WINNIPEG — Guitarist Randy Bachman says fans who rocked out to Bachman-Turner Overdrive in the 1970s ain't seen nothing yet.

A lawsuit by estranged bandmates hangs over their heads, but Bachman and bassist Fred Turner, both 66, are going on the road again as Bachman & Turner in hopes of reaching a new generation of fans.

"It feels pretty incredible," Bachman said Tuesday, with Turner by his side, as they officially launched their world tour in their hometown of Winnipeg. "It's the old getting-on-a-bicycle thing. We got in the studio this week and it was like no time had ever passed. It was really good."

"It was a lot of fun," Turner agreed.

The duo -- one-half of Bachman-Turner Overdrive -- plan to release an album next year and play their first show in Sweden next summer. It's expected they will tour for several years with more concert dates to be announced in Canada, Europe and South America as they are confirmed.

Bachman is no stranger to musical rebirths. He was part of another successful Winnipeg-based rock band, The Guess Who, in the '60s, responsible along with Burton Cummings and other band members for "American Woman," These Eyes" and "No Sugar Tonight."

Differences he had with the rest of the band saw him leave in 1970 and form a group that would morph into BTO. Bachman-Turner Overdrive sold millions of albums in the 1970s on the strength of such hits as "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Takin' Care of Business."

Bachman & Turner shows will be a mix of those old favourites and songs from their new album.

"We're not so naive and stupid as to come out and say, 'Here's our new album. Here's eight new songs,"' Bachman laughed. "We're going to come out and give you what you want. You want 'Rock Is My Life,' 'Let it Ride,' 'Rolling Down the Highway.' Then, three or four songs later, we're going to do a new song which will fit in really good."

Both say their reunion tour isn't about cash, but about having fun and attracting new classic-rock fans.

Retirement was working out fine for Turner until he returned to the studio with his former bandmate to record a song for Bachman's solo album just under a year ago.

Bachman said the song sounded so good, the two of them just kept going. It's those new songs -- not playing "Takin' Care of Business" for the umpteenth time -- that really convinced Turner to come out of retirement.

"I was retired for five years," said Turner, who lost 100 pounds in preparation for the tour. "I thought, it's over. This is done. Just enjoy yourself and go fishing. I'm surprised to be back here. It's like being reborn. It really feels good."

Casting a pall over the tour is the lawsuit filed in October by Bachman's estranged brother, Robin, and former bandmate Blair Thornton.

The pair claim Randy Bachman and Turner signed away the rights to the Bachman-Turner Overdrive and BTO names in three separate contracts.

The lawsuit alleges that Randy Bachman's company, Ranback, nonetheless registered several names with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office last May. It's alleged those names included Bachman-Turner, B.T.U. and Bachman Turner Union.

The lawsuit says Bachman and Turner have entered into contracts with concert promoters and agents to perform in Canada and Europe without the plaintiffs' consent.

"Much as Coca-Cola is synonymous in the world with Coke, so too is Bachman-Turner Overdrive with BTO," says the lawsuit filed in the B.C. Supreme Court.

But both Randy Bachman and Turner say that what's going on in court is the furthest thing from their minds.

"It's like something that's going on that we're not really involved with," Bachman said. "It's not really a big issue."

While there is something about the "cachet" of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, using the name would leave fans with the impression they are just playing old hits and living in the past -- something Bachman says they are determined not to do.

It has taken a while to iron out all the legalities of the tour, said Bachman's manager Gilles Paquin. But he added that since the reunion was announced last week, calls have been coming in from promoters around the world interested in booking the duo.

"I'm getting calls now," Paquin said. "Songs like 'Ain't Seen Nothing Yet' and 'Takin' Care of Business' are very well-known songs. They're on feature films today all the time. They're so well-established.

"The test of time has proven it."