Jawa Motorcycles made its debut on the Indian market over a year ago with the launch of two new motorcycles: 42 and Jawa (or more commonly known as, the Jawa Classic); along with the showcase of the Perak bobber which would be launched at a later stage. In Nov 2019, they launched Perak.
Unlike the Jawa 42 and Classic, the Perak looks significantly different from its lesser siblings that are mainly focused to rival the likes of the Royal Enfield Bullet Classic. To start off, the unique bobber styling is a first for a modern-day single-cylinder motorcycle in India and the Perak will be able to create a niche of its own.
Jawa bookings have started on the first day of the year for a refundable amount of Rs 10,000. With an ex-showroom price of Rs 1.94 lakh, deliveries are set to commence from April 2020. In addition to this, Jawa has also launched attractive schemes to push the booking numbers of Perak.
Jawa says, “You can now choose the Perak with a zero down payment scheme, or an EMI of only Rs 6,666/-*, and couple that with the best exchange program in the industry upto Rs.5,000/- more than any other.”
If you have not noticed, deliveries of the Jawa Perak start around the same date on which mandatory BS6 implementation kicks in. Coincidentally, the Jawa Perak is the Czech-origin brand’s first BS6 product. Even though the Perak’s engine is derived from the same power plant of the 42 and Jawa Classic, the displacement has been bored out to 334cc. The liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine is capable of 30bhp and 31Nm of torque.
On the other hand, the lesser Jawa siblings come powered by a 293cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine, good for 27bhp and 28Nm. All three motorcycles come mated to a 6-speed transmission.
Despite getting an overwhelming market response in the initial phases, a lot of buyers were left disappointed due to unreasonable waiting periods and lack of proper communication from the brand or their dealerships. For the same reason, many were frustrated enough to cancel their bookings to buy some other motorcycle.
Indian motorcycle enthusiasts and Jawa fans are in the hope that Perak buyers will not have to go through a similar ordeal, as the motorcycle is simply compelling enough to ignore its lesser practicality aspects, such as the single-seat layout and the relatively longer dimensions. Since the brand has already gone through some rough times, will the ‘Jawa experience’ better itself in the days to come?