Jawa the story of the untold legend began in 1929 when Frantisek Janecek bought out the Wanderer bike from the German motorcycle company Winklhofer. Incorporating his designs to the existing model Wanderer 500 the legend Jawa 500 was born. Jawa name came into existence by the amalgamation of the first two letters of Janecek and Wanderer. Jawa understood the importance of producing customer friendly and easy to use vehicle so they started launching Jawa 175,250,350 becoming one of the most popular motorcycles in Czechoslovakia. From there they did not have to look back and they started exporting Jawa’s to other parts of the world.
The legend entered the Indian market as a fully imported bike targeting all the age group who wanted a race worthy rugged bike which would never let them down. Its dual exhaust and chilling sound of the engine went on to become the trademark of the legend. Rustom Irani was the country agent for Jawa bikes in the Mumbai region. During 1950’s the government of India put a halt on importing vehicles from outside India, this is when Rustomji got the idea of starting his own plant to produce Jawa bikes by taking license from the Czech company as the bike has already been a run around hit due to its sturdiness, easy to handle, low body weight powered by an energetic 350cc engine. During 1961 a production plant was set up in Karnataka under the company name Ideal Jawa which was established by brothers Rustom Irani and Farrokh K Irani with the help of the Maharaja of the Mysore Jayachamaraja Wadiyar who himself was a huge fan of the Jawa bikes due to their overwhelming presence in the race tracks proving its metal.
Jawa was produced under the house of Ideal Jawa brand until their license deal with the Czech company expired which went on to the sprouting of the brand Yezdi which was a bike wholly produced by Ideal Jawa group with the technical assistance being provided by the Czech company. Yezdi got its name from a village in Iran named Yazd which was the native place of Farrokh Irani’s forefathers. The name was given as homage to his forefathers.
As we know what goes up should come down until and unless you keep on reinventing your product and we are not foreign to the fact that our country has been least interested in investing in research and development. During 1980s government allowed foreign companies to come into India and get into tie-ups with Indian firm which saw two-wheeler giants like Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha coming into the picture. Jawa started losing its supremacy to sleek, stylish and fuel efficient bikes. From a lion share of 28.8% of the two-wheeler segment, Jawa saw a steep decline to 5.04% by 1987. As the number of the vehicle produced in the Mysore plant reduced the cost of production of per vehicle increased rapidly and ultimately the company shut down during the 1990s.Something surprising was awaiting Jawa which only a few companies get an opportunity to see. Even after the bike went out of production there was a huge following for the bike which led to the formation of various Jawa and Yezdi motor clubs and an increased demand for the bike in the second-hand market.
Old habits die hard! Putting a huge bet on the brand loyalty and love of the people towards the brand Jawa, classic legends owned by Anand Mahindra of Mahindra group who would be using his wide network of Mahindra to provide a base for classic legends, Anupam Thareja who was a key player during reinventing Royal Enfield in India and Boman Rustom Irani whose is the chairman and MD of Rustomjee group whose father was one of the founders of Ideal Jawa who introduced Jawa and Yezdi to our country. Classic legends have currently launched two models Jawa and Jawa 42 which will go under production by next year. The booking for the bikes has been already started and the market is responding in an enthusiastic manner. The new Jawa is an exact replica of the old Jawa 350 so as to satisfy the loyal customer base awaiting their beloved buddy Jawa. The new Jawa and Jawa 42 comes with a 300cc engine which was basically the engine used in Mahindra Mojo but the engine has gone under lots of changes. The bike is also equipped with new units such as disc brake and quick start which are expected in the new age bikes.
Till now Royal Enfield enjoyed an undisputed leadership in retro bike segment with the cult following of customers towards its brand. The motorcycle market in India is going to get heated up and the heat would be mostly faced by Royal Enfield as Jawa gives a head on head competition in this premium niche segment. Now the question remains is how will Jawa perform in the market and on the road will the legend lives up to its glory, only time can tell us the truth.
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