How does Jawa 42 Bobber look?
I am a sucker for bobbers and 42 Bobber is one great-looking motorcycle. It does manage to turn heads on the road a lot of times. Jawa borrowed the fuel tank from the Yezdi Roadster, the same goes for the instrument cluster, switch gear and front headlamp. But all of these elements have been integrated well so they do not look out of place. The fuel tank has knee recesses and gets tank pads. Having said that, the instrument cluster is difficult to read under direct sunlight and the headlamp, despite being an LED unit, does not offer a good throw.
There is a new handlebar with bar-end mirrors which offer a decent view of what is behind. Then there is a new single seat which is not shared with the Perak. On the handlebar, there is a charger mounted which houses a USB C as well as a USB A socket to charge mobile devices. It does look a bit out of place as it is not integrated well.
The Perak gets all-blacked out elements whereas the 42 Bobber is more inviting with multiple paint schemes on offer. Moreover, the engine is finished in chrome and the fenders are finished in gloss black. On the Perak, the tail lamp is positioned beneath the seat. For the 42 Bobber, Jawa decided to move it to the rear fender.
What are the specifications of the Jawa 42 Bobber?
The engine on the 42 Bobber is the same unit as the Perak and the other Yezdi models. So, it is a 334 cc, single-cylinder unit that gets liquid-cooling. It puts out 30 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 32 Nm. Jawa has retuned the engine with a new map that has better low-end delivery.
The engine is fine for the most part but it does sound mechanical, although it is an improvement over the previous iterations of the same engine. There are also vibrations that start to creep in around 5,000 rpm mark. The low-end is good on the 42 Bobber but in the 5th and 6th gears, the engine feels alive only after crossing 4,000 rpm and below this rev range, the engine sounds very unpleasant. For overtaking, a rider would need to downshift if he or she is below 4,000 rpm. One needs to twist the throttle to extract the power from this engine. Speaking of twisting the throttle, the on-off throttle transitions can be a bit choppy.
As far as the gearbox is concerned, it is a 6-speed unit and is quite clunky. There is a slip-and-assist clutch on offer which does improve things a bit so the clutch action is moderately light.
How does the Jawa 42 Bobber ride and is it comfortable?
The handling of the 42 Bobber is better than what I was expecting. This is because of its stiff suspension. However, for me, it was a bit too stiff. This means that the rear mono-shocker transfers jolts directly to the rider's back. So, he or she would need to slow down substantially whenever there is a pothole or a speed breaker.
In bumper-to-bumper traffic, the motorcycle feels light and is easy to manoeuvre. This is thanks, to the low seat height and wide handlebar. However, because of the single-seat, one needs to be conscious that there is still a significant portion of the motorcycle behind him while cutting through traffic. In parking spaces, moving the motorcycle can be a bit of a task because there is no rear grab or anything to hold on so one needs to use the handlebar only. Moreover, I even managed to scrape the motorcycle once because of the low ground clearance.
The seat is on the stiffer side but gets adjustability. The foot pegs are also moved forwarded when compared to the Perak. So, the riding triangle is comfortable. The tank pads help the rider in gripping the tank so he or she does not slip while accelerating hard.
So, should you buy the 42 Bobber?
The 42 Bobber is priced between ₹2.06 lakh (ex-showroom) and ₹2.09 lakh (ex-showroom). At this price, the top-end variant costs the same as the Perak but both are significantly different feeling and looking motorcycles. Yes, the engine sounds a bit rough and the ride quality is quite stiff. But the decision of buying a bobber comes from the heart and not from the head. So, if one decides to buy a 42 Bobber then he or she will probably end up buying the 42 Bobber.