10,000 km with a Jawa 42: An owner's honest observations

While the engine is gem, and extremely good, my biggest pet peeve with Jawa has been lack of spares even after 4-5 years.

BHPian LTStealthy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a Jawa 42 with 10k on the odo. Have mostly used it for city driving and some short trips to Pondy and Gokarna from Bangalore. My bike was from the first batch of 2019 and over the period of 10,000 kms, I have replaced the following items on my Jawa already:

• Clutch Cable
• Timing Chain
• Tensioner
• Headlight Electrical relay

While the engine is gem, and extremely good, my biggest pet peeve with Jawa has been lack of spares even after 4-5 years. While you can hit any shop for getting simple things like clutch cable changed for any other bike, the same is not true for Jawa. The bike overheats a bit in peak traffic but nothing that cannot be managed. My experience with Skanda service centre (Rajajinagar) has been great so far, but they don't have spares, especially engine related parts. Bangalore Jawa at Mekhri circle has parts at most times but I have never given my bike for servicing there. It seems even service centers are struggling to procure parts. Other issue I have faced is a local mechanic will not touch your bike, simply because they don't have spares or the mechanical knowledge to fix the bike.

While my bike paint has not peeled (yet)( also touchwood), i have heard stories of from Jawa group of Bangalore about tank paint peeling, especially of the initial batch bikes.

I have not faced issues with engine shutting off in traffic in my experience and the bike is still a looker. The silencer misses on the RE thump, but still has a pretty good throaty note with option to customize the DB killer from the service center itself. It's also easier to manage in traffic and has a pretty linear throttle.

So in a nutshell,

• Do I love my Jawa? Absolutely,
• Do I regret it? Sometimes, especially due to part issues.
• Would I recommend Jawa to someone else? Probably not, again due to the above issue.

If you do end up buying the Jawa, then welcome to the Jawa tribe!

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend you buy the extended warranty. It's pretty extensive and will keep the parts headache away for a long time. I couldn't buy it since I was in my hometown with my bike standing in Bangalore and have regrets ever since, especially when I have to pay for the spares from my own pocket.

This is a good bike. I just hope Classic Legends make it even better.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.