Two Bobbers From The House Of Jawa Go Head-to-Head On Paper

Two attractive bobbers – Perak and the 42 Bobber – both from the house of Jawa. One retro in outlook, the other modern in approach, but both are powered by the same heart and share underpinnings too. Sure, choosing between them is a matter of the heart, but a rational mind would want to know, are they all that apart in terms of performance? Let’s find out:

Acceleration 

Jawa has reworked the fuel mapping of the 334cc liquid-cooled engine (originally used in the Perak) for the 42 Bobber and thus, the motor is more tractable in the newest kid than in the Perak.

Off the line acceleration is spunky and there’s even an enjoyable kick at the rear wheel. But the tall torque curve and peaky nature of the engine means 60kmph comes in quickly, but getting to higher speeds from there on takes longer and longer.

But, it must be noted that our road-tester who extracted these performance numbers from the Perak weighed around 80-85kg. I tested the 42 Bobber, and weigh around 65kg, hence expect the performance between the two bikes to be pretty similar if ridden back to back.

Roll-on acceleration

Once again the new fuel mapping on the 42 Bobber does help matters, specifically slow-speed city jaunts. While the engine pulls through well, rolling on the gas at low RPMs will have the engine shudder a bit before getting to work. Yes, the difference between the two is yet again marginal, but the work involved in extracting the performance is significantly less cumbersome.

Braking

It must be said that the Continental ABS system on the Jawa 42 Perak is truly refined, at least the front. I find ABS kickbacks at the lever annoying and in hairy moments, a little nerve-racking. On the Jawas the front lever feels progressive and the kickback is mild.

Hence under panic braking, you’re only focused on shedding speed and not wrestling the lever. The kickback on the rear brake pedal is more prominent in comparison though. Overall, not the sharpest brakes out there but they’re sufficient for the motorcycle’s use case and performance.   

Fuel Efficiency

While the Perak returned a slightly better fuel efficiency in our city-FE test than the 42 Bobber, you can expect roughly similar numbers from both bikes in the real world. While testing the 42 Bobber we faced heavier traffic conditions than in 2021 when we tested the Perak. The Perak returned a highway fuel efficiency of 30.79kmpl last year and the 42 Bobber too should be in the same ballpark. 

Verdict  

Honestly, this isn’t a decision we can truly help you with because picking one over the other is an extremely subjective choice. Both have a certain charm but neither are without flaws. If you love one that is a true-to-retro theme then the Perak should make sense to you despite its lack of features and cramped rider triangle.

But, if you’re simply into Bobbers and want something modern at the same time, the 42 Bobber will call out to you more. Good thing is that, the numbers check out and both are nearly the same out in the real world.