At low speeds and in city traffic, the bike feels light and easy to manage, but again the front-end twitch is what ruined the fun, for me at least. After riding the bike for more than 200 km, I felt that there is a scope for improvement when it comes to ride quality and handling as the current set-up doesn’t really give the confidence to ride it hard.
Braking was good thanks to the 280-mm disc and twin-pot Bybre calipers with ABS at the front. It has good feel and feedback and the MRF tyres provide good grip on most surfaces. Jawa also threw light on both motorcycles’ fuel-efficiency figures in a Twitter exchange by commenting that they returned an ARAI-certified 37.5 km/l.
Overall, the new Jawa and Forty Two are two motorcycles that will mainly appeal to those who like the whole retro vibe and, of course, to Jawa enthusiasts. However, those looking to own a retro machine with modern-day tech will be disappointed as both the bikes are quite basic and there is scope for improvement. Another factor that might lead to customer reconsideration is the pricing: Rs 1.55 lakh for the Jawa Forty Two and Rs 1.64 lakh for the Jawa; which is pricier than the competition. However, if you still want to go in for the Jawa just for old-time’s sake we would recommend you take a test ride and come to your own conclusion.
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