2019 Jawa Jawa & Forty-two

Our first taste of the two Jawa-branded motorcycles from Classic Legends is sweet and promising.

- Shubhabrata Marmar

Type Liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 293cc 4v DOHC single

Max power 27PS@~6,000rpm

Max torque 28Nm@4,750rpm

Fuel tank 14l

Seat height 765mm

Tyres 90/90-18, 120/80-17, tube-type MRF Nylogrip

Kerb weight 170kg

Suspension Telescopic forks, preload-adjustable gas-charged rear twin shocks

Brakes 280mm disc, 153mm drum. Front ABS only

Price 1.64 lakh (Jawa Jawa) 1.55 lakh (Jawa Forty-Two), ex-Delhi

OD Rating ****

(+)Design, feel, performance at moderate speeds

(-)No dual channel ABS, these aren’t production bikes!

The Jawa flagship motorcycle in India for now is the new Jawa. Yup. That forces me to call it the Jawa Jawa as opposed to the Jawa Forty-Two. But let’s not get stuck in the semantics. Because this is, for all intents and purposes, an all-new motorcycle, from an all-new company offering an all-new proposition.

That last bit perked you right up, eh? The Royal Enfield Classic 350 is a retro-styled bike to be sure. But it isn’t designed to unabashedly ape the lines of some storied old Enfield - it’s an interpretation. In contrast to that, the Jawa Jawa is shockingly close to the most iconic shape that we associate with the Czech brand’s motorcycles. It isn’t the exact same, but in silhouette, in proportion, in colour choices and in the choices of aggregates, Classic Legends has stuck very, very close to the old bike. That’s a new proposition.

Styling