[NikhilReddy]

Recently I bought Jawa Perak. The motorcycle is a beauty and drives like a charm. Rewind to 9 months, when I first saw Jawa Perak my initial impressions were it’s too low and may not be comfortable for a 6 feet guy. But Riding the test drive vehicle I felt it’s rather comfortable then the Royal Enfield classic. Jawa Perak is in its own sweet spot. Waited for Jan 1 2020 and booked the vehicle.

Fast forward 8 months. Took the delivery. My delivery experience in brief:

Good things:
-Allowed post delivery inspection.
-Bike was kept clean.
-The rep suggested that Teflon coating is not needed as it is Matt finished.
-Explained the details of the bike.
-Offered to fill the tank full on actual cost.
-Gave a free JAWA T-Shirt.
-Offered coffee.
-Showroom had sanitizers all round.

Not so good things:
- The staff was friendly but not professional.
- You will have to ask them for everything. They are not proactive. I had to ask them if someone can tell me where to sit and wait.
- Everyone is in some kind of hurry. Not sure what they are doing.
- They called me the very day the motorcycle arrived. No advance intimation.
- You can use your CC but they will charge 2% bank charges.

Strictly unacceptable things:
- Jawa bikes are beautiful. But Showroom is very shabby.
- They didn’t have user manual/service manual of Jawa Perak.
- Zero accessorise. The showroom didn’t have a crash guard.
- The knowledge of the sales representative is way below the mark.
- Two bikes, Jawa classic and Jawa 42 were in complete dust. I assumed that they didn’t bother to dust them.
- An email from Jawa mentioned and Rs. 1000/- voucher. But showroom had no idea. They promised once they get it they will give me.
- For couple of hours I was at the showroom, they had at least 3 walk-in’s but no attention to the prospective customers.

JAWA will have its own following away from the crowds. However Mahindra- Classic Legends have a lot of things to fix. Form Logistics to basic showroom operations to delivery to customer attention to customer service. Will I suggest someone to buy Jawa? I will.

[Samarth 619]

Even if they got everything right, it was hard to beat Royal Enfield. Mark my words, years later, even a proper effort from other manufacturers won't see RE getting significantly affected. Their entire cult and culture, the entire package is too hard to beat.

Take my own example, I have a soft corner for KTM because they helped me race on the Buddh International Circuit, G. Noida. This happened only twice. I stood 6th and 4th among 30 riders, making it a memory of a lifetime. It was just a trackday, not a competitive race though.
Now imagine what RE owners feel like... having been connected since ages now for events like Ladakh trips and all..

At best, most manufacturers can expect to get a 5-8% share of the classic/cruiser market now.
RE is, despite its defects and conflicts, still the elephant to beat in this market..

Jawa need not feel so bad if they figured out late, that they're just one in a huge list of those who were contenders... Harley Davidson, Bajaj Avenger/ Dominar (remember, "haathi mat paalo" advert?), Ducati Scrambler, Karizma, CBR 250R, etc.
All tried and maybe took some part of the same 5-8% share and enjoyed/are enjoying their share of success, despite not all being from the cruiser segment, and not even from the same era.


...except Jawa didn't give their best anyways.... Mahindra-Jawa could've given a better effort. I'm sure most will agree.

[W.A.G.7]

I think they messed up on two things.

1. They created a hype, and people paid up the booking amount expecting delivery in a month or so at the maximum. That did not happen. Deliveries were very delayed and people just lost interest in it and switched over to Royal Enfield.
2. Almost all of the reviews I have seen (mostly on YouTube, and also read somewhere) point out to one common complaint - the seats are not comfortable for long rides. There's very less cushioning. I think this one became a deal breaker for many folks. Even if they have spruced up the seats in the BS 6 version now, the damage is already done.

These are my thoughts - why they failed inspite of having a nicely designed motorcycle. I was speaking to my father last week and told him that the BS 6 version is launched now and he was not impressed. All he said was Royal Enfield, anyday!

[RaghavEvoX]

I am one among the many who booked the Jawa a few days after the booking commenced. My only buying reason was the brand name and the classic looks. After a 10 month wait with no idea of the confirmed delivery date, I cancelled the booking after the initial hype was lost and I did a test drive. The bike is no more than a commuter and does not really fit in the 2 lakh on-road pricing.

I always used to wonder why people buy RE in huge numbers despite it being a mediocre product with premium pricing. An RE friend of mine used to tell that RE bikes have a feel which no other bike in the segment can provide. Even though I could not experience any of that feel in a positive way, but probably that is true.

And Jawa in no way has any feel. It's a good looking commuter bike which is fine in the less than 1 lakh segment. But in this market segment, they should at least offer one solid reason for the buyer to buy it.

[AHAMMED SHA]

I was very much interested about Jawa Launch. I own a Bullet 500. Still I was interested in Jawa due to its classic looks and brand value. I visited the showroom at Trissur and had a test drive. Even though I am not a tall man, I didn't feel riding a classic bike. It was just another 150cc bike. The sound, the feel were not there. I agree that RE is of below par quality. But it has something to offer for a biker. I think Jawa doesn't have it and moreover the long waiting period also killed it.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

Jawa's downfall - Possible reasons:

1. Poor marketing
2. Nothing exciting
3. Same engine as their super flop Mahindra Mojo

I doubt if they ever launch their most pricey Perak.

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by Sasanka_Sanga

Jawa's downfall - Possible reasons:
1. Poor marketing 2. Nothing exciting 3. Same engine as their super flop Mahindra Mojo
I doubt if they ever launch their most pricey Perak.

This is incorrect. Marketing , Excitement and Mojo's beautiful engine were the 3 positive things which JAWA had. They could just not capitalize on it.

Perak has already been launched and we have BHPians who had bought it.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

This is incorrect. Marketing , Excitement and Mojo's beautiful engine were the 3 positive things which JAWA had. They could just not capitalize on it.

Perak has already been launched and we have BHPians who had bought it.

Thank you for correcting friend. I wasn't aware that Perak is already in the market.

My paternal uncle has Mojo and most of the time it runs into issues and we call it a troublesome machine.

[RoboCop13]

I was awed by Jawa 42 mostly because it kind of resembled Triumph Bonneville (my unaffordable dream bike) and booked one by paying 5k as soon as they showcased it. It was supposed to replace my 2013 RE Electra.

Cut to the chase, I’m still riding my ‘13 Electra and waiting for the refund of 5k from Classic Legends. They’re unresponsive even after multiple mails from my end.

Glad I didn’t sell my Electra after the initial hullabaloo of Jawa. 😇

[raghu.bramha]

Credits where it's due, M&M ventured out and tried to revive a classic, full marks to them for trying.

No slack for their approach though. Even back when Jawa bikes were sold, they were considered somewhat niche products, only for enthusiasts kind. So why bring it back and try to be mainstream product?!! AND GOD BLESS THEM ON THE WAY THEY WANTED TO CHALLENGE ROYAL ENFIELD. I know that feeling when kids complete their homework in a hurry and show them to their parents, feel proud about their efforts and little while later feel utterly devastated when their elder siblings steal the thunder. What M&M should have done was to place the bikes as modern classics, DELIVER THEM ON TIME, market them well, start out small, study the market response and then grow onto build a viable rapport.

Unfortunately, M&M's two wheeler adventures have always been great case study for poor business strategies, such a let down from a company doing so much better in four wheeler departments.

[gururajrv]

Bottomline:

M&M bites more than they can chew! A good learning. A lot of you have already spoken about their run for acquisitions and the results. I don't have much to add except for the fact - they failed miserably with a good brand they put to dust again.

It was more like waking up the dead, trying to insert a soul and then realizing they weren't good at giving the resurrected life and are now waiting for it to slowly die and hit the grave again!

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by NikhilReddy

Recently I bought Jawa Perak. The motorcycle is a beauty and drives like a charm. Rewind to 9 months, when I first saw Jawa Perak my initial impressions were it’s too low and may not be comfortable for a 6 feet guy. But Riding the test drive vehicle I felt it’s rather comfortable then the Royal Enfield classic.

Thanks for posting your purchase experience. We went for TD and had almost similar experience.
Like to hear your post sales aka drive experience. How is it going?

[aashishnb]

Off topic, should they start naming their Jawa bikes also ending with an 'O'. I guess that has been their lucky charm...

[avishar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Big part of the blame goes to the Mahindra Group as well. This is their usual story = get excited, acquire a company with lots of glitz & glamour, throw a party, but follow it up with awful execution. Standard Mahindra playbook. Either they suck at execution or they don't have management bandwidth.

So true. Peugeot Scooters is another acquisition which I can't understand. I looked at their European portfolio and it consists of 50cc to 200cc scooters selling for 2000 to 3000 Euros each. Which is very expensive for Indian standards but par for the course for Europe. Therefore one would think that Mahindra's pitch would have been that Mahindra can make these scooters cheaper in India and export it. But no, because these scooters are made in France by Peugeot where they have their factory, R&D offices and headquarters and they have no plans to shift it.

If Peugeot wanted a more more cost-effective manufacturing base, they can always import from China where they have a plant already! (Now under Mahindra).

Also, what benefit has Mahindra Racing brough to the company? Over the last 10 years they spent I think 5 years in MotoGP (Moto3) with a works Mahindra team and for 5 years in Formula E.

Noble conquests but Mahindra couldnt run a two-wheeler firm and an EV firm to save their lives. Frivolous expenses which did not translate to consumer products.

Just compare their many pursuits with the laser focussed approach of Bajaj and their KTM tie-up.

[veyron_head]

I booked the Jawa in Dec 2018 and they called me in September the next year to tell me the bike is ready. In the meantime, I checked on the ABS version and I was told if I switch my preference in between the waiting period my clock will be reset and the waiting period would start from day 1 again. Anyway, by the time they called to tell me the bike is ready I had lost interest and i canceled my booking.

Mahindra doesn't seem to know the two wheelers business. Right from buying Kinectic Honda, which was once a trendsetter, two wheelers have never worked for them.