At a time when rumours were floating on the Internet that the rebirth of the legendary Jawa motorcycles will take place only by the end of this fiscal, Mahindra surprised the Indian automobile world by recently flashing the unveiling date as 15 November.
So, with just around 20 more days remaining, the brand also gave another surprise a few days ago by unwrapping the new engine that’s going to power the bike. The sweetest part is Mahindra’s claim that the new engine will sound very similar to the twin-cylinder two stroke engine of the yesteryear Jawas.
Jawa is a motorcycle manufacturer based out of Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1929, the brand became popular in the 1950s and the motorcycles were exported to over 120 countries with India being one of its prime markets.
Mysore-based Ideal Jawa India Ltd licensed the brand’s motorcycles and began their sale in 1960. Although these motorcycles were a success in India in their time, they couldn’t cope up with the increasing regulations on emissions with their large, two-stroke engines. Their inability to shift to less polluting engines ultimately lead to their demise in 1996.
While Royal Enfields filled their void with continuous production even to this date, what was missing was the adrenaline-pumping performance of the Jawas and Yezdis which had a top speed of 125 kmph even in that era. Coupled this with their unique cruiser stance, they are sought after by enthusiasts till today.
Royal Enfield being the only player in the lifestyle segment is selling over 50,000 units of its Classic 350 alone every month. Getting to know about the huge potential this segment has on offer, Mahindra Group completely bought Jawa as well as BSA last year.
The brand, via Classic Legends, signed an exclusive brand licensing agreement with Jawa. With Classic Legends already holding all stakes in BSA, Mahindra got all the rights to use these two brands. Now, after a year, Mahindra is just days away from launching the all-new Jawas.
The new engine, unveiled recently, has the exact design of the old two stroke one. The twin exhaust, the crank case, the engine head, the hump behind the engine are just carbon copies of the old unit. But what should be noted is that both the engines are poles apart inside.
The new engine is a derivative of Mahindra’s 300 cc engine thats powering its flagship bike Mojo. On the Jawa, it displaces 293 cc with fuel injection and DOHC setup.
According to Mahindra, this new engine produces 27 bhp of peak power and 28 Nm of maximum torque.
For reference, Mojos 295 cc liquid cooled DOHC engine churns out 27 bhp of power and 30 Nm of torque. The motor has been tuned to produce generous mid-range along with a flat torque curve. This will help in providing consistent power delivery.
Another interesting aspect to note is that the Jawas will be launched in three variants. In a recent interview to a newspaper, Classic Legends founder Anupam Thareja, said, “We had two options: you start from the point where it ended. Or start where it would have gone had it not ended at the time. From a design POV, its got that golden ratio that transcends time. With the lines you can recognise it’s a Jawa.”
So, for sure, all the three variants will have the essence of Jawa but we have to wait a few more days to get the first sight.
SUPPORT FOR OLDER CLUBS
Even after Jawas demise in 1996, even to this date there are over 10,000 Jawas and Yezdis on the roads maintained by 54 Jawa biker clubs. Classic Legends founder Anupam Thareja told a newspaper, “We’ve begun to talk to them and understand what Jawa stands for. We are not supporting them monetarily as of now, but have done a lot to get more bikes on the road. Thats part of the authenticity chain.”
WHY IT IS UNIQUE
One of the reasons why Jawas are famous even now is that they are different from the rest of the motorcycles. Their build, design and operation is totally different from the rest of the motorbikes. For example, unlike other motorcycles, in Jawas there is only one rod which acts as both kick-starter as well as gear lever. While other bikes have one-down-three-up gear-shift pattern, Jawas have the exact opposite. Thirdly, unlike other bikes, the front and rear wheels of a Jawa motorcycle can be interchanged during emergencies. The list goes on.