The Jawa 42 competes in the crowded neo-retro segment, priced from Rs 1,84,950 (ex-showroom). For that money, it offers a blend of modern engineering and heritage styling, headlined by its 294.7cc liquid-cooled engine and 6-speed gearbox. But what specific features does it have? We explain
Convenience Features
The Jawa 42 focuses on making the daily ride more comfortable and practical. It comes in two variants: Spoke wheel, which has a Digi-Analog combo display; and other is Alloy wheel with a fully digital console.
The fully digital instrument console houses a speedometer, tachometer, two tripmeters, odometer, fuel gauge, clock, and more importantly, a gear position indicator, apart from other tell-tale lights.
On the other hand, the semi-digital console in the spoke wheel variant is a bit more barebones as it only has an analogue speedometer and fuel gauge, along with a small inset that shows the odometer. Neither of them have any connectivity features. We’d have liked the higher variant to have at least turn-by-turn navigation for better convenience. Furthermore, the alloy wheel variants come with tubeless tyres (90/90-18 front, 120/80-17 rear), which makes fixing punctures on the road significantly easier than with the tube-type tyres on the spoke-wheel versions.
Safety Features
On the safety front, the Jawa 42 uses a 280mm disc at the front and a 240mm disc at the rear. While the base variant may come with single-channel ABS, the top-spec variant offers a dual-channel ABS as standard. This is a significant safety advantage, as it prevents wheel lock-up during hard braking on both the front and rear wheels, offering more stability and control compared to a single-channel ABS that acts only on the front wheel. The inclusion of an assist-and-slip clutch also contributes to safety by preventing the rear wheel from hopping or locking during aggressive downshifts, making the ride smoother and more predictable.
BikeDekho Says
While the Jawa 42 gets the basics right, it is not for someone who expects connected features in their neo-retro bike. What it does well is offer a sporty performance, while ensuring the bike looks retro-cool. The console also has just about enough features to not be too distracting.
