(VIDEO) This is a Jawa 42 Bobber motorcycle, the latest model released under the name of the Czech brand

Some of us may still remember the famous two-stroke Jawa 350 of yesteryear, which were light and fast, representing for many in the Eastern Bloc the absolute pinnacle of what you could buy in two-wheeled performance. Well, the Jawa name still exists today, and what we see here is the latest model of the brand called the 42 Bobber, launched in the fall of 2022, and which has now started to reach the first buyers. Are you surprised Jawa still exists? Wondering why you haven't heard much from her in recent years? There is an explanation.

Photo: Jawa 350 classic

Jawa experienced the same difficulties in the 90s and 2000s, with production breaks and the risk of extinction that seemed irreversible several times. The company, in fact, initially went bankrupt, then was reborn in several successor entities. By the years 2013-2017, models had begun to be produced, one of them being an evolution of the classic 350, sold with a two-stroke engine outside the EU and with a four-stroke in the EU. But things were evolving on a small scale, in 2017 Jawa produced only 1,331 motorcycles annually, 1,157 of which went for export.

Photo: Jawa 42 Bobber, recently launched modern motorcycle

In 2018, the unexpected revival came from India, when a local company, Classic Legends, owned by Mahindra, proposed to Jawa to license the Czech name and manufacture the motorcycles in India. And that's because Jawa motorcycles were adored in India, they started being imported there in the 60s, and from 1973 local versions were produced, like the Yezdi. The Czechs from Jawa accepted the licensing. The Indians moved quickly and launched a few models, and in the first full year of motorcycles they reached sales of 30,000 motorcycles! The Czechs at Jawa now get a license fee for every Jawa motorcycle produced in India and have even gone so far as to sell already made in India models in the Czech Republic. There are not many in number, the biggest sales going to India and the surrounding Asian countries.

And here, the Jawa 42 Bobber is the last of these models launched with the Jawa badge in India. Jawa has the 42 in the range, but the 42 Bobber does not share the same chassis with the 42, but with another model with a classic design called the Perak. Thus, the Jawa 42 Bobber is a larger motorcycle, for luxurious trips, which has a 1,485 mm wheelbase and a saddle specific to Bobber motorcycles.

It looks retro, but has full LED headlights, USB charging ports and only starts from an electric starter. It is true, however, that the engine is not quite as powerful as you might expect from a bobber. It has 334 cubic cm and develops 30.5 HP and 32.7 Nm. It's not a two-stroke engine, but a four-stroke, with a single cylinder, being liquid-cooled. Due to the small displacement, reviews in India describe it as sounding a bit hoarse at high revs.

The 175 kg without gasoline motorcycle can reach the first hundred km/h in 10.35 seconds, but its shape does not recommend it for very dynamic driving, or very fast cornering, but rather a more relaxed scrolling. As good as it looks, the motorcycle has a very affordable price in India, of only 2,300 dollars starting price.

So, it's a motorcycle that has a Jawa emblem on it, but it's very different from the Jawa we remember from the old days.

See below and a short video published with the Jawa 42 Bobber in India.