Five Facts About Jawa Motorcycles

Jawa’s back in the Indian market with its recent launch of three motorcycles. The brand’s entry has made quite some waves in the two-wheeler market. While many can recognise the company, there are quite some enthusiasts who are still unaware of the brand. Here, we round up five interesting facts about the motorcycle manufacturer. This should give you a better perspective about how Jawa falls in place in the current market.

Brand Image:

The reason why Jawa is popular among Indian two-wheeler enthusiasts is because the brand had a pretty good presence in the country in the 60’s till the early 90’s. Back then, Jawa motorcycles were considered some of the most affordable performance bikes, and as a result gained quite some popularity. The brand was active in many races and rallies as well across the country. That cemented Jawa’s presence both in the market and in the hearts of people.

The bikes made their appearance in numerous Bollywood movies, making them even more well-known. The fact that Jawa is popular enough to be compared with Royal Enfield itself shows the brand had some good history. Know all about the history of both the manufacturers here.

Variants And Pricing:

Jawa has launched three motorcycles for the Indian market: the Jawa, Jawa 42 and the Jawa Perak. The standard one has properly retro styling which is quite reminiscent of the older Jawa 250 from the 1970s. For this motorcycle, the Czech brand has tuned the ergonomics to be upright and comfortable enough for long-distance touring. The Jawa 42 on the other hand, has slightly sportier ergonomics, thanks to a lower handlebar. The 42 also gets blacked-out fork covers and a slightly different headlight design. It is in fact priced lower than the standard model, at Rs 1.55 lakh. For the standard Jawa, you’ll have to shell out Rs 9000 more. The two motorcycles share a 293cc DOHC liquid-cooled engine. When it comes to safety, they make do with single-channel ABS.

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Jawa also ‘launched’ the Perak, a bobber variant. This motorcycle comes with a host of enhancements over the other two. For example, the swingarm is similar to the ‘swing cage’ unit in the Triumph Bonneville Bobber. It also gets proper bobber-like styling complete with a hardtail look (the rear gets a monoshock hidden under the seat) and minimalistic bodywork. The engine is bigger too, at 334cc. The DOHC, liquid-cooled powerplant churns out 30.4PS and 31Nm. It also features a rear disc along with dual-channel ABS. The spoke wheels are shod with Pirelli tyres for superior grip. Due to its inherent design (single seat, low handlebars), expect the Perak to be less comfortable than the standard version. With all these features, the motorcycle is expected to offer pretty good value, at Rs 1.89 lakh- (all ex-showroom Delhi). However, Jawa says the bike’s arrival in the market is still some time away. We expect it to be launched by the first half of of 2019.

Dealerships, booking and delivery:

Jawa will start opening dealerships from December 5, but bookings have already commenced. One can book online through their official website by paying a token amount of Rs 5,000. In the first phase- the brand has plans of opening 105 dealerships across the country, which is pretty commendable for a company that’s just starting up its operations in India. Jawa says deliveries will commence from the first quarter of next year.

Powertrain & Underpinnings:

The standard Jawa and the Jawa 42 produce 27PS of power and 28Nm of torque. The engine is future emission-compliant too since it’s built on a BS-VI-ready platform. Jawa says it has been tuned for a flat torque curve and a “generous mid-range”.  Transfering all that power is a 6-speed gearbox, which should let you cruise at high speeds comfortably. For the Perak, apart from the aforementioned power and torque figures, Jawa has kept the details under wraps.

The Jawa 42 and the standard model employ telescopic front forks and twin gas-charged shock absorbers at the rear. They come to a halt using a 280mm front disc and a 153mm rear drum, with single-channel ABS. Jawa has chosen this setup presumably to keep the cost low. Interestingly, the two bikes have a very low kerb weight of just 170kg. This should make them sprightly to ride. The front end in the two bikes gets an 18-inch spoke wheel while the rear is a 17-incher. They are wrapped with MRF Nylogrip Zapper tyres..

Competition:

The Jawa primarily rivals the Royal Enfield Bullet and Classic 350. They both have simple engines with lower power figures. However, the brand enjoys healthy presence in the country both in terms of popularity and dealership and service reach. Not to mention company-organised rides which enhances the overall experience with the motorcycle.

Other non-retro competition in the segment include the UM Renegade Commando and Sports S, and Bajaj Dominar 400.