Ideal Jawa - Forever Bike Forever Value

Guest Post
Author: Vivek Roadking

Jawa...... The name brings forward a lot of emotions. The love which is attached with a sentiment... The respect attached with its heritage... The passion with the sheer joy of riding one....The jealousy of seeing a better bike than yours.. A little ganchali with having a few parked in the house, seldom used covered with an inch of dust above and an inch of oil below.

Forever bike - forever value they say...a slogan cried loud by the die hards..a statement never understood by the posers.

Few still trying to figure out the kick-gear mechanism, few determined to push the machine further with whatever technology has to offer. Some bikes inherited.. Some bought.. Some built.. Some destroyed..some still under litigation and cravingly in the sight of many.

Some make a living by fixing them..some make money by buying new selling old..some use names for fraud.. Media publicity a requirement for some people.. 'Ignorance is bliss' for some others.

Exhaust note fans are many... Yajadee gaadi...2 stroke bullet.. Mileage 15ah?? Top speed 75alva??... address a few alien folk.

That incomparable smile when someone is jaw dropped watching u ride despite a broken clutch cable..that attention in the traffic signal with people covering their ears n noses...that embarrassing moment when the bike goes rich when ur showing it off to the non-technical folks of ur college!! That sense of achievement when you manage to fix the carb all by urself in front of ur girlfriend....

This brand has made the lives of many people worth more than they dreamt of... Made friends... Enemies who went to the extent of posing life threat.. But we still continue what we do...what we love.. what we want..what we don't want/regret...still living with ego..hatred..jealousy.. but the passion lives on!!

Vivek with his Jawa 350 Twin

Jawa Yezdi bikers to come together to commemorate International Jawa Day

It's that time of the year again when the Jawa and Yezdi craziness reaches its peak. Passionate Jawa and Yezdi bike owners bring out their prized possessions to polish and show off at the 14th International Jawa Day.

This year for the 9th consecutive time, Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Sports Association is bringing the event to motorcycle fans on the 9th of July in association with the reputed Bowring Institute in Bangalore. Starting at 8am inside Gate No 3, the celebrations will involve grouping together of bikes according to categories, special judging session, membership, t-shirt and food stalls and felicitation of club members and special guests.

We are excited to welcome all Jawa n Yezdi lovers to join us in the annual celebrations and share your love for these precious machines.

Here is a quick glimpse of the Award categories where the bikes will be judged by a panel across select parameters. May the best bikes win.

Venue                       : Bowring Institute, Gate - 3, St Mark’s Road, Bangalore

Assembly Time     : 8.00 – 11.30 am

Formal Program : 10.00 am

Around the world on a Yezdi with Deepak Kamath and Basavaraj

As we lead up to the 13th International Jawa Day celebrations across the globe, we would like to bring your attention to one of the legendary riders of yesteryear who has seen the world in record time.

Deepak Kamath and his companion G.H Basavaraj created history in 1994/95 by becoming the first Indian's to circumnavigate the globe in record time. They covered 42,038 km over six continents on their Yezdi Roadking (yes, an Indian bike) in an expedition called 'The Yezdi Castrol Continental Raid'. Their journey began on 8th October 1994 and ended on 3rd Feb 1995 with a total of 119 days with the actual riding time of 47 days. Limca Book of Records has honored them with the title as well.

Deepak and Basavaraj in front of the mighty Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Notes from Deepak: (If you are too lazy to read, then watch this video where Deepak spoke about his experience at this year's Motorcycle Travellers' Meet)

The Yezdi-Castrol Continental Raid... an endeavor to cover the length of the equator, 24901 miles or 40075 kms across all 6 continents with a minimum of 1000 miles in each continent without using the same road twice. Mode of intercontinental transport was optional as long as the start to finish gave the desired miles in the shortest period of time. Log book and photographs would substantiate our claim.

Initially, the plan was to create a Guinness world record based on the car circumnavigation that was being done by Indians (Navin Kapila / Saluddin Choudhury) and the British army, but no talk of anyone even thinking about doing it on a two wheeler. I wanted to be the first. Though Ideal Jawa was in trying times since the onslaught of the 100 cc fast bikes, they decided to support this dream as the primary sponsors. Castrol agreed to be the secondary sponsors and then there was no looking back.  Here is a step by step progression on how this project materialized.

Ideal Jawa: Primary Sponsors: Cash support to a certain extent of the whole project + Totally altered/ as needed bike + breakdown support in any part of the world + express shipping of spare parts to any destination in the world.
Castrol: Cash Sponsorship to the tune of distance covered. We agreed, considering this was way too low, the brand association was enough to get attention.
CEAT Tyres: Specially designed lugs for a 18 inch wheel and tyre support as required + Cash sponsorship AFTER we returned back successfully + advertisement campaign.
- Crompton Batteries + Addon Horns + Yenkay (VDO) Instruments + Timex watches + Rolon Chains + Canara Bank + Friends / Well wishers from India and around the World...the list is exhaustive!!

Route: Asia > Africa > Europe > North America > South America > Australia. (All km is the nearest approximate)
Asia: India: Bangalore - Nagpur > New Delhi (Asia: 2500 Kms).  
Africa: Egypt: Cairo - Luxor - Alexandria - Cairo: 2000 km.  We had to circle within as Sudan refused us a Visa and Libya cancelled our Visa as we were on the motorcycle.
Europe: Landed in Rome, Italy > Austria > Republic of Czech > Germany > France > UK: 5000 odd km
North America: Landed in New York > Philadelphia > Chicago > Oklahoma > San Francisco > San Diego > Dallas > Miami: 21000 kms in 31 days
South America > Buenos Aires ( by the time we reached here, my Brazil visa lapsed and we were not able to get : 3000 kms
Australia: Brisbane > Sydney > Melbourne > Adelaide > Perth > 6000 odd km
Asia: India: Chennai > New Delhi > Jaipur > Mumbai > Bangalore: 3000 kms
 
That was a total of 42,038 Km in 47 riding days and 119 days in all... why?  We left India when plague hit us (Surat, Gujarat). We were quarantined in Bahrain and subsequently in Cairo. My bike did not get past customs as perishables were prioritized. Gulf Air tickets and cargo that was sponsored by a Rotarian in New Delhi was the only airline flying and by the time we could coordinate the airlift from Egypt, we had lost major number of days.... almost a month....and ALL our Visas had expired.
 
My thanks to:
Tehmton & Boman Irani: Ideal Jawa India Limited: Without their confidence, there was no project!
Dilnaz Anklesaria: Castrol: Who believed that we could and stuck with us with their sponsorship even though the initial sign off was in 1991 and project materialized only 1994.
Rohinton Commissariat: Ceat... helped us with the special compound tyres and ensured we got the required half page exposure in most of the major newspapers in the world.
P A Nazreth, His Excellency the then Indian Ambassador to Egypt...incidentally, brother of erstwhile Union Minister, Ms. Margaret Alva, from Mangalore, my hometown and the common language helped us in him speaking to his counterparts to get most, if not all the Visa's renewed.  This was one major help, without which we just could not have progressed.
Air India for having included our motorcycle in the passenger baggage compartment as accompanied baggage, and bike being rolled out on the conveyor belt in JFK, NYC. ONLY, we Indians could have done it!!
 
For the records:
We bought paper maps from the American Automobile Association (AAA), since there was no GPS / Sat phone or any technology around to assist in travel. Internet and mobile phone was yet to kick in and we used a 250 cc bikes and were a object of mockery to many countries.
I am proud, very proud of having accomplished this and it makes me hold my head in pride that I did it as an Indian when there were many countries with more luxuries than us, who did not dream of achieving this.
The total cost of this whole project then was not more than INR 12 lakhs. Can we do it now?? Maybe yes.. Maybe no. But, definitely no at that cost. However, with so much of technological aid available at your finger tips, this adventure then may not be an adventure now!, but certainly if we are to target tight scheduled days, it will be something that I would be keenly wanting to achieve, one more time.
________________

Here is a collection of some articles and photos of their exciting journey through the 6 continents back in 1994/95. And if you are not satisfied, attend this year's Jawa Day on the 12th of July to meet the man himself at National College Grounds, Basavangudi, Bangalore between 8 - 10am.

Btw, we are also going to attempt to set our very own record.. so get your bikes up and running to be a part of yet another biking history.

Here are scans of Auto India magazine from May 1995 detailing out the entire journey:

This is what Deepak has to say to all biking enthusiasts, "I would like to highlight the fact that we did this in 1994... When India was just about opening up to technology. The fact that we did this circumnavigation purely with paper maps and what little communication connectivity we could muster up in those days, reinforces our commitment to the spirit of adventure in its true glory."

He adds, "The youth today is in a hurry. I see a lot of riders who don't care about fellow riders on the road. This should stop. My exposure to many countries has taught me abundance of discipline in using the road. Also, I noted that there are many forums now where enthusiastic youngsters and old alike share their commendable achievements. I feel proud. As Indians, when we accomplished this circumnavigation in those days, we felt very proud. The support and encouragement we received from many Indians living in the countries we visited is highly appreciated. I take this opportunity to thank one and all in this community for the support and interest in our project. Happy to share my experience and guide the youngsters to achieve historical milestones."

Sharing a few photographs and statistics from their journey and after...

Flight schedules and costs across sectors (Note: Air India carried their bike free of cost)

Total budget and expenses

Overall Statistics

In front of the Tower Bridge in London with another biker

At the Vatican, Rome

The team at Eiffel Towers, Paris

Deepak with his RK during the Leh ride

Update: Listen to Deepak speak at MTM 2015 on all his adventures - Youtube Link

Written with inputs from Mr Deepak Kamath
email: deekam_99@yahoo.com

10th International Jawa Yezdi Day celebrations

And we are back again for the 5th consecutive time and this time its a little different.

Yes, having grown in numbers over the years, we wanted to bring in the 10th year celebrations on an unusual note.

So we decided to ride out of the city and have our own get-together on the 8th of July 2012. This simple little affair will involve meeting up in the city and riding in small groups towards Tumkur. Our location is Shiva's Farm which is about 2 kms from Shivaganga town.

All interested Jawa and Yezdi bike owners are requested to register immediately with either of the following members. Registration fee is Rs 220/- for a bike with rider and Rs 370/- for rider and pillion.
Contact: Lokesh - 9880033994 or Amirt - 9880105455

Starting Points for Jawa Day Ride:

Starting Point - 1

Appanna - 98452 97723

Bowring Institute, St Marks Road
Assemble at 07:45 am

Starting Point - 2 (1st Pick-up)

Pavan Ramakrishna - 99163 26386

PESIT, 3rd Stage Banashankari
Starting at 08:00 am

Starting Point - 2 (2nd Pick-up)
Prakash Dreams - Garden Resturant. Opp Bus Depot, After Magadi Road Flyover
Starting at 08:20 am

Starting Point - 3

Kennith - 9916560207
Opp Hebbal Lake Park (towards Tumkur Road)
Just after Hebbal Flyover (towards Tumkur Road)
Starting at 07:30 am

Below is a route map to reach the destination. Details of the meeting points will be shared in our next post.

Feel free to call us: BJYMC

Amrit Appaiah - 98801 05455
Brian - 98861 01005
Samuel John (Sam) - 96116 78845
Lokesh - 98800 33994

Pre-event coverage for 9th International Jawa Yezdi Day

The Bangalore media have been constantly supporting us all these years and have helped us drive more visitors to the annual day event. We would like to thank them for their consistent support.

This year like the last two years, we did a small get-together outside the press club with about 10 bikes to promote the forthcoming International Jawa Yezdi Day on the 10th of July.

Here are three media articles that talk about this event. You can click on the image to enlarge it further.

Deccan Herald - Riding on a passion
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/171973/riding-passion.html

Deccan Chronicle -Oldies will roar on roads for a cause
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/bengaluru/oldies-will-roar-roads-cause-308

Udayavani - 19th June

MyBangalore.com
Jawa Yezdi bikers meet in Bangalore

http://www.mybangalore.com/article/0711/jawa-yezdi-bikers-meet-in-bangalore.html

Pls spread the word about our Annual Jawa Yezdi Day and look forward to seeing you all on the 10th of July.

Venue: Tasker Town BBMP Grounds (Shivajinagar Ground)
Behind Shivajinagar Bus Stand and Mosque, Nr Hotel Harsha.


Brian,
BJYMC

Register for the 8th International Jawa Day

With just about a week left for the 11th July Jawa Day, we are gearing up to make sure we put up a better show this time. Last yr we could not handle the crowd (can't blame them either) as they got over excited. Our voices were muffled by the loud dub dubs of the 350 odd bikes present at the open air venue.

This time we are going to be prepared and hopefully our PA system will be louder than our bikes. We have also planned a small program to honor our elders and mechanics who have helped us keep these beautiful beasts alive and running for a fraction of the price. I still remember spending about 300 - 400 Rs on one major service and my bike would run for a whole year without any problems.

We have also ordered for limited quantities of special Jawa Day T-shirts (dark green color) which will be ready a couple of days before the event. Those interested in buying them, pls write to Lokesh on mail2lokeshjm@yahoo.co.in or Amrit on amrit.appaiah@gmail.com or post a comment here. Here is a simple layout of how it might look.

We also request you to give your registrations either before or at the venue. The cost of registration per bike is Rs 50.

C u all next week and keep a look out for newspaper coverages promoting this event.

BJYMC

Forever Bike
Forever Bikers

8th International Jawa Yezdi Annual Meet coming up on 11th July in Bangalore

Been a while since we posted our club updates but we have been quite active on our Facebook Group Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club - 2007 and with regular meetings at Airlines Hotel and monthly rides. Do follow us on the Facebook group to get more regular updates.

The month of June has been quite hectic for us as we are planning hard to make sure the International Jawa Day event turns out to be a resounding success like last year. This year we are expecting over 400 bikes at Sri Kanteerva Stadium and this will surely be a sight for sore eyes.

Here are some quick facts about the event:

Date: 11th July 2010

Time: 7am - 9am

Flag Off: 9.30am by chief guest

The details of the route will be shared at a later date once all necessary permissions are in place.

To register, pls contact Lokesh - 9880033994 or Amrit - 9880105455 at the earliest and do let them know if you require a special t-shirt.

Look forward to meeting u all soon.

Adios Amigos