Building BSA Australia
Jeff Leisk starts again
BSA is back in Australia, but putting the famous badge back on showroom floors is only the beginning.
Behind the Australian return is Jeff Leisk and the newly established Leisk Moto Imports, a family-run operation that has taken on the task of not only distributing the new BSA range, but effectively rebuilding awareness of one of motorcycling’s most famous names after more than half a century away.
We sat down with Jeff during BSA’s Australian media launch in New South Wales to talk about how he ended up taking on the distributorship himself, what he learned through more than two decades helping grow KTM in Australia, and the challenges involved in starting again with a clean sheet of paper.
From investigating BSA to importing it himself
Leisk’s involvement with BSA didn’t initially begin with a plan to establish another motorcycle distribution company.
He was originally asked to investigate the prospects for BSA in Australia and potentially help identify a suitable importer.
The more he learned about the revived company, the heritage behind the badge and the industrial muscle supporting it, the more interested he became.
As a second-generation motorcyclist, Leisk also grew up hearing stories from his father about BSA and some of the great riders associated with the marque.
Eventually the exercise took an unexpected turn.
Instead of finding somebody else to bring BSA to Australia, Jeff and his family decided to establish Leisk Moto Imports and take the job on themselves.
As Jeff puts it in the interview, this time it is “our own company, our own money“.
Starting again after KTM
Leisk is certainly no stranger to the motorcycle industry.
After a highly successful racing career, he moved through race-team management before spending more than 20 years involved with KTM across importing, distribution and sales.
He recalls the Australian KTM operation being around the 500-bike mark during its early growth phase before volumes eventually climbed beyond 15,000 motorcycles by the time he left at the end of 2020.
That experience gives Leisk an unusually relevant perspective on what lies ahead with BSA, but the circumstances this time are very different.
Rather than joining an established business and helping scale it, LMI is his own operation and is effectively starting from zero.
Reintroducing the BSA name
One of the more interesting challenges facing BSA is generational.
For plenty of riders over 60, those three letters immediately mean something.
For many younger motorcyclists, BSA might barely register at all.
That means the job isn’t simply selling motorcycles to people who remember Gold Stars and Bantams from decades ago.
LMI also has to introduce the badge to riders with no emotional attachment to it whatsoever.
Leisk sees getting motorcycles in front of people and giving prospective customers the opportunity to actually ride them as one of the most important early steps.
Existing BSA clubs have also been receptive to the revival, with the Victorian BSA Owners Club in particular providing a strong link between the marque’s past and its new Australian chapter.
Building the dealer network
At the time of our interview, Leisk Moto Imports had 13 BSA dealers operating around Australia, with more appointments in the pipeline and a target of more than 20 dealers by the end of 2026.
Leisk says early dealer uptake has been encouraging, with each outlet initially taking more than 10 motorcycles despite BSA currently having only three models in the Australian range.
There are already hundreds of motorcycles distributed into the Australian market, although naturally that should not be confused with the same number of confirmed retail registrations.
The current Australian range comprises the Gold Star 650, Scrambler 650 and Bantam 350.
So far, Gold Star has comfortably led the sales mix, accounting for around 70 per cent of early uptake, while Bantam and Scrambler have each represented approximately 15 per cent.
That doesn’t particularly surprise Leisk.
Gold Star is the model with the strongest direct connection to BSA’s heritage, but he believes both the Scrambler and Bantam have considerable potential as awareness of the new range grows.
Parts and technical support from day one
A new motorcycle importer can have the best product in the world, but customers will quickly lose patience if something goes wrong and replacement parts are sitting on the other side of the planet.
Leisk appears acutely aware of that.
LMI’s Western Australian operation is already holding far more than basic consumables.
Jeff says the local parts inventory includes multiple complete engines, wheels, forks, shocks and normal service items.
The reasoning is straightforward.
Motorcycles are discretionary purchases. Owners want to ride them on weekends and enjoy themselves, and every day a motorcycle sits unusable in a workshop damages the ownership experience.
Every Australian BSA dealer has also been equipped with the appropriate diagnostic equipment, while LMI has direct access to BSA’s technical-support operation in the UK.
Leisk says that relationship has so far proved particularly responsive.
Mahindra muscle behind the revival
While BSA trades heavily on its British heritage, the modern company has substantial industrial support behind it.
BSA sits within Classic Legends, which is backed by the enormous Mahindra Group.
Classic Legends also controls the revived Jawa and Yezdi motorcycle brands, while Mahindra has interests spanning automotive, agriculture, aerospace, technology and numerous other sectors.
That scale matters.
Reviving a famous old badge is one thing; developing motorcycles, manufacturing them at competitive prices and supporting a growing international dealer network requires considerably deeper pockets.
Leisk sees that backing as an important part of BSA’s prospects for long-term growth.
Thunderbolt next
The Australian line-up will also expand.
The Thunderbolt 350 is expected to become the fourth modern BSA offered here and will take the company into the increasingly competitive lightweight adventure segment.
The new Thunderbolt uses a variation of BSA’s 350 single-cylinder platform but adds a more overt adventure focus, complete with rally-inspired styling, traction control and multiple ABS modes.
Leisk expects the model to reach Australia during 2027, although precise timing has yet to be confirmed.
What does success look like?
Leisk understandably stops short of making extravagant forecasts this early in the project.
Pressed for a first-year target, however, he suggests somewhere around 500 motorcycles would represent a reasonable aspiration if LMI reaches its dealer-network objectives and stock begins turning over at the expected rate.
That’s a relatively modest number compared with the scale he experienced during KTM’s growth years, but this is also a very different motorcycle brand operating in a very different market.
For now, the job is more fundamental.
Build the dealer network.
Make sure parts and technical support are in place.
Reconnect with riders who already know what BSA means.
Then introduce the badge to those who don’t.
The motorcycles are finally back on Australian roads.
Now Jeff Leisk and his family have to build the business behind them.
