The Clash Of The Classics

The Relaunched Iconic Jawa Motorcycle Brand Is Pitted Against Another Legend, The Royal Enfield, In A Battle For The Premium Motorcycle Segment In The World’S Largest Two-Wheeler Market.

- Jui Mukherjee And T. Surendar

Bikers have never been so spoilt for choice in India. Over the past few years, some of the world’s coolest bikes from the iconic Harley-Davidson to the Kawasaki Ninja have rolled into the market, pumping adrenaline junkies with excitement over the rev of an engine and the thrill of speed.

In November, bikers across the country felt a similar rush. The reason: Royal Enfield, a classic U.K. brand now manufactured by India’s Eicher Motors, launched two new models after four years. A day later, Classic Legends, part-owned by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), revived the old Czech brand, the Jawa, in the country after nearly five decades.

TWO CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE brands in two days. Bikers in India couldn’t keep calm. But with competition in the world’s biggest two-wheeler market heating up, motorcycle manufacturers are revving up to grab a larger slice of the pie. Both Eicher Motors and Mahindra are pitted against each other in the race for the premium motorcycle segment in the two-wheeler market of 20 million a year. It’s almost like a clash of the classics: Both the Jawa and the Bullet have a great deal of nostalgia attached to them. Who can forget Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna riding the much-loved Jawa motorcycle in the 1977 hit, Parvarish? And many young Indians still tear up as they remember the Bullet as the bike of their fathers. “Nostalgia is always a big draw in motorcycling. The Triumphs and the Harley-Davidsons of the world have shown that there are enough customers if the motorcycles are refreshed to sport modern technology,” says Adil Jal Darukhanawala, editor, Fast Bikes India, a popular magazine.