Jawa 42 FJ Vs Hero Mavrick 440: What's Different?

Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles has launched the new 2024 Jawa 42 FJ, a neo-retro roadster bike from Rs 1,99,142 to Rs 2,20,142. At this price, it competes with the Hero Mavrick 440, which starts from Rs 1,99,000 and goes up to Rs 2,24,000 (all prices ex-showroom). In this comparison, we put the two bikes against each other and see how they compare.

Design

Both the bikes have a neo-retro design. The Jawa 42 FJ is available in 6 attractive colours to choose from, they are Aurora Green Matte Spoke, Aurora Green Matte, Mystique Copper, Cosmo Blue Matte, Deep Black Matte Black Clad & Deep Black Matte Red Clad. The bike sports an all-LED light setup and the headlight has the ‘42’ branding inside its housing. It gets a single-pod instrument cluster with its wiring housed neatly. The dual exhausts enhance the bike’s look. The engine and exhausts are finished in matte black. Overall, the bike has a rounded design and an aggressive stance while holding onto its rich history. 

Meanwhile, the Hero Mavrick 440 has 5 colours to choose from: Arctic White, Fearless Red, Celestial Blue, Phantom Black and Enigma Black. The bike has a sporty and muscular design. It is equipped with an LED headlight, a well-shaped tank with bulky tank extensions, and metal fenders that add to its visual appeal. While the design of the Hero Mavrick 440 doesn’t stand out, the Jawa 42 FJ is impressive.

Engine

The Jawa 42 FJ is equipped with the 334cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder Alpha2 engine that makes peak power of 29.2PS & 29.6Nm. It is paired with a six-speed gearbox and gets a slip-and-assist clutch. The Jawa Perak gets the same engine and has a sporty feel to it while the gear shifts can feel clunky at times. Overall, the engine feels happy and vibe-free until 110kmph. 

The Hero Mavrick 440 is powered by an air-/oil-cooled 440cc SOHC single-cylinder engine that produces 27.3PS at 6000rpm and 36Nm at 4000rpm and is paired with a 6-speed gearbox. The engine feels torque and refined helping in providing smooth power delivery. The bike doesn’t make a fuss while riding at speeds of 100-110kmph in sixth gear. The slip-and-assist clutch helps in light clutch action.

Features

In terms of features, the 42 FJ is equipped with a full LCD instrument console as seen on its siblings, the Jawa 42 and 42 Bobber. The console displays basic information like speedometer, odometer, trip metre, fuel gauge, clock and telltale lights. The bike also has a USB charging port. Jawa has not equipped the bike with any smartphone connectivity features.

On the other hand, the Mavrick 440 has a negative LCD instrument console but with smartphone connectivity. It has turn-by-turn navigation, call and SMS alerts, a digital clock, a low fuel indicator, distance to empty, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and a phone battery indicator onboard.

Underpinnings

The 42 FJ gets a 41mm telescopic fork and twin shock absorbers with 5-step preload adjustability. Braking relies on a 320mm front disc and 240mm rear disc brake with dual-channel ABS as standard. It has a 100-section front tyre with an 18-inch wheel and a 140-section rear tyre with a 17-inch wheel. Only the Aurora Green Matte Spoke colour option comes with spoked wheels while the rest of the colour schemes get diamond-cut alloy wheels wrapped with tubeless tyres. The bike has a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres, a seat height of 790mm, a 1440mm wheelbase and a kerb weight of 184kg.

The Mavrick 440 is built around a trellis frame. It is equipped with a 43mm telescopic fork and 7-step preload-adjustable twin shocks. The braking department is taken care of by 320mm front disc and 240mm rear disc brakes. The bike rolls on 17-inch wheels, with 110-section front and 150-section rear with zero-degree steel belted radial tyres from MRF. It carries a fuel capacity of 13.5-litre and has an 803mm seat height, 175mm ground clearance and kerb weight: the alloy variant weighs 187kg while the spoked variant weighs 191kg.

Verdict

We cannot currently give you an absolute verdict on the Jawa 42 FJ as we haven’t ridden it yet. However, the bike has an upright seating position which seems to be comfortable for both commuting and highway rides. We experienced the engine on the Jawa Perak which performs fairly well. While the bike misses out on phone connectivity, overall it seems well-packaged. Looking at the Hero’s flagship bike, the Hero Mavrick 440 which we have ridden, the bike offers a relaxed riding position and is packed with a lot of features such as smartphone connectivity for call/SMS alerts and turn-by-turn navigation. Watch this space to find out our verdict on the Jawa 42 FJ.