Mahindra & Mahindra has taken a leaf out of its commercial vehicle rival Eicher Motors and brought back to life one of India’s most loved motorcycles – the Jawa, also known as Yezdi.
It launched two models today — a classic that closely resembles the original Jawa of the 1960s and 70s, and a ’42’ model, that is a slightly more modern take on the original.
The classic model, which will simply be called JAWA, will be priced at Rs 1.66 lakh in Delhi, before RTO levies.
The classic Jawa, said the company, maintains all the key ratios of the original model, including the slightly lower seating position that set it apart from other retro bikes such as those from Royal Enfield.
The modern variant, called 42, will be priced at Rs 1.55 lakh.
The 42 model, which seems to be what the company plans on selling in higher numbers, also maintains the key ratios and triangles, but has some ‘updates’ on the original design.
The design, the company pointed out, is what made the bike more stable compared to many of its competitors, while giving it a distinctive look.
“We’ve worked a lot on the vehicle geometry, and the motorcyclists among you are not going to be disappointed” said Ashish Joshi, CEO of the new company Classic Legends. “It handles beautifully. It takes what you can throw at it.”
“The 42 is edgier. We wanted the 42 to be more relevant in today’s times. It has a different seating position, a different handle, different handling, and it’s got colors and cues that are different.”
The 42 also comes with an offset speedometer and bar-end mirrors.
“One is a pure classic, while the other one is a fantasy for classic: It is what you’d expect a classic to be, yet has all the modern touches,” said Joshi, who quit his job at Triumph Motorcycles to join the new firm.The bikes are powered by a 293cc twin-cam liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine that outputs 27 BHP, compared to about 20 BHP for Royal Enfield Classic 350.
The front tyres are 18 inches in diameter and have a width and height of 9 cm each, while the back tyres are bigger at 19 inches and a width of 11 cm and height of 9 cm.
These tyre dimensions are 1 inch smaller compared to the Bullet, but the back tyre is wider.
