Visit to Jawa Museum in Konopiste, Benesov, Czech Republic

Personal Report:

Visiting the Jawa Museum was on my bucket list for many years as I've spent most of my life around Jawa and Yezdi bikes, I finally got an opportunity to see the Jawa Museum on the outskirts of Prague in June of 2018. The place is small yet has a wide collection of rare Jawa and CZ bikes that rolled out of the plant since 1929.

Where is it: Museum Jawa Konopiště
Konopiště 30, 256 01 Benešov u P, Czechia

How to get there:
This museum is about 45 kms from Prague and the fastest way to get there is by train or private car. Take a train from Prague main station to Benešov u Prahy which is a small sleepy town. You will have to take a local bus No. 455 to Konopiste (2.5kms) from opposite the train station for 12 Czech Krona. Since the bus schedules are not very frequent, you might want to take a local cab to save time. You can also take the road train shuttle which runs across many points in the city and drops you off near the Konopiste Castle for 20 Czech Korna.

The museum is part of a Pension (Hotel) and the entrance is through it. Entry fee to the museum is 100 Krona. I started at 9am from Prague station and was back in the city by 2.15pm considering the trains run at 30 - 45 min intervals and take about an hour to reach Benesov.

Museum:
The museum building is set on the opposite side of Konopiste Castle within a hotel. After finding you way thru, you feel like a kid in a candy store once you enter this room with bikes of all kinds stacked in two levels along with rare posters and banners adorning all other empty spaces. They are so tightly packed that you cannot even get a clear picture of them. Since I was one among the four other visitors there, I had all the time in the world to go thru their rare collection.

I've uploaded almost all pictures that i've taken from there in our BJYMC Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1788907331200844.1073741833.319665838125008&type=1&l=0fa78c01a5

The museum also has some brochures, fridge magnets, postcards, tshirts and caps for sale to generate some revenue to help in maintaining the place. If you are a Jawa fan and happen to visit Czech, then sparing half a day for this visit isn't a bad idea.

Are you attending the 16th International Jawa Day on 8th July18?

Sometimes you wonder how time flies.. Before you know it, we are already looking at another Jawa Day event on the 8th of July at St Joseph's Indian High School Grounds in Bangalore.

To keep it brief, this year being our 11th year in Bangalore, we want to showcase a collection of all models of Jawa and Yezdi bikes that rolled out of the Ideal Jawa Factory in Mysore.

We are also inviting Adil Jal Darukhanawala, a veteran automotive journalist and editor, Somender Singh, veteran Yezdi racer and inventor of patented grooving technology for engines along with veteran Chennai racers Sohail Sarooshi, Ashok Krishnan and Ravi Thirumalai to be part of this year's event. You wouldn't want to miss hearing their stories for sure.

So, come over with your prized Jawa / Yezdi bikes at 10.30am and if you do not own one, just walk in to the event to appreciate some of the best kept jewels in India. You will also get to buy a few unique merchandize at the event which are limited in quantity.

BJYMC attempts Guinness Record during 15th International Jawa Day

On the occasion of 15^th International Jawa Day, members of Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcyle Club attempt to set a Guinness Record. A total of 418 Yezdi brand of bikes and their proud owners participated in a rally around Bangalore on 9^th July starting from St Joseph’s Indian High School Grounds to qualify for the ‘Largest Parade of Yezdi Bikes’.

First bike to register for Guinness Record attempt

The 15^th International Jawa Day celebrations witnessed large participation from both the young and old and saw a total of over 550 bikes across both the Jawa, CZ and Yezdi brands. These brands have been out of production since 1996 after the Ideal Jawa factory shut shop in Mysore.

To comply with the rules of Guinness, all 418 participating Yezdi bikes were strictly scrutinized, photographed and numbered by marshals. All eligible participants went on a 5 km parade around Kanteerva Stadium and Chinnaswamy Stadium to qualify for the record. The entire event was covered live to adhere to the rules.

Once the riders assembled back at the venue, a formal function was held to recognize all the senior riders from yesteryears along with mechanics and members of various clubs. This year, riders from Mangalore, Mysore, Mumbai, Pune, Nagercoil and various parts of Kerala rode all the way to Bangalore to participate in the Guinness attempt. Sharing some media coverage carried in Deccan Herald and Economic Times post the event.

Back in 2015, BJYMC entered the Limca Book of Records for the ‘Largest Gathering of out-of-production Jawa Yezdi bikes in India’ with over 537 Jawa and Yezdi Bikes.