Hi girls and guys,

I came across the Jawa brand made in CZ. Somehow these bikes are quite appealing ... brandnew, affordable no-nonsense bikes.

What do you guys think of them?

Jawa 250 Travel (4-stroke), leightweight two cylinder bike.
sole importer of new jawa motorbikes

Jawa 350 Classic, lightweight, two cylinder two-banger.
new jawa 350 motorcycle models in the uk

I have always had a soft spot for underdogs, so I find the 350 very appealing. The 250 looks a lot like the Honda CB Two-Fifty.

Very interesting, I am surprised the 2 strokes meet the dreaded euro emissions laws.
What is the spares availability 'on the road' is what I would like to know.
That 4 stroke 250 looks nice.

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'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Is there some sort of low volume exemption regulation or something because I thought the (less stringent) 80's emissions regs is what did for the Japanese 2Ts so the current ones must be even more difficult to get through.

Either way, they're on sale and presumably fully compliant with all the necessary regs. I must admit though that if you'd asked me back in the 2T heyday of the late 70's what would be the last two stroke standing I'd never have guessed Jawa. Back then the 350 twin wasn't just bad it was awful; slow, smokey, vibratory 1950's ride to work technology similar to Villiers singles and BSA Bantams rather than the multi port GP on the road stuff Yamaha, Suzuki etc were producing.

I've no idea whether the current one is the upwardly mobile aspirational grandson of the 70's rattler or a ground up reworking with just the layout and capacity in common but either way old memories (and prejudices) die hard. I'm a huge 2T fan and really regret their passing but the fear that it's just lipstick on a pig would put me off. If it really is a EuroJap - a kind of Jawa version of an early RD350 - then I take it all back and I'll be smashing open the piggybank shortly but reading the specs doesn't convince me.

I remember the old JAWA's from the 1970's and 1980's.

They tended to get lumped together with other Soviet block (Warsaw Pact) bikes such as MZ and Urals etc..

If my memory serves me correctly JAWA made some very handy offroad 2 stroke machines including speedway bikes and grasstrack.

There top seller was a twin cylinder 350cc 2 stroke machine I think.... a bit smokey with reliability issues.

The road bikes were nowhere near as good as the MZ's but nevertheless they did sell here in the UK in quite high numbers. The JAWA was the UK's cheapest middle weight twin.

The MZ were all ugly as sin BUT the engines were extremely reliable in all weather conditions (125cc, 250cc).

I consider MZ's to be classics now and their enclosed chain system was groundbreaking (but ugly). It never ceases to amaze me why Jap makers never took the enclosed chain idea up and improved it's MZ appearance?

My first ever bike was a MZ S50/B1 Simson 49cc moped in red. I got it brand new from Maidstone. It was a superb little machine and lasted very well.

I don't know much about JAWA now. Is this the same company as the 1970's or not? As you know many companies these days merely buy the rights to a name (Triumph, MG etc..).

Are they connected to the CZ arms maker? I own 2 x .22LR rimfire rifles made by CZ (formerly BRNO). Excellent rifles for bunny bashing.

So it's a from me for JAWA.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

I had a Jawa 350 twin ratbike back in the early 1990's. Real old shool technology-dynamo electrics anyone..?-virtually non-existent brakes and slow and heavy. BUT...it was a real hoot to ride..! It had a diy hardtail and ape hanger 'bars with a matt black and insulating tape finish. A photo of it made it into AWoL magazine. Electrics aside-it burst into flames as I was riding through Edinburgh..!-it was impossible to break, once doing the 16 mile round trip to work and back for a week before I discovered the cable to the oil pump had come off... Great fun, loved it.

Like CZ's, Jawa's were made in the old Eastern bloc Czechoslovakia and were also sold in India under the Yezdi brand. These may differ slightly but are essentially the same bike AFAIK.

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Beware the dark, mechanical bird.

This guy seems to like the bike:
Jawa 350 Classic Solo - Classic Motorcycle Profile - RealClassic.co.uk

A German dealer close to the Czech border seems to be selling the 250 for 2600 €. I asked him for a quote on the 350.

I had a Jawa 350 twin (model 634) in the early 70s. Owned from new, serviced on the button, well looked-after. It was the worst bike I have ever owned. Agricultural without being robust, badly-designed, awful materials, heavy on fuel, and very, very, very unreliable.

I wouldn't have another one as a gift. Maybe I was unlucky, and maybe they are better these days. But mine was pure heartbreak.

One good thing: it completely removed my fear of taking things apart, and by the time I sold it I could do pistons, seals and rings one-handed in the dark in ten minutes

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

I have seen the indian version of this machine on numerous trips to India ,they are worked very hard with little or no maintenance , they most common used to deliver milk with two full size milk churns strapped to the sides if they work there they will work anywhere.

I have had a Jawa 350 Cassic for just over two years now. I have used it every day for work (32 mile round trip) plus general buzzing around. It is approaching the 10,000 mile mark and I will be buzzing of to work on it again in the morning.