Hi everyone!

I just move in Prague this morning, and I'm looking for an old jawa motorbike.

It's pretty hard here to find, not tthat much in the streets, and it's hard to be understood in english.

Does anyone know a motorbike garage in prague, or someone who could help me in my quest?

Thanks a lot for your help,
Vincent

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Hi chez vince!

Suggestion for you .
Try sending an e-mail or pm to dablyk, from Prague.
He posted an answer recently in this Forum. (Forum Europe).

It is about the 13th posting down, under the following:
Motorcycle rentals: Dubrovnik, Vienna, Prague.
His posting is the 3rd answer if I am correct .

If there are any available Jawas around, he can probably let you know.
Good Luck!
Greetings from Vienna,
silverwolf

you could try scouring the local papers for the adverts... just scan for 'jawa'

Thank guys, I'll contact this man straight away.

Actually, I've found a few bikes, but as it's old and rare, they're bought very quickly from the news paper.
The main problem is to sort out the paperworks.
I'm not to sure german customs will be kind with me, as I was told they would go through all the papers.
What happen if the papers are still at the previous owner's name? Can I get an inssurance from czek republic anyway? There is a technical test here for bike, most of them are sold without, because of the old age. you risk a fine if you get caught in the country, but what happend at the border, and then in germany? (I'm sure it's ok in france though)

Bikes seems to be more expensive than expected (I was told 100 euros before comming) and I wouldn't mind risking to leave it somewhere for such a low price, but as it can come up to 10 time the price, I'd feel better if everything was in order.

I'll keep you update if things goes right!
vince

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send mail to my friend from our varadero club

bob@cestovniendura.cz

he is from praque, maybe can help you

marekxxx

Hi!

Eventuelly got a nice 47 years old JAWA, I found the classified in a bike newspaper.

The bike looked and sounded ok, so i just bought it, and got in return something they call "tp" the short plastified one , and the long one wich has all the details of the previous owners and technicals tests (tp is in fact similar to the ownership papers) , STK (technical test, compulsory in Czeck republic, and probably in germany as well), and the inssurance.
None of it was to my name, and I headed back to France, a bit worried with the german border...
Nothing happened, not even a passeport checking, and I went trough without being stopped, and haven't been stopped on my way to paris neither.

Later on, that's a longer story ...

The bike is pretty slow, smokes a lot but is still very cool! (that's a jawa 250cc type 353 from 1960)
The road is long and travelling a 65 km/h is quiet tiring (that’s what I guess, speedmeter broken).
En route for Heidelberg, the 3rd gear sounds funny, but a BMW shop and 2 differents bikers tell me there shouldn’t be any reasons to worry. I’m only 450 or 500 kilometers away from Paris then, when the adventure starts....
Set up early from Heidelberg, catch straight away the Autobahn to avoid being lost, 80 kilometers fine, stop 5 min in a gas station, and 2 or 3 kilometers away boum! Bike kaput!
the noise becomes GRRrrrrtTactactactacgrrrrrRRRggGGrrrr!!! Wasn’t any oil left in the gear box!
Engine stops.... hopefully the slope is going down, and there’s a parking place 300 meters away.
And there start my lucky trip!
No even arrived, a small van just park there, I rush toward it and relearn in 2 min how to speak german. Unfortunately the guy is drunk and was gonna sleep. He comes back from a wine festival, but I have no other choice. He accept to drive me out of the highway 20 kilometers further, and then tell me that he knows a place at the border not far from his house where there’s a parking place for trucks, where I could probably hitch a ride to paris! Ok , let’s go!
Once arrived, he cannot take it longer, and puke for 5 minutes, right in front of the trucks!!!
I’m now looking for a ride, but most of the drivers tell me that their truck is full, or they cannot open the doors because of the seal. Hopefully 5 turkishs drivers going near paris accept when they see the bike, one of them have a jawa 350 at home and he even manage to restart it! Turkish service! The fourth gear is broken though, but it still do the job with the 3 first ones.
They push me to finish the ride on three gears, but eventually take the bike on board.
Turkish tea, turkish food, and they once more tell me that I’m just a ****ing crazy french when I show them my african trip on moped!
Departure 10 PM, no truck drive on Sunday (and hopefully it was Sunday, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to catch any!).
A turkish biker met in a gas station on the road translate me that they would do their best to get me spare parts from Turkey as they say having loads of jawa there! Turkish service again!
4 o clock morning, they drop me 10 kilometers from my home, and I’m back 20 minutes later thanks to the 3 remaining gears – fatser and cheaper than if I had done the road myself! And turkish help, totally free of charge!

I still have to check exactly what’s wrong in the gear box, I'm not to good with real bikes!

If anyone needs information about jawa in czeck republic, I have a little bit more informations and will be pleased to help.

Thanks for your advises anyway,
vince

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cool post!

you got the right Jawa - the single cylinder 250 cc bikes
are more reliable than the temperamental two cylinder 350 cc's
(unpredictable ignition, points in need of frequent adjustments).
too bad you ran out of transmission oil...
I used to own two of them 350 cc bad boys back in the eighties.

thanks for sharing!

Great story, I rode one of the 350's as my transportation one winter in the 70's in eastern washinton state with a sidecar. Had the headlight go out on a very dark road one night. That bike made short journeys a adventure.

Bill....thought you might be interested in knowing that our local Kawi dealer (John Ferguson) here in Red Deer, had a old 350 2 cyl Jawa with sidecar in the famous Czech red, which he just sold to Scott Beairsto, holder of the 1650 cc motorcycle speed record at Bonneville. (Wonder what the world speed record for sidecars is?) Seems that sidecars are makin a comeback - at our local motorcycle show, Urals had a prominent place, well the video did at least and the dealer has just sold 14 units - apparently several Pizza shops are gonna use them for deliveries...not a bad idea for for $10K(Can) all in - a little more if you want the 2-wheel drive version....