A few days before the launch of the Jawa motorcycle range, the company had shared a teaser video on its social media pages. The teaser video had sketches for four bikes – an initial sketch of the base model, the sketch of the roadster, a bobber and an adventure tourer/scrambler-style bike. The iconic brand made its comeback into the Indian market yesterday; and as expected, it showcased three bikes. However, among the three bikes, the adventure/scrambler was missing while the roadster and the bobber made their debut.
In the teaser sketch, we could see that the off-road Jawa had a different frame to that of the roadster and also a longer swingarm. The styling of the bike was industrial and functional; kind of reminiscent of the Royal Enfield Himalayan. It also had a long-travel USD fork, a large-spoke front wheel, a high-set under-seat exhaust muffler, a raised handlebar, a high-mounted fender and a tall windscreen. It also sported a monoshock and a rear disc brake similar to the new Jawa Perak.
However, at the launch event, Anupam Thareja – one of the founders of Classic Legends which has the rights for the Jawa brand in our country – mentioned to us that there will not be any off-road Jawa coming out soon. According to Thareja the focus for 2019 will be on the three bikes which were unveiled yesterday. Of those three, the Jawa and the Jawa Forty Two will go on sale first. The funkier Jawa Perak is currently under development – the 334cc, single-cylinder engine isn’t ready yet – and the bobber is expected to go on sale in the second half of 2019.
However, Thareja hasn’t denied the idea of an off-road Jawa either; but an image of an off-road bike with USD forks, large spoke wheels and off-road tyres next to the Jawa had emerged online a few days before the launch. This leads us to suspect that there’s a possibility that the bike will go on sale in 2020. Currently, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is the only affordable adventure tourer on sale, until the Hero Xpluse 200 arrives.
What are your thoughts about an off-road Jawa? Share your opinion in the comments section.
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Jawa: 5 things you need to know