[balajisb]

No Doubt Jawa bikes are good but they still seem to lack the maturity of a seasoned bike seller.

They seem to start well but stutter as they go. Expanding dealer networks in a short time was appreciable but at the same time the staff of these dealerships had no idea about the bikes or what they were selling.

Many places they got premium real estate next to RE where enthusiasts could actually try out contenders, but because of callous nature of dealerships and lack of passion they are losing out.

Also the new to be delivered Jawas are driven like crazy by the dealers before delivery.

Lets not forget REs had there niggles too not too long ago but they corrected and listened to the customers and more importantly they hired some passionate people for their dealerships.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by katsumoto

5. Didn't sound the way it expected (We would have had some nostalgia of the 2 stroke sound being sexy. But that was from different era altogether. But We just carried that waning sexy-ness in our mind. Come back to 2018, It wasn't sexy anymore)

Exactly my view too. New Jawa brought customers footfall to showroom expecting that old sound but what they heard was no sound rather some sound similar to Bajaj V15 type. So the product disappointed straight away there. Had it sounded like yesteryear Jawa and Yezdi it would've succeeded and sold like hot cakes. Classic legends should look at RE. RE is now selling OE exhausts too!
As someone in tbhp-Jawa thread quoted "Jawas/Yezdis were driven by hero in movies of 1980s and RE was driven by vilian and his aides". Big missed opportunity for CL/M&M here.

[neil.jericho]

There is a basic 3 step premise used in management consulting - 1. Crawl 2. Walk 3. Run.

Classic Motors tried to steal the thunder from the then upcoming 650 twins and rushed to launch the Jawa motorcycles without having the basics in place. Rookie mistake and they havent recovered since then. Add to that poor demand supply forecasting (that led to loooooonnnnggg waiting periods unheard of in today's market), inept and arrogant dealers, a lackluster central team that doesnt take feedback from the mechanics in different cities, quality issues that dealerships have to fix themselves without support from the company and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

I remember going to the Jawa showroom in Cochin a couple of days after the bike was launched, it was jam packed and there was so much excitement in the air. Pre Covid, whenever I used to pass by the showroom, I used to notice that it was always empty. It takes a special something to squander so much goodwill and brand value this quickly in a relatively forgiving motorcycle market like India.

[car love]

I have some interesting (albeit terrible) experiences with new Jawa. When the thing was launched i went for a test ride near my place. I went there on my bike and asked about the bike and for a test ride etc. The sales rep said i will have to wait while the bike is getting "prepared". While i was waiting another customer came in a big car for the same inquiry. Immediately this same low life sales rep ran to him, offered him a seat, did all the explanations and gave him a test ride. And me?? Left high and dry. I complained to Jawa but they didn't care a damn. Asked me for my telephone number and then no news (This was my introduction to the brand).
Later on i realized much more serious issues.
1) Mahindra have no clue what they are doing. Just another dhanda. No creativity, no history of two wheeler production, nothing. Mahindra went two wheeler racing in Europe with double digit sales figures at home
2) It was a retrofit product made to look like an old Jawa. With that type of retrofitting comes very serious engineering problems which they could never address.
3) Made for midgets. Indians are not too big physically but still this was so tiny that even average Indian felt cramped on it. Im just 5.10 but felt like a giant on it.
3) Terribly long wait times. Six months was the norm. No body in this day and age has that amount of patience. Maybe for a Ferrari, nothing else.
4) Lousy fit and finish: I examined one in very close detail. The welds, plastics etc were of terrible quality but they were trying to hide all that under shiny paint and chrome. Doesnt work.
These are some of my observations, i guess there are many more..

[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by TwinAlco

The initial high waiting period coupled with lack of information certainly put off many buyers including me.

Currently my friend is looking for a Jawa, the showroom in Tirupati is quoting 15000 above ex-showroom price and justifying it on flimsy reasons.

Exactly, the thing with Jawa (in addition to the long waiting periods) is that they got too greedy too soon, thereby killing off the brand and the halo-effect before it could even be established.

With Royal Enfield, the feeling at least is that you are also buying the experience and joining a family. To give an example, there was a chat-shop here in Hyderabad, whose owner had a Bullet, and he used to give a 10% discount to all Bullet owners (just flash your keys, and he would waive off 10%)

If I ever had to choose between a Jawa and a Royal Enfield, my choice would be crystal clear.

[.HEM]

I have a Jawa 42 and a classic 350, both are from different league and both appeals to different set of customers. I still get the smile on my face when I ride my bull! It makes you feel like the king of the road on the other hand the JAWA gives you a feel of freedom and you can zip zap and zoom in the city traffic.

I have booked a Jawa Perak and was promised delivery in end March. I know the delay may be due to the COVID19, but something is not right when I still didn't get my Perak till now. Not everyone can wait wait for a bike this long that too in 2020. Even my Jawa 42 took 7 months to be delivered. When I took my Jawa 42 for service, I saw many new bikes covered in dust, I was told the business is slow and common colours are available in stock.

[TwinAlco]

Originally Posted by car love

3) Made for midgets. Indians are not too big physically but still this was so tiny that even average Indian felt cramped on it. Im just 5.10 but felt like a giant on it.

I am 6"3 and booked the Jawa because it was so smooth to ride. But cancelled seeing the inordinately long waiting period. Thankfully I cancelled my booking and the dealer told I will not receive a refund for a month! A mail to Jawa eventually speeded up things. But now after BS6 launch Jawa dealerships are mostly empty. The price has been jacked up a lot and there is not much dealership experience as well.

I realise for my height its difficult to get any bike which looks big other than RE. But the Jawa is seriously too small. It has a seat height lower than that of a scooty pep!

[landcruiser123]

Here's how I look at it:
1. Mahindra tried playing the emotional connect card and were dealing with the wrong deck
2. Most Jawa riders are either not riding now or are in the heavenly abode
3. What was the new tech in the bike?

As a twenty something year old, I've heard of Jawas in the same way I've heard of the Sir Viv Richards - i.e. I've heard some amazing tales, but have never seen them in action. So, there is no emotional connect. OTOH, I've seen REs right from childhood in cities and villages. They are symbolic village police/milkman vehicles.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Apart from the insanely high waiting period and playing the legacy card so much so they forgot that they had to deliver on that legacy too, IIRC there quite a few bikes that reported rusting issues on the motorcycle, around the gauges, the nuts that hold the front disk brakes and few other bits and bobs. And those articles got a LOT of press too. Definitely did not help them, when they wanted to portray being better build quality than RE.

Also, I think RE doing a stellar job with the 650 twins actually might have even given a killer blow for the Jawa people, I mean why would I (if I had booked the Jawa) want to wait for so long on a bike that so so tough to access even via showroom display/TD bikes and which had rust and QA issues cropping up and gaining traction in the media while RE seems to have upped their game with an all-new super good looking bike.

I mean it's a no brainer for me to chuck the Jawa booking and go for RE instead.

Cheers
Krishna

[maverickrider00]

It seems most of the comments on the product itself is coming from those who do not own the motorcycle. I own a Jawa 42 and my observation and experience riding it has nothing been that negative as far as the motorcycle itself is concerned. The engine is competent albeit not suitable as a cruiser engine. The build, besides the thin paint application, is surprisingly good. The bike has not stranded me ever so far with my 6000 kms in it. Yes, the seat is very bad and it is low especially so with the Main Stand. On any given day( or night) I would prefer a Jawa over an RE.

However, having said that, the parent company Classic Motors are responsible for letting down a good product. The delay in delivery allowed dealers to play God with the customers. In fact, I had the most unpleasant delivery experience of my Jawa 42 which I have shared before. Motorcycles allocated to someone were being sold to those who were ready to pay a premium. Why launch a product when it is not ready? It was exactly after 7 months and a week later that my Jawa42 was delivered to me though I had booked it on the same week of the motorcycle's launch.

Secondly, there was too much talk and less of action especially from Anupam Thareja. Sir, the only thing that worked for Jawa was your media blitzkrieg. Every new product has issues in its initial batches, every customer who wants it first is aware of that. However, the company that addresses these initial issues go on to learn from their mistakes and make it successful. The hard seat was reported in the Media Rides itself, Thareja promised but did not deliver. Same with the ugly wields. Its just been Thareja speak as far as Jawa bikes are concerned, no action. My front brake cable rubbed with the front mudguard causing an abrasion large enough to leave a dent in the mudguard. My dealer tried to locally fix it but the problem remains. I shot off a mail to customer care as advised by my dealer but Jawa India's response was to contact the dealer who had already given up on the problem. The sole meter fogs up and yet have not been changed yet. This disregard to the niggling issues of the initial Jawas is the most important factor for the decrease in sales of the Jawa bikes. We, the customers are the most important influencers and our experience with the motorcycle their best advertisement. Sadly for Jawa motorcycles, this has been their greatest weakness.

If Classic Motors is to reclaim their advantage of offering really competent retro motorcycles then they have to listen to their customers like RE. Treat their existing customers well, solve all niggling issues and ramp up their production instead of sponsoring some silly tv programs. They have a winner with Jawa Classic, Jawa 42 and Perak what needs to be addressed is their quality, availability and prompt service.

Off the topic, I am selling my Jawa 42 as I find that it does not suit my riding style. I prefer naked sportsbikes with stratospheric redlines rather then a sedate riding experience.

[laser2707]

When I was a kid all the cool guys rode a Jawa/Yezdi. Though not a bike enthusiast, I followed Jawa's rebirth in India with keen interest. Even followed the brand on IG. Thinking I might acquire one for weekend rides.

Then I read the about the delays in delivery, corrosion issues & Dealer attitude and patted myself for not falling prey.

Jawa's struggles are the result of Mahindra's flawed approach to acquiring brands. It is similar to a guy at an all you can eat buffet. They load up their plates with all the food on offer. Midway through the meal, they cant finish and end up wasting the food.

All their acquisitions have followed this trajectory. I give them credit for acquiring iconic brands like Jawa, Pininfarina, BSA etc. However they lack the vision to reimagine these brands for a new audience. In addition their incompetence in execution is appalling. Who will wait 6 months for their bike to be delivered? Come on guys we are paying with our hard earned money & deserve better.

[harishpr]

I'm one of the many customers who 'aspired' to buy Jawa, and ended up with RE Classic 350.
The brand pull from Jawa was much higher than RE, but the entire experience with the showroom (in Safine Plaze, Bangalore) and the vehicle range was highly disappointing.
Example: Me and my wife spent a good 20 mins in the showroom admiring their products and no one cared to attend us. Finally, a sales representative appeared and asked us which one do we plan to book? He didnt care to explain the range and left us within 2 minutes thinking we are window shoppers. As a parting note, he said the waiting period is 4-6 months and disappeared

The vehicle itself looked awesome with very good paint quality, but it didn't sound anything like Roadking
The seat seemed tad small for 2 adults and we weren't sure if its worth the trouble considering its our primary ride.

Mahindra invested in Jawa brand, but the product is an half-hearted attempt.

[Hamza123]

I also feel there was one other thing the Jawa really lacked. Sheer Road presence. Even today a well kept Classic Thunderbird or even Desert Storm turns heads but not a Jawa. Add to that there is that ordinary soundtrack and you have no drama neither visual nor audio. So important in retro bikes.
And as someone pointed out it’s so small. Heck when I sat on it I felt I have sat on my 3 year old newphews tricycle. It vanished under me! Eventually landed up buying a Thunderbird 500 probably one of the last few and I could not have been happier!

[kamilharis]

I would compare the JAWA with BS4 Harrier :

• Hurried/Unplanned launch
• Half baked beta product
• Poor welds/gaps issues with first batch
• Issues with service centers
• Pricing
• Way how the customers were treated

Let's hope that JAWA will work on it and give us a v2, just like the Harrier BS6.

[Biker Ram]

Even if Jawa had managed to avoid the disaster somehow and managed to get a smoother start, I wonder how they would have fared in the longer run. Their aim was clearly to target the modern classics or the retro bikes, in other words RE Classic series. I don't know if the Jawa bikes are well engineered or not, or how they compare in quality to RE but their blitz and marketing was concerned only about resurrecting the 'legendary' brand and give comptetion to RE.

RE is miles ahead when it comes to engaging the bikers and the biking community in general. The number of rides they organize directly by the company or via the dealerships, model specific events, and big events like Rider Mania have huge fan following. They don't stop at selling the bikes, but encourage riders to ride more which in turn brings them tangible and intangible benefits. In my opinion that's also very good for the overall biking culture in general. I have not seen any other bike manufacturer give so much push to riding as does RE. So, even if Jawa had succeeded initially I think they would have come nowhere close to their dream of being a legend.