1940s Bantam had close cousins from other manufacturers (at least six companies including BSA, Harley-Davidson and Yamaha made bikes based on the original DKW RT 125) the 2025 iteration also shares its platform with other bikes from the Classic Legends family and is a reworked version of the Indian market Jawa 42 FJ.
While the modern day Bantam may not be as small and light as the original, it shares many of the same characteristics – being easy to manage, cheap to run and very, very affordable. It’s advertised at £3,499, which undercuts rivals like the £3,899 Royal Enfield HNTR and the £3,999 Honda GB350S, although the BSA’s price doesn’t include on the road charges. Add in another £200 to cover road tax, first registration and so on, and the saving is more like £200-300 over its more established competitors.
The Bantam’s spec sheet isn’t much to write home about but, for the price, it delivers pretty much all you’d expect, if not a little more. The water-cooled 334cc twin cam engine is more modern in design than its most direct rivals and delivers 29bhp, or a solid 50% more than the GB350S and HNTR, placing somewhere between its Asian rivals and the more powerful (read more expensive) 400cc Triumph range.
The peppiness shows on the road, and the Bantam 350 certainly has its own feel and sound to it. Where the Enfield and Honda have softly tuned, low-revving, air-cooled motors mated to widely spaced five-speed gearboxes, the more sophisticated BSA unit makes its peak power and torque higher up the rev range, rewarding the rider who dances through the six-speed ‘box while giving it a good thrashing. Sure some will prefer the laziness of the others, but performance was a pleasant surprise for me. It can get a little buzzy at motorway speeds, but it’s more than capable of breaking the speed limit if you’re that way inclined – something you might not be able to say about the other two. It also makes a cool popping sound on the overrun, which kept me entertained if nothing else.
It’s not perfect, but for the price you wouldn’t expect it to be. Some of the finishes on our 400 mile old test bike weren’t great. The silencer was a bit discoloured and marked up, while some of the powder coating around the head stock wouldn’t get through quality control with more premium brands. I also found the switchgear very plasticky and the handlebar grips a bit cheap feeling. For the money, I think they’re acceptable, but Royal Enfield are proof that these touch points can be more tactile, even on a budget.
The cycle parts are, as you can imagine, also basic but again they’re just enough. Suspension, brakes and tyres are what you’d expect for the price. It’s simple but, without a huge stable of horses to harness, it is more than up to the job. An 800mm seat height makes it easily accessible to a wide range of riders and it really is a cinch to manoeuvre around town, with preload adjustablity on the rear suspension to give added support to heavier riders or those who want to take a passenger. It’s light, agile and very easy to ride, dare I say as easy to ride as any 125. It’s easy to pick fault, but against the backdrop of the price there really is nothing to complain about. More enthusiastic riders may well want to replace the OE MRF tyres. They’re ok but didn’t give the greatest feedback when we rode the Bantam in cooler conditions. If you’re planning on hooning down backroads like Michael Dunlop, you’re probably looking at the wrong bike though. Its real appeal should be to riders looking to move up from 125s, and to these customers the added performance will be welcomed without being at all intimidating.
That said, tyre selection will be limited by the unusually sized 18” front wheel, bang in the middle of the more common 17” found on most modern bikes (including the HNTR) and the 19” hoop of the GB350S. It’s a size more commonly found on classic motorcycles and I think it gives the bike a little more presence than it may otherwise have had, without compromising handling. In my eyes, the Bantam looks great. It’s a traditional roadster and although there are some nice detailing touches (most notably the gun motifs on the engine covers, which pay homage to BSA’s roots as armours) its simplicity is its ace card.
That said, I’m not keen on graphics found on our ‘Barrel Black’ test bike. National flags on bikes feels like 20 years ago at the best of times, and using a design based on the British flag feels a bit fraudulent on an Indian bike. Thankfully there are four other, more neutral, colour schemes, although these all have a little tag of the union flag stitched into the seat. I know some will disagree, but it just feels a bit wrong to me. It’s 50 years since BSAs were made in the UK, and the Bantam is absolutely good enough to stand on its own two wheels without trying to pretend it’s something it’s not.
Because, regardless of where it was conceived or made, this motorcycle perfectly represents a new generation of smaller and simpler motorcycle. It’s great value for money and really is worthy of consideration in a hotly contested class.
What we don’t yet know is what its durability and aftersales support will be like, but there are some seriously big players behind the reborn BSA and they’re demonstrating their faith in the product with a three-year, unlimited mileage, warranty. That’s as good as that offered by Royal Enfield and should give reassurance to buyers taking a chance on one.
And we are sure there will be plenty of people taking a chance on the new BSA Bantam 350.
BSA Bantam 350 specification
Price: From £3,499 (plus on the road charges)
Engine: 334cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve, single cylinder
Power: 29bhp @ 7,750rpm
Torque: 29.62Nm @ 6,000rpm
Suspension: Telescopic front fork. Twin rear shock absorbers with five-way preload adjustment
Wheels: Cast, 18” front and 17” rear
Tyres: Front 100/90-18, rear 150/70-17
Weight: 185kg (wet)
Wheelbase: 1440mm
Seat height: 800mm
Fuel tank: 13 litres
Contact: www.bsacompany.co.uk
