What will the new Jawa motorcycle look like?

Indian tractor manufacturer Mahindra has bought BSA and Jawa and plans to revive the brands, but we’re not sure the latter will look like this concept.

It was built by Urban Motor of Berlin and unveiled at the annual Glemseck motorcycle festival in Stuttgart where it took part in their inaugural Essence sprint.

Their minimalist concept bike is based on a 1964 Jawa 350 two-stroke.

There is no word yet from Mahindra about what their bikes will look like or how they are powered.

However, they may not revive two-stroke engines as they are banned in most places because of emissions regulations.

Mahindra has said it plans to build BSAs for the global market, but will only build Jawa motorcycles for the domestic market.

The company began in 1929 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and exported its mainly 350cc models to more than 120 countries. They also produced 650cc models including a Dakar version

The Czech bike brand was famed in speedway, dirt track and ice racing, and was introduced to India in the ‘50s.

While they are a rare site these days except at historic motorcycle meetings, they are still quite common in Cuba where there are plenty of old Eastern Bloc motorcycles and cars. 

While we are fascinated with how the Czech brand will be revived by Mahindra, we don’t expect it will look anything like this radical Berlin custom.

We’d prefer they look more like this sketch of a custom Californian 351 by Italian motorcycle designer Oberdan Bezzi.

We’d love to see this brand shared around the world and believe there is a lot of potential given the move toward smaller-capacity motorcycles.

There is also hope for a return of two-stroke engines with modern direct injection making them even more efficient, and more importantly, cleaner!