Mahindra’s subsidiary, Classic Legends Private Limited (CLPL) signed an agreement to licence the Jawa motorcycles to be sold under its umbrella, last year. In its first launch after the deal, the Czech brand has brought in two 4-stroke models in Czech Republic, the 350 OHC and 660 Vintage. Both the bikes come with Euro-IV compliant engines, thus conforming to the European emission standards.
The headliner is clearly the 660 Vintage. Based on the Jawa 650 Dakar motorcycle, the 660 Sportard is a derivative of the Dakar bike that was showcased in 2011. The engine, developed by Minarelli is a parallel-twin, 4-valve, liquid-cooled unit that makes 48bhp and 57.5Nm. Obviously, the Sportard was focused on off-roading while the Vintage harks back to the original Type 634.
Entry level bike is the Jawa 350 OHC, which comes in various iterations. In its basic avatar, the 350 (manufactured in China by Shineray, based on a Honda engine) comes with a 4-stroke, 350cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine that churns out 26bhp and 30.6Nm. The engine is mated to a 4-speed gearbox.
The bikes will be manufactured in India in at Mahindra’s Pithampur plant and will be exported to Czech Republic for now. The prices in the Czech Republic for the 350 and 660 are CZK 99,930 and CZK 1,79,830, respectively, which translates to Rs 2.62 lakh and Rs 4.71 lakh. If the bikes are launched in India, they’ll be priced similarly or even cheaper and will go head-to-head with the Royal Enfield.