Jawa Engine Exhaust Note Revealed

The Jawa twins have been the flavour of the season and the good news is that we are riding them as you read this. While at the moment we cannot give out our opinion on any of the bikes’ aspects (thanks, embargo), here is a video clip of the exhaust note for your viewing pleasure.

The new Jawa motorcycles have been recreated to look as similar to the original motorcycles as possible. Attention to detail is apparent in the beautifully crafted liquid-cooled four-stroke motor that has been designed to look like an old-school air-cooled two-stroke Jawa engine. Underneath the retro garb is a modern bike with modern underpinnings and a 300cc motor that is good for 27PS.

Now try as you may, four-stroke motors will never sound like two-stroke engines. We recently rode the old 1967 Jawa model 353/04 which has a slow, slightly metallic idle that turns throaty when you rev it. In comparison, the new Jawa has a flatter, fast paced, bassy exhaust note. The new Jawa though has a trick up its sleeve. It gets adjustable DB killers close to the tip of its twin exhausts. You have two grooves between which the DB killers sit. Want a throatier exhaust note? Simply push the DB killers inside. This procedure does require a simple tool and can be done by yourself or your friendly neighborhood mechanic. 

While the earlier Jawas made around 12PS of power, the new Jawa makes more than twice of that at 27.3PS along with 28Nm of torque. You do not get the old Jawa’s famed gear cum kick start lever, but instead, there’s a modern thumb starter and 6-speed gearbox. Then you have more modern suspension in the form of telescopic front forks and rear twin gas charged shock absorbers. Braking too receives a modern touch and instead of the drum brakes on the earlier Jawa, you get a 280mm front disc and 153mm rear drum brake with single-channel ABS.

So essentially you are getting a modern bike that looks like a yesteryears classic. We have ridden the Jawa and Jawa Forty Two. Stay tuned for our first ride review on Friday afternoon and let us know what you think of the exhaust note in the comments below.