Tribute to the Jawa Yezdi

[S_patrick]

Hey everyone,
Starting this thread as a tribute to the men who built these bikes we love and to the ones who keep the spirit of these bikes alive!

Growing up, i remember seeing Yezdi, and Ideal Jawa t-shirts, key chains everywhere.... wondered what this was about, until i could tell the difference between bikes... Loved the Roadking we had, just hated getting off it! My dad put in about 10 years, in the Roadking assembly line, my grandad in security after retiring from the army, and my uncle in sales/marketing, so it literally was Jawa/Yezdi everywhere!

'JAWA started commercial production of motorcycles in the year 1961 in technical colloboration with JAWA LIMITED of erstwhile Czechoslovakia and during the years 1961 to 1985 put up a good performance and achieved good profitability levels. The peak capacity utilisation was 85% with 36,000 vehicles on a capacity of 42,000 vehicles per annum. The collaboration agreement with JAWA of Czechoslovakia which, among other things ensured continuous availiability of technical knowledge from the said collaborator ended in 1968, by which time JAWA had established an in house expertise for achieving wholly indigenous manufacturing technology and also design of vehicles known under the brand name of "YEZDI".'

There have been many models of this brand before the company shut its doors in 1996.
Their various models included:

Jawa 250 Type 353/04 Kyvacka called 'A' Type
Jawa 50 Jet 'A' Series known as Pionyr in Czechoslavakia
Yezdi 60 Jet 'B' Series
Yezdi 250 'B' Type
Yezdi 250 Oilking (CB Points and Oil Pump) 'C' Type
Yezdi 250 Roadking (CB Points) 'C' Type
Yezdi D250 Classic 'D' Type
Yezdi 250 CL II 'D' Type
Yezdi B250 Deluxe 'D' Type
Yezdi 250 Deluxe 'D' Type
Yezdi 250 Roadking (CDI) 'C' Type
Yezdi 60 Colt
Yezdi 60 Colt Deluxe
Yezdi 175 (CB Points)
Yezdi 175 Deluxe (CDI)
Jawa / Yezdi 350 Twin Type 634
Yezdi 250 Monarch 'C' Type
Yezdi 250 Supersprint (never released)

The 'A', 'B', 'C' & 'D' Types are the model of Engine that particular bike has.

Models produced under YEZDI:

[sumathindra]

Oh you brought back some good memories of the bike when I was growing up and saw most of my uncles and family members owning Yezdi bikes! It used to be my dreab bike and have ridden them (pillion) and then later rode them as well. Almost a few years back one of my uncles parted ways with his well owned and maintained Yezdi Nice bikes.

[mayankk]

Oh yeah!!
My mama had one of these, I think it was the classic.
His heels were always dented on one shoe....
For all the jokes over the years about doodhwallas, Look at the pictures now, and tell me you wouldnt want to own one.
I havent laid eyes on a proper one in ages, and the pristine bikes in these pics looks delicious!

And what a name, "Yezdi"......hoochiemama!!


EDIT: The supersprint was featured in our very own "auto india", wasnt it?
a red one?

Lemme see if i can get an online picture/link.

RESPAWN: It was right here, on the forum.

[sourabhzen]

Yezdi was my first bike that I rode. In fact I learnt riding on a yezdi that too a 25 years young classic. I still love the sound of kickstarter it use to make while starting the engine. The same kickstarter will return to play the gearshift's role.

We never required horn in the hills of Nainital because of the loud engine noise it made. The engine had a everlasting leakage problem but it never gave up in the middle of the road.

Thanks Patrick for refreshing my memories!

[voodoochild]

Originally Posted by S_patrick

...My dad put in about 10 years, in the Roadking assembly line, my grandad in security after retiring from the army, and my uncle in sales/marketing, so it literally was Jawa/Yezdi everywhere!

Patrick, it would be an honour to us if you could post some of their experiences with Ideal Jawa on this thread.
Also, I'm sure you know of the International Jawa Day happening this Sunday, 8th July. Bangalore sure is a good place to be this weekend!!

Cheers,
Rahul

[F50]

I spent most of my childhood on Yezdi Classic. My uncle had two of these.
About 4 years back, the Yezdi bug bit me and I was hunting for one. I came across Roadkings going for as low as Rs.1700/- but family never entertained a bike.

Im currently looking for one, haven't started a thorough search...

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

I still love the sound of kickstarter it use to make while starting the engine.

Yep. And the sound that came after that was pure bliss. I cannot forget my uncle's Jawa in Ooty. You could literally hear the gear shifts and the climb/descent from a few kms away. Add to that the sound reverberating in the hills was just magical.

[S_patrick]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Oh yeah!!
My mama had one of these, I think it was the classic.
His heels were always dented on one shoe....

Lemme see if i can get an online picture/link.

RESPAWN: It was right here, on the forum.

Hey mayankk, lol yup, the steel heel and metal shoe tip on the left shoe :P

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

Yezdi was my first bike that I rode. In fact I learnt riding on a yezdi that too a 25 years young classic. I still love the sound of kickstarter it use to make while starting the engine. The same kickstarter will return to play the gearshift's role.

Heres something for you Sourabhzen

Originally Posted by voodoochild

Patrick, it would be an honour to us if you could post some of their experiences with Ideal Jawa on this thread.
Also, I'm sure you know of the International Jawa Day happening this Sunday, 8th July. Bangalore sure is a good place to be this weekend!!

Cheers,
Rahul

Yes Rahul, im aware of it Won't be in Bangalore tho, riding to Mysore, early tomorrow morning! 69' jawa and a 77' classic! Dads old friends organize it there.. well more about that coming up soon!!
Dads not in town, but there will be alot more stories coming up too!

Originally Posted by F50

I spent most of my childhood on Yezdi Classic. My uncle had two of these.
About 4 years back, the Yezdi bug bit me and I was hunting for one. I came across Roadkings going for as low as Rs.1700/- but family never entertained a bike.

Im currently looking for one, haven't started a thorough search...

Hey,
When i got my license, i hunted a roadking down and found one for 5000, my dad responded by laughing, and asking me who'll pay so much for a roadking.. lol
Its really nice to see the tradition brought back!!

[S_patrick]

The MYSORE JAWA YEZDI CLUB, organizes the international Jawa Yezdi day on the second Sunday of July every year... the Wilsons, a family closely associated with the Ideal Jawa factory, undertakes the events of the day and the club, including various rides and expeditions on their 'smokin barrels' ........!!!

Here are a few pics of my first Jawa day, back in 2009















World Record: First, Fastest over six continents Deepak Kamath (25) and G.H.Basavaraj (34) of Bangalore covered 42,038 km over six continents on their Yezdi Roadking motorcycle in an expedition called "The Yezdi Castrol Continental Ride". Their expedition began on 8th October 1994 and ended on 3rd Feb 1995. Though the total number of days was 119 days, the actual riding time was 47 days. Thus they became the first to circumnavigate the globe in the shortest period of time.
pic below: roadking









Mick Walker's European Racing Motorcycles - Mick Walker - Google Books
PAGE 35.

CZ CAFE RACER










didn't find the right helmet at the time :P

[wildsdi5530]

Any details about the 350? and pics please. I've seen one but was not sure if it was the real thing.
I had some great fun on a friend's roadking. once the kicker rod had broken and 3 of us were stuck. we started the bike in 4th by pushing it and then everyone would get on and it pulled from stop with 200 kg payload in 4th gear. that's when I became a fan.

[sourabhzen]

Thanks again Patrick!

I am totally amazed to see the number of people participating in the event.

We had two defunct classics with colorful graffiti parked in our college lawns. Wonder if they are still there. Initially they were rotting in the parking lot of out hostel. Me an my friends took them to terrace on 2nd floor and parked them outside our rooms to have them displayed. Will dig out the pictures and post them here.

[anjan_c2007]

A nice thread for nostalgia to come alive. Its soothing to see so many enthusiasts with their machines in the pictures.
The bike has ruled our roads for a long, long time. Simple engineering, ruggedness and dependability were all hallmarks of Jawas and Yezdi bikes. Most of all,the bike maker is remembered for the Jawa 250 and the Yezdi 250 Classic.
I am also posting a Yezdi 175 advertisement from the late 1980's with some aesthetic graphics. The later graphics on Yezdis were not very aesthetic however!

Attachment 952804





The two pictures above are of a mid 1960's Jawa with its original speedometer.

Some more pictures below from my albums

[theexperthand]

Thank you for this thread, Patric. Lot of nostalgic memories. Could you tell me what model is the bike with the no '13' ?

The pic: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...i-100_0746.jpg

[roughseas]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Thank you for this thread, Patric. Lot of nostalgic memories. Could you tell me what model is the bike with the no '13' ?

The pic: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...i-100_0746.jpg

Looks like the 350 twin sport.

[voodoochild]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Thank you for this thread, Patric. Lot of nostalgic memories. Could you tell me what model is the bike with the no '13' ?

The pic: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...i-100_0746.jpg

That would be a Jawa 638