A brand-new Royal Enfield Himalayan-rivalling adventure motorcycle looks set to be the first model to go on sale under the revived Yezdi brand, one of two mothballed nameplates being dusted off for 2022.
Yezdi, which has its roots in the Czech Republic, hasn’t manufactured motorcycles since 1996 but is set to be given a new lease of life for 2022 courtesy of Classic Legends in India, which is becoming a dab hand at giving retro brands a contemporary makeover.
It is set to be revived together with BSA, but while the Indian-financed British marque is expected to focus on the mid-to-large segment, plus EV models, Yezdi looks set to eye up the volume sub-500cc portion with models that will have Royal Enfield in their sights.
Two models have been spotted on test recently, including a scrambler-flat track style model that is set to wear the name of Yezdi’s best-known motorcycle; the Roadking.
A more upright, rugged variant has also been captured by eagle-eyes spotters in India, with the Royal Enfield Himalayan seemingly the inspiration for the as-yet-unnamed motorcycle.
Will Yezdi motorcycles be sold in the UK?
It has never been more ‘in vogue’ to delve into the archives and cherry pick one of the many fondly-remembered but now defunct brands and give it a reboot for the 21st century.
Classic Legends – owned by Mahindra & Mahindra – has already perfected the method with the relaunch of another Czech-heritage brand – Jawa – which has earned a strong customer base since 2019 with its cruiser and bobbers series.
Now it will attempt to strike second and third time lucky on one go with the return of BSA, a beloved British marque that was announced together with some ambitious ideas for models and manufacturing last year.
Indeed, Mahindra looks set to eschew the usual method of manufacturing in India by instead investing in an R&D department in the UK to tie into BSA’s heritage, before eventually building a factory there.
It also originally stated BSA would be spearheaded by electric-powered models, though the rumour mill has since intimated that it could develop models to rival the Royal Enfield 650 twins.
Either way, Mahindra plans to launch BSA in the UK with a dealerbase that would allow it to import Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles to these shores too.
It isn’t the only brand Mahindra reportedly has ambitious plans for with its now full ownership of Peugeot potentially leading to it expanding out of the scooter class and into a low displacement motorcycle segment too.
