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All the latest goings-on in the world of old bikes

THE ARRIVALOF new Indianbuilt Jawa four-stroke singles in Europe is some distance off, according to the UK importers.

The new retro-styled Jawa singles have been a big hit in India and are built by Mahindra, who also own the rights to use the BSAname worldwide.

The Jawa name is well thought of in India, where they were built under licence in the 1960s and 70s, before being rebranded as Yezdi.The new Jawas mirror the old 1960s Jawa two-strokes in appearance.

While a few of the Indian

Jawa models have turned up in Europe, the factory in Czechia continues to build the traditional two-stroke twins that have been the mainstay of production for decades, as well as a new range of 400cc four-stroke singles.

The Indian Jawas will require much development before they can be sold in Europe, where the total sale of motorcycles is one twentieth of those sold in India.

David Angel from F2 Motorcycles, the UKJawa importer, says that although he has been bombarded with enquiries about the new Indian Jawas from potential customers, there is a long way to go before the new models are ready to hit the European market.

He said: "There's been a lot of interest from EUdealers but there is a huge distance to go before they can be approved for sale. "Spares availability and finish will also need attention before we can consider selling them." Some four-stroke Jawas are available in the UK, however. F2 Motorcycles are selling the Czech-built OHC400 Jawas in standard, combination and cafe racer formats, as well as a new Scrambler model, alongside the company's traditional range of two-stroke twins. For details visit www.jawamotorcycles. co.uk.