[condor]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

... but I do not see any problem if they want to enter the market as a lifestyle product.

+1.

Lifestyle product is fine. Will be interesting to see how M&M will do this - both technically & with the brand name. They need a good product to be seen more in the 2-wheeler market.

I just hope they dont do a Datsun (using a old name on some crap models ).

[payeng]

My 2 Paise:

One can't design / conceive / come up with an Lifestyle Motorcycle... if he isn't Mad about Bikes / Doesn't ride bikes.

I hope everyone gets the drift.

[Sawyer]

The question is whether it will be a large enough space under the sun to be commercially viable.

[silvr]

may be mahindra should consider bringing all these brand's best and should start with the Django scoot from peugeot, that thing IMHO is a serious vespa killer.

[adidac369]

Saw this sometime back. Its an HD motor in a Jawa replica body.

[adidac369]

Originally Posted by silvr

may be mahindra should consider bringing all these brand's best and should start with the Django scoot from peugeot, that thing IMHO is a serious vespa killer.

Can't say if the styling will be a huge hit with the masses, it looks kinda interesting. Plus i dont know if the brand has any recall value(with the masses). But Mahindra needs to think of something soon if they want to be in the game.

[silvr]

Originally Posted by adidac369

Can't say if the styling will be a huge hit with the masses, it looks kinda interesting. Plus i dont know if the brand has any recall value(with the masses). But Mahindra needs to think of something soon if they want to be in the game.

though from a different brand, it exudes lambretta from all angles, add to that period specific dual tone body panels. the single seat version with a carriage is all a pillion hater would need

[adidac369]

Yes, the rear treatment is very Lambretta/Vijay super(ish). It is indeed in the Vespa space, but not sure if i agree with it being a Vespa killer(Mahindras are just not selling, even with decent products). But who knows?
OT: Honda could try launching a retro style scooter under a limited edition offer. Or maybe a Maxi Scooter.

[praveen_sathaye]

Originally Posted by payeng

My 2 Paise:

One can't design / conceive / come up with an Lifestyle Motorcycle... if he isn't Mad about Bikes / Doesn't ride bikes.

I hope everyone gets the drift.

Exactly the Reason why the Team which is working on this Project is Very Critical. Rumour is that they have the Best of Senior Brains working on this. People who have resurrected one such brand in the 80's and 90's.

Originally Posted by condor

+1.

Lifestyle product is fine. Will be interesting to see how M&M will do this - both technically & with the brand name. They need a good product to be seen more in the 2-wheeler market.

I just hope they dont do a Datsun (using a old name on some crap models ).

In fact you will be Quite Surprised that Datsun is Commercially a Bigger Success Than Nissan. In India where the people hardly knew about the Heritage of Datsun and the reason why Nissan created a Sub Brand it actually sold like anything employing cheap technology and offering Value For Money in a Low Price Easy to Use Car. The Datsun in India may not be remotely close to what Datsuns used to be but its doing the job for Nissan India. Something which The Sunny or Micra could not do.

However Jawa is a very well known Brand and people will NOT accept a sub standard product in case it's launched under this name. If not by performance at least by styling the product has to be world class.

Also i don't think Mahindra will use its own name anywhere here and encash on the Original Names stating that the Legend has been born again...

Originally Posted by ashis89

The very first thing Mahindra should do is invest in R&D and strive to make good products from scratch (like the Mojo).

I think they have started work on this in their Pune R&D centre. First thing they are doing is procuring competition bikes and seeing what sells. That will help them set a benchmark as a target and then plan something way above it. I hope they employ a better designer than the one who designed the Mojo..

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[payeng]

Originally Posted by praveen_sathaye

Rumour is that they have the Best of Senior Brains working on this.

People who have resurrected one such brand in the 80's and 90's.

Triumph had a resurrection in the 90s.

[hangover]

Mahindra probably saw a power point presented by McKinsey about where wheels are used. Then grandfather M must have said - let's get into all those vehicle segments.

So they own (in addition to those that we know of) a prop. based two seater plane company in Australia.
They also own a motor boat company somewhere.

Someone mentioned premier automobiles, PAL. That was originally conceived by Sir Vishweshwariah when he was the Diwan of Mysore.

Post retirement (1910) from the govt. he travelled to the US as the Mysore Diwan, met ford and Chrysler to talk automobiles.

Finance was to have been arranged by Bombay merchants. They got cold feet at the last moment.

So Sir V decided to make planes. He collaborated with Walchand and established HAL to make planes.
Oddly V's name is not mentioned when one talks of HAL.
The original car company plans were later dusted off and the Joshi family set up PAL.

This information above is from Sir V's book - my work and life.

All his known photographs are what is called candid photos. He states that he was camera shy and always stood behind the tallest person in any group photos.

I owned a 69 jawa and a 88 road king. I restored both to almost showroom condition. The 69 however was an awful bike. It was underpowered and all riders developed powerful left leg muscles within a month of owning one.

The road king was a work of art. The short stroke meant it could outbeat any RX 100 in first gear take offs at signals. I have run it on kerosene and coconut oil in certain situations, mainly financial. I also rode it a whole month without the gear cable.

If you slot it into first and hold the lever fully up with the upper back of your heel it is almost like depressing the actual clutch.

The story was that you could identify a roadking (or any jawa) owner by the grease stains on the left ankle of his trousers.

The 80's in bangalore had a lot of Irani students. The roadkings was a huge favourite of theirs.

[darklord]

Czech motorcycle brand Jawa has just launched a Jawa 350 OHC with a four-stroke engine that meets the Euro 4 emission norms, while retaining the iconic styling of its bikes from the 1970s.

2017 Jawa 350 Launched In Czech Republic

[hangover]

With all due respect to Mahindra, they aren't a Honda. M should stick to making their Scorpios and Thars top class.

Who would buy say, a TVS jeep?
No one.

These guys are getting OSD level obsessed with putting their logo on ALL vehicle categories. I think they own a boat and plane Co. too. Whatever happened to Rexton? Why not a mars explorer?

Why not make defense vehicles?
We could easily replace those 8 wheeled Tatras. How hard can it be really? One engine, one chassis, some camouflage paint.

Java's should be brought in only by a biking family. Original yezdi guy's perhaps. Or same pedigree.

[The_Mad_Hatter]

I'm pretty sure the bike pictured above has not been designed by Mahindra. Jawa is still a wholly Czech-owned company. Mahindra has signed a licensing deal to market motorcycles under the Jawa brand name in India, so in effect they'd be taking up where Yezdi left off.

[RSR]

A close look at the new 2017 Jawa 350 4-stroke:

https://youtu.be/rKAxzK4rhQ8

The exhaust note is nothing like that of the original 2-stroke Jawa that was also built in India. Nor is it as appealing as a Royal Enfield's unique 4-stroke exhaust note.

It doesn't matter! The bike looks like a worthy competitor to the Royal Enfields that have a free run in the modern retro segment. It's from a well-known and admired old brand, has that convincing retro look, a comfortable upright riding posture, plenty of chrome, twin exhaust pipes, modern bits & pieces, meets Euro 4 emission norms and even has ABS!

As a company, Mahindra 2-wheelers has miserably failed to compete against the "mainstream" brands like Hero, Honda, Bajaj, TVS, Suzuki, Yamaha etc. The only way for them is to target the "niche" segments.

Royal Enfield vs. Jawa in India in 2017 sounds just like the battle between the same pair half-a-century ago in 1967. Only difference is that the two (along with Rajdoot) were the mainstream back then. They can continue their retro battle in a niche segment now.

Bring in the new Jawas, I say!