Motorcycles

Jawa plots four-stroke future for its iconic 350

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The 350 OHC ushers a legendary Jawa model family into a new era
Jawa
The 350 OHC ushers a legendary Jawa model family into a new era
Jawa
The Jawa 350 OHC is a Euro4-compliant four-stroke roadster
Jawa
The Jawa 350 OHC sports a very thin silhouette
Jawa
The classic looks of the Jawa 350 OHC seem like an ideal base for customizing
Jawa
The Jawa 350 OHC in black color
Jawa
The chromed fuel tank and side-cover striping are styled after the bike that originally inspired the Jawa 350 OHC
Jawa
Simple, classic, elegant - the clocks of the Jawa 350 OHC
Jawa
Shineray lent the XY400 motor and frame to Jawa for the 350 OHC
Jawa
A 280 mm front disc with two-piston caliper and ABS will handle stopping the Jawa 350 OHC
Jawa
The Jawa 660 Vintage is another tribute to the 350 Type 634, this time built around a 660 cc Minarelli motor
Jawa
The Jawa 660 Vintage in the red color we suspect will prove to be the most popular
Jawa
The radiator of the Minarelli motor dominates the frontal view of the Jawa 660 Vintage
Jawa
Every application of this 660 motor is complemented with twin exhaust cans, including the Jawa 660 Vintage
Jawa
The Jawa 660 Vintage tips the scales at 198 kg (436.5 lb) dry
Jawa
The Jawa 660 Vintage holds 15 l (4 gal) in its shiny fuel tank
Jawa
This Italian-made Minarelli engine became famous when Yamaha employed it in the latest XT and Ténéré 660 tralies, before finding its way into the heart of Jawa's 660 Vintage
Jawa
The modern clocks of the Jawa 660 Vintage
Jawa
The two-stroke 350 Style is still part of Jawa's lineup, despite going practically unchanged since 1991
Jawa
The Jawa 350/634 Retro is the current two-stroke model that pays direct tribute to the Type 634 of the past
Jawa
The 350 two-strokes – like this 1950 Type 18 – have played a very important role in Jawa's history, remaining in production continuously since the mid-1940s
Jawa
The Jawa 350 Type 634 was produced in vast numbers throughout the 1970s and 80s. This 1973 example illustrates the inspiration for the styling of the 350 OHC
Jawa
The Jawa 660 Vintage joins a family led by the 660 Sportard. This model family was first introduced in 2011 as a replacement of the previous generation of four-stroke Jawas, that ran on the Rotax 650 motor that BMW also uses in its single-cylinder G650 (formerly F650) models
Jawa
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Once a mighty European powerhouse, Czech Republic's Jawa never stopped producing motorcycles throughout its 88-year history. As times change along with emission rules, Jawa introduces the 350 OHC as a four-stroke tribute to one of its most popular historic two-stroke models, the 350 Type 634.

Although Jawa might not ring many bells to younger motorcycle aficionados, older riders should promptly identify one of the biggest motorcycle manufacturers to operate behind the iron curtain in then Czechoslovakia. The company left its mark in the 250 and 350 cc Grand Prix classes during the 1950s and 60s, as well as celebrating in 1987 a landmark three million motorcycles produced.

The 1990s proved to be anything other than favorable for the company, but Jawa never ceased producing modernized variants of the affordable and reliable two-stroke 350. Actually, the company's facility in Týnec nad Sázavou, Czech Republic, still produces the 350 Type 640. Pretty much unchanged since 1991, it uses the most modern version of a twin cylinder engine that draws its roots all the way back to the mid-40s, when it was first introduced as the fruit of a co-operation with Ogar.

Today's emissions rules have practically banned Jawa's two-strokes from Western markets, but the 350 still enjoys some popularity in Russia and Central America. In the meantime, a new model has been introduced, the 350 OHC. As the name suggests – with OHC unsurprisingly standing for OverHead Camshaft – this is a four-stroke engine, and it has been outsourced from China together with the steel frame.

Shineray lent the XY400 motor and frame to Jawa for the 350 OHC
Jawa

The single-cylinder, air-cooled unit comes from Shineray (also behind the recent resurrection of SWM), who in turn copied it from Honda's XR400 motor with minor changes and a Delphi injection system. This motor is quite famous in several countries, powering successful Shineray export models like the X5 adventure bike, and this is one of its biggest assets: It is already compliant with strict European norms.

In the case of Jawa's 350 OHC, the 397 cc single produces 20.4 kW (27.4 hp) at 6,500 rpm and 30.6 Nm (22.6 lb-ft) at 5,000 rpm – a bit lower on power compared to the XR400, probably because of the Chinese version's lower compression ratio.

The motorcycle is styled after the original 1970s 350 Type 634, adopting a classic British roadster look with a 19-inch wheel at the front and 18 at the rear, the unmistakably shiny 12-l (3.3-gal) fuel tank and clean, retro lines.

According to the little information that Jawa reveals, its dry weight is 160 kg (353 lb), it is equipped with an ABS system, and is fully compliant with the latest European emission norms, retailing in its home country for CZK99,930 (around US$4,000).

The Jawa 660 Vintage holds 15 l (4 gal) in its shiny fuel tank
Jawa

Next to the new 350, Jawa also introduced another tribute to the Type 634 classic, the 660 Vintage. It is a new member of a model family that was first introduced in 2011 with the 660 Sportard, employing the Italian-made Minarelli single-cylinder engine that powers motorcycles like Yamaha's XT660 and Ténéré 660, as well as the last generation Aprilia Pegaso.

The 660 Vintage relies on the same 36 kW (48.3 hp) powertrain, and also adopts the same retro looks of the 350 OHC. In the Czech Republic it retails for CZK179,830 (about $7,300) and, just like the smaller model, it is Euro4-compliant, therefore eligible for export to most western markets.

Source: Jawa

View gallery - 22 images
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7 comments
Imran Sheikh
i would love to have this Classic Beauty..
Terence Hawkes
The article talks about a single cylinder engine, but the picture clearly shows a twin. Which is true: single or twin?
DavidRogerBrown
It's "heart" is Chinese,not Czech. Your right Terrance.
Dan Lewis
WOW, what an astoundingly BAD IDEA! Have the corporate leaders completely lost their minds? IF they had any sense at all, they'd be working on ELECTRIC BIKES. What a sad situation. They STILL haven't learned.
Paul Briers
Terence Hawkes - It is a twin port single. Two exhaust ports.
Dan Lewis - I'm all behind electric vehicles but not everyone has access to charging points. There are no public EV stations in the town I live in. Apart from the customary population of smack heads, I live in quite a civilised part of the UK. That will affect peoples appetite for buying them and making them in the first place. It would be good to see a bigger bike with a range extender like in the BMW i3 REX. Even better would be a larger number of charging stations.
OliverJaisonDsouza
Send these beauties to India, there are young people waiting for it.
VBB99
I bought a 2016 2 stroke Jawa and I love it, exactly the same as the 1980s Jawa but with better brakes, and 12v electrics, but otherwise a sturdy simple 2 stroke twin that looks and sounds great and is a bit different to other bikes. This new 4 stroke Jawa is OK, but just like all the others like MASH and other Chinese powered bikes so for me, its OK but I wouldn't buy one, for me a "proper" Jawa will always be a 2 stroke twin with the quirky combined kick starter and gear change, I can see why they have done it, but I wouldn't feel the same about this new Jawa as I do with my gurgling popping smokey 2 stroke.