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Jawa Forty-Two: The classic motorcycle youngsters want

The legendary Jawa brand has been brought back to life by Classic Legends. Jawa shut shop in the early ’70s, and later, in the mid ’90s, got rebranded to Yezdi. The first lot of motorcycles were delivered in early 2019. The bikes are being manufactured at Mahindra’s factory in Madhya Pradesh. For the uninitiated, Classic Legends is a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra. The Jawa Forty-Two is one among the first two bikes to go on sale in India. This retro classic is sure to lure a lot of customers, thanks to its modern mechanicals, appropriate pricing and the timeless design.

Engine

Packed neatly within the frame is a 293cc, single-cylinder engine that produces 27bhp and 28Nm of torque. The motor is liquid-cooled and comes paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. The Jawa Forty-Two is BSVI-compliant.

Specifications

The Jawa Forty-Two is a very attractively retro-styled motorcycle. At the front, it gets a circular headlight with a chrome bezel around. It gets an all-black flat handlebar that has ‘Jawa’ inscribed in the middle. The large, rounded tank looks cool with a chrome filler cap on top. The chrome engine with the twin exhausts poking out on either sides look beautiful. The single-piece seat looks very simple, while the tail section looks neat with the curved mudguard and the compact tail light unit. The single instrument cluster features an analogue speedometer, a small digital odometer and a fuel gauge. Also, on starting the bike, the needle on the speedometer does a full sweep. In terms of dimensions, the Forty-Two is 2122mm in length, 789mm in width and 1165mm in height. The motor isn’t as refined as we would’ve liked it to be. Acceleration is good, but low-end grunt is lacking. Also, you tend to change gears quite frequently while cruising at low speeds. Performance in the mid-range is good, but the bike feels strained at three-digit speeds. There are some vibrations that filter through to the handlebar. At 170kgs, the bike feels light and nimble. The ground clearance, on the other hand, is 165mm, while the bike has a wheelbase of 1369mm and a seat height of 765mm.

Mileage

The Jawa Forty-Two has a fuel tank capacity of 13.5 litres. In terms of mileage, the bike is capable of returning 37.5kmpl by ARAI, in BSVI guise.

Mechanical Parts

The handlebar on the Forty-Two reminds us of the old bike. The riding posture is very similar. You sit upright with your arms in perfect reach of the handlebar. The saddle is very comfortable and provides pretty good cushioning and under-thigh support. The foot pegs are positioned well and allow for a good seating posture. The Forty-Two handles really well and corners with confidence. Ride quality is on the firm side, and that means bad stretches of road can leave the bike fairly unsettled. But thanks to the stiff springs, the bike remains planted at speeds. At the front, the bike rides on telescopic forks, while the rear gets twin shock hydraulics. As far as the chassis is concerned, it is built around a double cradle frame. The Forty-Two runs on 90/90-18 tyres at the front and 120/80-17 tyres at the rear. Retardation duties are taken care of by disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear.

Features

The bike comes loaded with a slew of features like an analogue instrument cluster, LED tail lamp, ABS, electric start, engine kill switch, pass-light switch, halogen headlight and wired-spoke wheels.

Colours

The Jawa Forty-Two is available in a variety of shades like Nebula Blue, Starlight Blue, Halley’s Teal, Comet Red, Lumos Lime and Galactic Green. Nebula Blue is certainly a colour that is bound to be a favourite among young riders.

Brochure

Feel free to step into a showroom or browse through the company’s website to know all the necessary details on the bike. It will help you with details that cover specifications, colours and accessory options.

Prices and Variants

The Jawa Forty-Two is available in two variants: Forty Two Single Channel ABS for ₹ 1.55 lakh and Forty Two Dual Channel ABS for ₹ 1.64 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). For further details and the on-road price of the bike, you can head to autox.

There is a lot more information available on the Jawa Forty-Two, along with detailed reviews of the same. You can tune into autox  to know more about the brand, its models and news related to the product. Also, grab the latest info on the upcoming bikes, only at autoX.

Ivy Skye Marshall: Ivy, a social justice reporter, covers human rights issues, social movements, and stories of community resilience.