If memory is right the reports back at the time of release mentioned that the motorcycle being an in-house project by Mahindra, where they built it from scratch.

Thanks to the recent updates on this thread, I found out that the Jawa showroom in Cochin had opened yesterday and having some spare time today, I decided to drop by to gauge public interest as well as to see the fit and finish of the motorcycles. I'll break my initial thoughts into different sections.


- Showroom aesthetics
The showroom is quite large and like in many other cities, is located very close to a large Royal Enfield showroom. In Cochin, it is located diagonally across the road from the company showroom of RE. While the showroom is spacious, the interiors come across as a RE lite edition rather than a standalone Jawa showroom. Its not exactly the same as a RE showroom but you kinda get a similar vibe.



- Staff and crowd management
There were a lot of walk ins today and enthusiasts of different age groups were excitedly checking out the motorcycles and patiently getting their pictures clicked. Conspicuous by their absence or participation were the Jawa showroom staff except for one gentleman who finally came up to the Jawa 42 and explained some features. He confirmed that the waiting period if you book now is 8 months. Maybe that's the reason the rest of the staff had absolutely no interest in the product or excited customers.


- Motorcycles on display
There were a total of 3 motorcycles on display in the showroom. One Jawa maroon, one nebula blue Jawa 42 and an old red Jawa.


- First impressions
As far as the nostalgia factor and the looks go, Mahindra has done an excellent job. The bikes look really good and for those looking for a retro motorcycle that is at least different from the rest of the pack (cough cough RE Classic 350 that has been sold in apparently 35 colours so far hint hint), then the Jawa motorcycles look to be a very good choice. The bikes seem to nearly the same except for the obvious differences in looks. On close inspection, I feel there are some areas that could do with improvement (listed below).

The exhausts do seem to be pretty low slung


The chrome finishing on the Jawa motorcycles is pretty odd. It isnt chromey enough (the wheel looks better finished!). The quality of the twin exhausts on the old Jawa bike in the showroom looked so much better. I was discussing the same with another gentleman who also agreed to this finding.


Gabriel shocks at the rear, just like the Royal Enfield 650 twins.


F-A-rty two???


Oh thank goodness, it says F-O-rty two on closer observation!! Look at the Jawa badging on the rear of the seat.


Pillion seat is small when two people are sitting on the bike. Nowhere to grab either.


Paint quality seems fine, I have my reservations on that set of gold stripes though.


Ugly welds.


Nice looking headlight. Notice the Jawa badging again.


That pinstripe doesnt seem to be perfectly aligned.


Meaty looking front end with Gabriel shocks.


MRF Zapper FS front tire in 90/90-18 size.


Bybre front brake.


Neatly finished.


In person, this looks odd with so many different colours and textures. The top plastic cover in grey with the Jawa logo is a different colour from the lower half of the fins which is also in grey. Similarly the chrome on the engine looks to be a different finish from the chrome on the exhausts. Its like different teams worked on it and just assembled the bike. The big black plastic piece below the seat look tacky.


Some not to great welding.


A closer look.


I like the paint quality on the tank, again the stripes arent top grade to my eyes.


Nicely finished headlight. No horn under it.


Matte black mirrors.


Switchgear is fine.

Im running into the 30 picture limit so more on the Jawa twins in the next post.

Continuing with my pictures of the Jawa twins.



- Final thoughts
After hearing so much about the quality of the pre-production motorcycles in other showrooms, I was prepared to be quite disappointed by the fit and finish of the motorcycles in the Cochin showroom. While there is definitely some area for improvement, so far so good. But, and this is the big but, Mahindra have made the mistake of rushing into the battle field without arming themselves with a finished product or a steady production line. They believed their own hype and thought the Jawa motorcycles could take on the RE 650 twins. 8 months waiting period for a motorcycle on the day after you open your showroom is a bullet (no pun intended) in the head from a business perspective.


While Mahindra's engineering division has done a good job (with more to be done to make the bike better), they have been let down monumentally by their own management. Mahindra has botched their way to where they are today. Maybe they will put up a bit of a challenge to Royal Enfield in sales figures in 2020. Right here, right now though, Mahindra will continue to remain the little prince who wanted to be the king.

Easily the most detailed and comprehensive review on this thread so far :thumbup:

I don't see any other way Mahindra/ Classic Legends with their limited resources (dealer network, could have gone ahead as far as their strategies are concerned even without factoring the sheer dominance RE commands in this segment. During the launch , they talked about expanding the market rather than challenge the current market leader and I certainly feel they have put the right baby steps in their journey.

Hi! ashwinprakas,

Greetings to you.
1. The Ideal Jawa, founded in 1960 by an Irani business family resident in India and helped by the King of Mysore.
The Indian Govt stopped import of motorcycles and imposed heavy duties on them.
The Indian company however, continued to locally manufacture the same JAWA models, same engines with in India, with license for the parent JAWA company in Czech Republic.
2. The CL is a company formed in OCT2016, by a successful financial expert in companies revival and turnaround. The M&M Mojo was 2 years plus in the market and had not done well in sales and reviews.
3. How come a company in less than two years 2017-15NOV2018, design from ground up a brand new engine, test it in-house, track and road conditions. No data is available on the design and engine details of the new 293cc engine!
4. Why is the engine badging as JAWA, original jawa since 1962!
5. Why Youtube Vlogers were threatened and abused when they gave their reviews on the new bike with observations on issues with engine heating, radiator fan disconnected,ABS, seating, chassis, mileage, sticker gold lining on the mudguards.
6. Listed price is on the high side for a 300cc, new model

Please, look at the Kawasaki W series, and the history of these bikes. The W800, did come to one showroom in Pune in 2016, but disappeared as it did not meet EU emission standards!
Kawasaki W800 reappeared in EICMA 2018 with euro IV standards.

The above views are mine and partly are the reasons to cancel my booking.

Kind regards,

Joe
Abu Dhabi, UAE

I think Engines Engineering was behind the Mojo project before they ran to Hero.

https://www.visordown.com/news/gener...-look-familiar

Excellent points!
To add more, even if we for now assume the Mojo engine is a perfect option, the engine does not maketh the bike. If it was, we'd be fans of Skoda and VW (to start with). I can think of many more reasons adding to what @joednazareth has given

- Dealerships are not yet setup entirely (still a WIP for most)
- Zero visibility and guarantee on sales and servicing capabilities
- Zero third party visibility on how reliable/durable is the bike (given the disclaimer of test bikes being not the final production rollout)
- Zero clarity on delivery dates and a realistic impact of the ABS based decision (clearly there can be zero trust on the dates they have indicated so far)
- And many more...

I'm actually just keeping the booking to see how far this charade continues.

Joe, you bring up some interesting points. The Mojo engine was tested across the length and breadth of the country before it was launched. Yes, the Mojo wasnt a commercial success but I think it was a decently competent product that was let down by its lack of ABS and smaller dealer network. Engine wise the Jawa twins should be fine though it will be interesting to see how the final production bikes have been tuned.

I was unaware of this and threw this into my Google machine but didnt find anything. Can you share some helpful links? Who was doing the threatening and abusing?


In fact, I think I read the opposite in some Youtube comments (important to note that no proof was provided and hence they are unsubstantiated rumours only) suggesting that Mahindra was encouraging Youtube reviewers to post biased positive reviews in exchange for ahem, financial remuneration.

Hi! Neil,
Greetings to you.
Link given below:
https://www.rushlane.com/jawa-dealer...-12292206.html




I have sent several suggestions regarding features that need to be addressed on the Jawa customer care page, but did not get any reply.
JAWA, as a motorcycle was easy to maintain using few basic tools. Did not need a battery to start, had a padlock option on the tipple tree, interchangeable front and rear wheels, unique features of the engine, sweet exhaust note are some of the crown jewels of those iconic bikes. bringing back the same iconic bike, without any one of them is a disappointment. I am viewing the above as a common man would, low maintenance, good average, rugged and reliable.

I do value your point of view.

Kind regards,
Joe

With reference to joednazareth's opinion, I have viewed both the YouTube videos. The first one about mileage is in heavy bumper to bumper traffic with no actual details of the test bike in use, the odometer reading, whether run in or new or the weight of the testers etc. Neither was it done over an extended range with the entire tankful being used. The mileage test at best was very cursory. The second video shows how the bike is uncomfortable for taller riders over 6 feet. It does time and again complain about the hardness of the seat. However, in the initial minutes it does praise the pick up and handling of the motorcycle.
The older features of the Jawa cannot be replicated because of certain Safety and Pollution norms . I have not seen the new Jawa but I can relate to the looks of the new with the old. Therefore, I request every one to reserve their final opinions about the motorcycle until it is exhaustively tested and ridden by themselves. Let's cut some slack to Mahindra and Classic Legends, they have attempted to revive the old and neither are they holding a gun to our heards forcing us to buy the bike. That's my two cents on this issue, I apologize if I have irked anyone with it. On a side note though, the delay in dealerships opening is still very irritating and will be the possible reasons for cancelling the bookings.

I have been closely following the Jawa 42 on this thread, on other forums, and on YouTube, I would like to ride one in the future and might book one in the next few weeks, 'my dad used to own one in the 70s' is one reason while the need for a comfortable bike to commute to office is the other. What I know about the bike after going through all the forums and videos is that it's not the Jawa that people used to know and love, it only resembles the Jawa of the old to a certain extent, that's about it. Most of the things that we associate with the old Jawa, the rumble, the interchangeable tires, and the other unique features are not there in the CLPL's Jawa, period.

It's a modern reiteration of Jawa with new chassis, new engine, modern-day fueling, ABS brakes and all that, you can say and we all have to agree that it lacks the soul of the old Jawa, there is no denying.

So, it's Jawa but not Jawa! Why I am interested in Jawa then? 1. My dad used own one in the 70s! and 2. I like it for what it really is now, it ticks all the boxes for me, Mojo's reliable engine (I believe it's Mojo's), good looks (subjective), good brakes, FI, commuter friendly riding triangle etc. I am in no hurry to buy it though, I will book one and play the waiting game because there are still grey areas and I would like to see how CLPL handles these. I believe there are more people like me who have booked/will be booking but will be on the fence and will decide once the initial batches are despatched.

Visited the Jawa Trivandrum showroom again today .

Couple of points.

- Jawa 42 dual channel ABS will cost approx Rs. 2.04 L on road is what the showroom guy mentioned. Single channel would cost approx Rs. 1.95 L.
- Service interval and other details are not available for them yet.
- Sat on 42 to get wifey's opinion on how it suits me. The bike looks a bit smallish and low slung. Took a photo and it does looks small for my frame. I am 5.7 and 80 kgs. I felt the overall size somewhat similar to an RX100 , excluding the bulk of Jawas.
- A tall (6ft) young chap was checking out the bike. There was a lot of gap between him and the fuel tank on a position comfortable for him. This cuts down on the space for pillion.
- Saw two guys (rider and pillion) sitting on the Jawa 42 with a body frame on the heavier side . They were not huge , but of an average heavy person. The seat length was not adequate .
- After going through Neil's review and on this second visit, the weld marks did look prominent .
- Test rides for jawa 42 have started . The one on display is what they are using for test rides.
- They are yet to set-up the accessories floor.

I am yet to test ride the bikes . Planning to do that in the coming weeks.

PS : Since I came to know from this thread that every one who visits a Jawa showroom , also pays a visit to RE showroom , to keep up with that tradition , I too visited RE showroom a k.m. or so from the Jawa showroom . Interceptor 650 does look awesome and huge compared to 42. One funny incident is that I asked the SA for a contact number. He said that he don't have a visiting card ready . So I offered my contact number so that they can contact me for any further follow-ups . The guy was not impressed and said , why should I contact you and gave his number for me to contact him

I request all those Team Bhpians who have seen the Jawas in flesh and test rode it answer a few direct questions in this thread.
1) Does the motorcycle look well build? How would you rate the build quality? Bajaj, Hero or Honda grade? Does it seem build to last?
2) How was the seating posture, engine response, brakes,ride and handling in your test ride experience? Better then the competition?
3) What is the brand of the OEMs ( Lights, Horns, Battery, FI unit, ABS unit etc)?
4) Did the showroom also allow a peek into the workshop area? What are the service intervals? Engine oil, brake oil, coolant brand and grade?
5) Would you as motorcycle enthusiast spend 2 Lakhs( approx) for the motorcycle? Is it worth it?
The answers to these questions would be really helpful for thousands like me who are yet to see the motorcycle in flesh.Team Bhp remains the only reliable source of information about the Jawas.

Visited the Secunderabad Jawa showroom (SV Automobiles) today, took the 42 for a test ride, so here are my first impressions:

Showroom itself isn't that big, they had 3 bikes on display, Jawa, 42 and the original Jawa Roadking. The overall showroom experience was good, SA was courteous and helpful.

Bike itself had some 990 KMs on the odo meter, felt like it's built to last, I guess this bike must be from the latest batch of 'pre-production' bikes, it had the proper pin striping, meter console was working properly, not much to complain about but ofcourse the dreaded welds! On the run, the power delivery was linear with enough grunt, open the throttle and it moved instantaneously, brakes were really good, with wide handlebars it was easy to flick the bike through city traffic, overall had all the qualities that I was looking for. Only thing that concerns me at this point is of course the AS$.

I was given a quote of 1.87 lakhs on road for the 42 and 1.97 lakhs on road for the Jawa. Before the test ride I was handed a form to fill up and after the test ride a feedback form was handed out. I guess CLPL is taking the feedback seriously, as per the SA, the final production version will be a little different, the seat for example, will be different, it will be longer. Colours are finalised and these will be what we will be getting, they have already had 300 bookings for the bikes in the last 20 days! Deliveries will start in April. Waiting period as of now is 6 to 8 months, and for dual channel ABS, which costs 10k more, we have to wait a bit more.

As per the SA, bookings for the Perak will start in November this year and deliveries will start in March next year!

The best part for me was, I felt at home with the bike, nothing to adjust, nothing to change, the 42 just felt right for me. Hopefully, I will be booking one in the next few days.

Jawa's official tweet on Booking Id sale.

Excerpt:

https://twitter.com/jawamotorcycles/...85728617512960