Jawa By Mahindra?

Could this be the type of motorcycle Indian bike maker Mahindra 2Wheelers wants to make with the Jawa Road King model name? Noted Italian bike designer Oberdan Bezzi hints at such a possible direction...

- Adil Jal Darukhanawala

In the very first issue of Fast Bikes India magazine we had given the lowdown on the exciting brand name acquisitions by Mahindra of two hallowed names in motorcycling’s illustrious past. Of these two the British brand BSA was acquired outright and is in the midst of a strategic plan that would fructify hopefully in the manner of a Triumph reborn as John Bloor had done the trick.

However the second prong of the brand acquisition strategy was not to own but to licence yet another famous name that had even more resonance in India and that was the famous Czech motorcycle maker Jawa. Ever since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the blurring of boundaries reducing the Iron Curtain be one of the shining examples of glasnost as espoused by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Czech Republic has progressed magnificently but unfortunately its motorcycling legacy hasn’t benefitted from the perestroika that glasnost aimed to achieve. Jawa soldiered on and still does with ineffective machines using proprietary engines licenced by Japanese firms like Yamaha but built and supplied from China. A sad reflection of what was once a proud two-wheelers manufacturer with an all round portfolio that embraced mopeds, scooters, motorcycles and for some time cars as well.