Jawa Model 653, ISDT replica
During the 1960s and 70s, Jawa was synonymous with success in the International Six Days Trial (ISDT), 'the motorcycle Olympics; a super tough, energy-sapping, bikebreaking event covering over 1000 miles across some of the roughest terrain found anywhere in the world.
Unlike many of the bikes entered by the manufacturers in the West, which were usually based on either road bikes with higher silencers and knobbly tyres or scrambles machines with lights, those made behind the Iron Curtain were made with one thing in mind - to win a gold medal in the ISDT.
In a variety of engine sizes - 50 to 500cc - Jawa dominated the
ISDT during those two decades and typically half of the hand-built factory machines were reserved for the Czechoslovakian national team, who were supported by the Government through their military sports programme. The two-stroke singles used sandcast cases which were split vertically allowing for quick access to the clutch and five speed transmission on the right side, with the magneto and points on the left.
Especially interesting and clever was that the entire crankshaft, rod, piston and transmission could be removed without removing the engine from the frame. This design allowed the Czechs to work round the ISDT rule that required the engine to be wire-sealed to the frame. Cheating some might say, but to the Eastern Europeans it was considered 'just playing the game;
How this bike - which carries the registration number of RTT 288R and originally owned by Graham Jones - came to the UK is now unclear, but it has been in the Greenland collection for over 30 years. George recalls that he remembers the bike being used in the 1977Welsh three days, but it's possible that it was one of its only enduro outings before being laid up.
Right down to its tank top mounted leather tool carrier and air bottle, it's 100%original and a wonderful, unrestored example of a machine which earned golds for the Czechoslovakian team in the 1978 ISDT. 0