@cewing yes that's confusing, but I am afraid it is not a bug.
Here is the the thing:
- if you do what you said, indeed, the link colors is not modified,
- but if you do what you said and in step 7, change @plone-body-bg value to #FF000, then you will see a red background.
The difference is @plone-body-bg is not managed in the Less variables control panel, while @plone-link-color is managed in this control panel, and the value from the control panel wins over the one you put in your less file.
It is very confusing, and that's why I think Barceloneta should use its own variables, separated from the one used in the bundles.