[PISTONS]

Plan is very simple, revive the old classics with modern tech and make them available at a reasonable price. This way, Mahindra need not to establish them selves as a great 2 wheeler manufacturer. That's the reason, Mahindra has acquired an organisation called 'Classic Legends Pvt Ltd'. The objective here is to own the erstwhile legends.

My expectation will be:
BSA - Targets the Bonneville and Scramblers
JAWA - Targets the RE lineup (As it did to a certain extent in it's first spell)

This is purely my thought.

[ku69rd]

Jawa still has an interesting line-up in their kitty. Not too sure if the 2 strokers will meet the emission norms in India. Since they are on sale in UK, think they might be good enough. However their 660 CC single does give a good picture as a tourer.

More details can be had on this link below.

http://www.jawamotorcycles.co.uk/models.html

[The Great]

Originally Posted by PISTONS

Plan is very simple, revive the old classics with modern tech and make them available at a reasonable price.
This is purely my thought.

Yamaha did exactly that with the RX 100 and gave us the Crux

It wont work in my opinion considering that Mahindra is yet to establish itself let alone compete with anyone.

[vinit.merchant]

What is all the hoopla about? Even if they do manage to bring out an identical Jawa, the charm of the Jawa/Yezdi roadking was in that way it drove and how its engine responded.

With the 2 stroke engines not possible, the charm is gone. It had other unique things too, like the brake lever also worked as the kick, but lets not get into the nitty-gritties.

IMHO, they should not name, whatever they bring in after 2 years, as Jawa. Let the legend be. Name it something else.

[navin_v8]

Looks like Mahindra two wheelers is serious in reviving their division. First it acquired Peugeot then BSA and now are bringing Jawa to India. The latter two brands will have an instant recollect and brand recall in the minds of enthusiasts and people who have ridden them sometime back in their lives in India. The retro classic market all over the world as well as in India is heating up. Among the current Jawa models, the Jawa 350 Retro is what has caught my eye.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by The Great

It wont work in my opinion considering that Mahindra is yet to establish itself let alone compete with anyone.

Suppose, M&M will never mention about themselves anywhere in the product apart from a one line salutation somewhere down the product brochure. Am sure they will realize it will be a disaster to have their names alongside Jawa or BSA.

Down south, Jawa still has a good fan following and will not be surprised if the initial sales exceeds the manufacturer's expectations. However the long term plan will be something to watch about.
If priced well and technically sound, they can be a match to RE which is having a free run at this point in time.

[Shubhendra]

So they want to repeat Thar story in two wheeler segment? Courtsey Mr Behram Dhabhar Sir because of whose persuance they launched Thar which was made using existing parts bin. And now its selling more than Xylo, TUV, KUV etc.
They must have spent crores of rupees for the development of such new products but what went for Thar is image/cult following of Jeep.
Its more about brand & packaging than the product. Jawa, BSA may be fiat & ambassdor after 15 years

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

What is all the hoopla about? Even if they do manage to bring out an identical Jawa, the charm of the Jawa/Yezdi roadking was in that way it drove and how its engine responded.

With the 2 stroke engines not possible, the charm is gone. It had other unique things too, like the brake lever also worked as the kick, but lets not get into the nitty-gritties.

IMHO, they should not name, whatever they bring in after 2 years, as Jawa. Let the legend be. Name it something else.

They can bring a different fun factor with a bigger engine to compensate for that awesome 2-stoke one.

If RE, with those quality standards, can sell like hot cakes then Jawa too has a good chance of making it big.

Knowing Mahindra, they might not change the branding and will stick to the name Jawa with bigger engines, most probably (and hopefully).

[payeng]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

It had other unique things too, like the brake lever also worked as the kick.

I think it was the gear lever and not the brake lever that doubled as the kick lever as well (on the Yezdi's, not sure of the Jawa models).

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by payeng

I think it was the gear lever and not the brake lever that doubled as the kick lever as well (on the Yezdi's, not sure of the Jawa models).

You are right. Sorry for the slip. Not sure how I typed that. A close friend has both, Jawa and roadking, and I rode the Jawa quite recently.

It indeed is the gear lever, not the brake lever as I initially quoted.

[Ameya Janvekar]

2-strokes with carburetors may be prohibited due to emission norms.

But 2-strokes with GDI marine engines are CARB ( Californai Air Board ) certified.

So that could be a way of having the 2-stroke character with major reduction in pollutions.

[ringoism]

Originally Posted by Ameya Janvekar

2-strokes with carburetors may be prohibited due to emission norms.But 2-strokes with GDI marine engines are CARB ( Californai Air Board ) certified.So that could be a way of having the 2-stroke charecter with major reduction in pollutions.

That would seem a great idea, though is should be remembered that some of those marine 2-stroke outboards can cost as much as a small house. A company called Orbital, I think, was once working on some kind of (maybe DI) system for 2-strokes that was very low-polluting. Even Bajaj had something they were working on probably ten years ago that looked very feasible / low cost, and I'm going to guess it was just the fact of 2-strokes generally falling out of fashion that killed the project more than the impossibility of making it work.

Anyway, I really don't think a Jawa could be a Jawa without a 2-stroke - I suppose these and the Yezdis did handle really well on-road, but the sound was to die for. As mentioned below, RX>crux and could add KB>4S/Boxer... the latter are certainly amongst the least desirable Indian bikes ever made, and it's hard to imagine how a 4S Jawa could be successfully pulled off.

-Eric

[Harshal.Bhosale]

Originally Posted by payeng

I think it was the gear lever and not the brake lever that doubled as the kick lever as well (on the Yezdi's, not sure of the Jawa models).

Newbie to older generation bikes here - how did this mechanism work really?

[vinair]

Talk about Mahindra and its clue less acquisitions, here's the list

Mahindra > Kinetic Motors > Uninspiring product line up, close to death

Mahindra > Peugeot Automobiles > Product plan yet to dawn, not sure if they have any plans for a India launch

Mahindra > SsangYong Motor Company > Another market dud, brand recall 'zero'

Mahindra > Pininfarina > No one even knows what Mahindra is upto with the famous design house (KUV 300, Quanto are some of the classic examples of how not to design vehicles inspite of having a world famous design house under your belt!)

And now the BSA and Jawa brands!! Good god save the brands! Mahindra is here to wipe out even the slightest of memories of these icons!

[shankar.balan]

Here are a coupla pics of vintage Jawa bikes I saw at the Royal Automobile Museum in Amman, Jordan, a coupla months ago.
Lovely bikes. And those sidecars and accessories! Wow indeed!
Ideal Jawa limited, from the erstwhile Czechoslovakia...