Jawa engine for India revealed

Engine details of the upcoming Jawa motorcycle in India have finally been revealed. The engine has been developed from scratch – with only a bore and stroke shared with the Mojo’s existing 300cc mill – and is BS-VI ready in the interest of long-term sustainability.

Classic Legends, the parent company which is a division of Mahindra, has announced that the upcoming Jawa motorcycle will be powered by a 293cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder motor that features dual overhead camshafts. The engine is said to have been developed in Italy, as well as India, and will produce 27hp and 28Nm of peak torque and be mated to a 6-speed gearbox. A generous mid-range and a flat torque curve, apart from a heavy focus on creating a resemblance to the original Jawa’s exhaust note, will be the highlight of this new motor, something Ashish Joshi, CEO, Classic Legends emphasised on in an interview with Autocar India.

In contrast, the Mojo, which is available in UT 300 and XT 300 variants, is powered by a 295cc single-cylinder motor that makes 23hp/25Nm in the UT and 27hp/30Nm in the XT. Interestingly, Mahindra-owned Peugeot has also developed a 300cc motor which was showcased in the P2X Concept recently unveiled at the Paris motor show, but that engine has nothing in common with the other two 300s in the Mahindra fold.

A major challenge for Classic Legends was to recreate the original Jawa engine’s design, and it has achieved that to good effect, as can be seen in the engine architecture. The motorcycle will follow in the engine’s footsteps, and we can expect the styling to be strongly reminiscent of the yesteryear Jawas, in a retro mould of course.

The Jawa will be revealed shortly and we expect the motorcycle to launch by the end of 2018. It is likely that three variants based on the same platform may be launched simultaneously, with differentiation in terms of trim and accessories.