Article Rebuttals

The email that started it all:

Mike, Don't know if you have seen it yet, but one of the Motorcyclist magazine columnists said the Jawa Californian 350 was the "worst motorcycle ever made"!

It was Patrick Bodden in the April '04 issue of the mag. Are we going to let him get away with that? I'm tempted to cancel my subscription but that wouldn't do any good as it would allow that stupid statement to just lie there. I'll accept that it was slow compared to the Jap crap but it had some strong points too. I'll stew on it for a while and send you a copy of whatever response I decide on. On second thought maybe it would be better to allow others to think that -- then maybe it would make it easier to buy them!

I WAS thinking of trading my Californian for a moped that I might be able to ride, but not now!

Pete

Mike forwards the above email to his email list

Pete Nelson sent me this about an article in the Motorcyclist on p. 67 . I haven't see the magazine, perhaps some of you have. It might be worthwhile to write letters to the editor to set the record straight. Any takers, and any other ideas?

Mike

Rebuttals

I'll pick up the magazine and read the article. I guess I have not ridden the later machines enough to comment, but I suspect he is near correct.

What we have to realize is that the early models, like the Perak I have and am so fond of, were truly landmark machines for the 1940s. Rear suspension, foot shift, relatively high revving engine, unit construction (engine and transmission), wet clutch, light weight, and excellent geometry with resultant good handling.

But, and a significant "but", progress all but stopped after the Russians took over Czechoslovakia in 1948, and they just keep building more and more of the same.

I had a new 1968 Kawasaki 350 2-stroke that looked for all the world like a Jawa, chrome tank panels and all. It had the same general engine layout and felt much the same when you rode it around slowly. But there was no comparison in performance or reliability. It went like hell, and in the 20 years I had it I replaced a turn signal flasher and one tire. In the 60s, Suzuki and Yamaha had similar 350 two-strokes, and the Honda 350 twin was a copy of all but the 4-stroke engine. Congratulations to Kawasaki and or the rest of the Jap motorcycle companies for great products? Or maybe for just copying well.

No question that the Japs are detail oriented and can push refinement to a level unthought-of by the rest of the industrial world. This, plus essentially interest-free bank money and export subsidies have made the Japs what they are. But we have to be honest and admit that the later Jawas fared poorly by comparison.

Maybe a response should point out that when the Japs decided to go into the volume motorcycle business, they new where to look for something to copy. Those early Jap bikes looked nothing like a 50s or early 60s Harley, BMW, or Triumph. They looked like a Jawa.

Don Kueny

Here is what I've thought about sending in...

. Dear Editor,

Can't help but register my surprise at at Patrick Bodden's unfortunate and mistaken notation of the JAWA 350 as the worst motorcycle ever built. Based upon my take on history the Marusho, Hesketh or Ural would have been much more worthy contenders. Afterall, my JAWA 350 took me, my wife, a Velorex sidecar and luggage all over the Southeast and Midwest of the United States thirty years ago without a single failure or breakdown. This would be in sharp contrast to my 1999 Buell which has broken down at least 6 times hundereds of miles from home (muffler brackets X 2, gas tank leak, shock failure, sidestand switch X 2) and is still sitting in my garage waiting to be trucked to the dealer for yet another round of repairs. In fact, that bike is so bad that my friends won't even ride with me if they know I am planning to ride the Buell because they don't want their trip interrupted. Or, my 1993 Moto Guzzi Californian that stopped in Canada due to a voltage regulator failure, in Mississippi due to an electronic failure, in Birmingham due to a wheel bearing failure, and in the SoCal desert. In fact I have a JAWA 350 in an honored place in my garage beside a Ducati 350 single, a variety of BMWs, and a new Suzuki Burgman 650. Not only is the JAWA 350 inexpensive to purchase it is easy to maintain at home and is a full-sized motorcycle. In my opinion it should have received mention as "the most reliable motorcycle ever built".

William M. Clements

All:

I went and looked at the article at the library. It is in the April issue, and it is near the end of a long list of "bests" and "worsts". The list covered motorcycles, racers, races, movies, characters like Sonny Barger, and more. And it was in the part of the article that was "...continued on page 96". I doubt many people saw it, because it was one of the "worst motorcycle magazine articles" ever, and I almost quit reading before I found it.

As such, it was just two lines without any justification or background. In other words, one man's opinion. I don't think it is worth a formal response, although if one is sent I think it should be an assemblage of all of our comments, sent in by by Mike over the club name.

Don Kueny

Seems to me bikes are such a personal choice that badmouthing a particular bike is probably more a statement of poor choice than poor bike. As I recall from the days when Californians were new, the word on them was "not quick or pretty but cheap, bullet proof and easily fixable."

In those days I had a screaming '65 250 Yamaha twin - it was fairly quick alright but it ate plugs, smoked pretty bad, didn't have much torque, and you were constantly all over the shifter to keep the revs up. I'd have loved to have a Californian but I didn't have the money. I did have enough to get the Yamaha which, at the time, was an infinitely better choice than no bike.

I've since had many bikes and they've all had compromises of some sort. There's no such thing as the perfect bike - there's only a particular bike that's perfect for a particular individual at a particular point in time.

Geeze, I've turned into a bloody philoshper. The fact of the matter is I'm really enjoying my Jawas for all sorts of reasons and that, for my money, makes them a good bike.

Interestingly enough, I recently acquired a '72 Suzuki Titan (the 500cc two-stroke twin) that's in quite nice shape. Haven't been able to ride it yet - still have a foot of snow in my front yard. The intent is to be able to use it for some two-up short jaunts. Sold the Beemer but still wanted an older bike for the two of us without having to tie up a lot of money in it - such a practical decision it's almost sick. It's really quite a nice bike but it doesn't have the same "stand and look at it" appeal as the Jawas.

So, to the guy that doesn't like the Californian; "Look in the mirror first, then Czech out the bike!"

Take care,
Bill

Don

Jawas made quality bikes for the masses before the japanese factories got going and catered to a different market sector for those who needed cheap transport and then suffered from lack of investment and motivation to change.

I too appreciate jap 2 strokes especially the Suzuki GT750 even if ifs brakes were suspect in the wet, if you had a KH 350 how come you're still alive, the carnage over here on those machines so high that you had to be mad and rich to own one as the insurance was sky high. Also ever changed a rear wheel on a KH250 triple, entire exhaust system has to come off first, easy for a roadside puncture ! A friend restored a KH500 but quickly sold it as it just wouldnt handle at any speed. Saying that I nearly bought an RD400 in 1976 after growing up on a Yamaha 75, but decided the Jawa 634 was a better bet all round in terms of what I wanted a bike to do!! Been Jawa mounted ever since.(apart from owning a BMW for 4 years as well)

This one will run for a bit I suspect!!

Arthur

Mike

Might be worth sending them a copy of earlier reviews of the cali when it received lots of praise in early editions of american press. the author probably hasnt ridden many bikes, i can think of plenty of dodgy bikes such as Suzukis with brakes that always failed in the wet, Kawasaki 500 twostrokes that did not handle and were death traps, Italian bikes that came apart with vibration, british bikes that leaked oil everywhere and i suspect that Harleys even made a rough one somewhere along the way!

Also write to the magazine demanding right of reply, we had a similar problem in the late 70s here with the press who always compared with the latest Jap bike, but now after years of good write ups in the classic press we find the opposite is now true and the bikes are accepted well and their engineering pedigee is appreciated as much as the older British bikes both in press and by the public. I think regular attendance at classic shows and events has also helped, plus the emergence of a classic scene in Czech republic with high restoration standards has added its bit.Its amazing how many people will come up and say, I had one of those as a first bike.

Arthur

Hello people,

Let the fool who wrote that have his say. He is helping to keep Jawa prices low like Pete Nelson said. And he is obviously not "in the fold".

Let's none of us say a word! Leave the ignorant so-and-so in the dark.

We all know the truth. The Jawa is a simple, sturdy and enduring design, and one of the few classic machines of older vintage that is still affordable. How many 30-40 year old jap bikes do you see out there? They go into production for a year or three then go the way of the dodo.

I never owned a Jawa later than 1974 and I don't ever want to. I'll tell you what though: Many parts from my mid-seventies Jawa Californian bolt right up to a late 1950's typ 354. Try that with your Yamakawahonzuki!!!

Dig this: Damn near worldwide distribution, factories in India, Brazil, Egypt, Turkey and China. Scads of replacement parts available at 3rd world prices(maybe 3rd world quality too).

In spite of all that it is the rare breeds that command the high prices and are sought after by collectors. HOORAY! Jawas were built to b e ridden, and they are ideally suited to it.

Don't let the word out. Riding out on a Jawa is a precious thing, like life itself, and like many precious things can't be adequately shared with the unknowing and unheedful.

We know. That's enough.

Fear the day when the masses discover our secret.

Pete Ferro
Boston, MA
USA

PS Czech out my shiney new 30 year old Jawa Californian.(Shhhh...don't tell anyone else)

http://projectjawa.com