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Customers who put down deposits have been waiting for months. Dealers aren't sure what to tell customers. And the executives of a small import firm don't know what to do next. Meanwhile, 160 BSA Gold Star motorcycles sit in containers in Miami, stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.
If you're having trouble remembering what a BSA Gold Star is, in 2025, don't feel bad. It's been more than three years since we reported that Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra, which acquired the BSA name in 2016, was planning to import Gold Star 650s to the United States the following year. So clearly this isn't the first instance of timelines getting scrambled.
The original BSA Gold Star was a classic British motorcycle at a time when Great Britain ruled the motorcycle manufacturing business. Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited originally manufactured firearms in the 19th century before moving into motorcycles, among many other things. In the 1950s, it was, for a while, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and around that time the Gold Star was one of its most popular models. But like much of the British motorcycle industry, BSA went out of business in the 1970s.
The Gold Star of today is a liquid-cooled, 652 cc single styled to look like the air-cooled single of the 1950s, complete with the chromed tank panels that were a signature feature. The painted editions are listed on the BSA U.S. website at $7,495 and the Legacy Edition, which has a polished metal finish, is listed at $7,999. A Florida company, Cycle Importers, is responsible for importing the BSAs to the United States and nearly two dozen dealers signed up across the country. The first shipment, 160 motorcycles in five containers, was hurriedly shipped out of India on March 30, just days before President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports. They arrived in Miami in May.
And there they sit.
Why?
According to Howard Swinnerton, vice president of Cycle Importers, it's all a simple misunderstanding. As he puts it, someone "checked a box called 'restricted' or something" and the federal authorities will not let the motorcycles be released, insisting that they must sent elsewhere or destroyed. Swinnerton said Cycle Importers even hired a consultant who is an expert in import compliance but even he wasn't able to resolve the issue.
So while customers in other countries are riding their Gold Stars, U.S. customers are waiting.
"It's been a nightmare," Swinnerton said. "The money tied up. The dealers and the customers waiting."
We spoke to several of those dealers and some said they had a few customers on waiting lists for the Gold Star while others said their entire expected allotment was spoken for. Some said they've had to return deposits to customers who got tired of waiting.
One of those customers is Mark Spenser who lives in Oregon. When he heard the first shipment of Gold Stars was about to arrive in the United States in May, he put down a $1,000 deposit on a Legacy Edition with Bill's Motorcycles Plus, a dealer in Salem, Oregon. And then he waited.
As the delays continued, Spenser eventually got in touch directly with Cycle Importers and had multiple conversations with Swinnerton. Spenser said he was given several explanations, starting with the account we were given of a paperwork problem.
"Obviously, it's frustrating," Spenser said. "Here we are, it's the end of our riding season and six months have passed.
"I don't know what to think about the whole situation. It's one thing to blame it on faceless bureaucrats, but is there something else going on?"
While a few Gold Stars were shipped in separately for purposes of demo rides and displays at events, such as AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days this summer, the customer bikes remain stuck. Shipping in additional motorcycles is not a simple solution because they would be subject to the 50% tariffs President Trump placed on imports from India earlier this year. While a trade deal has been in negotiations, and at least potentially could provide some relief, Swinnerton said Cycle Importers is waiting.
"We have bikes sitting at the factory, U.S.-spec, ready to ship, but with 50% tariffs, it's impossible to deal with," he said.
All that means that it's a very open question as to when would-be Gold Star buyers who put down deposits will actually get their motorcycles.
Editor's note: This article was researched by Dustin Wheelen and written by Lance Oliver.
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