Jawa Yezdi marks Czech Day at Delhi embassy, traces roots to 1929

A birthday marked at an embassy

Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles held Czech Day 2026 at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in New Delhi on 13 October, using the occasion to trace the brand's line from Prague to the Jawa 42 showroom in India today. Anupam Thareja, co founder of Classic Legends, the company that owns the Jawa and Yezdi names in India, said the day gave the brand a chance "to celebrate the origins that have shaped Jawa for nearly a century."

The event itself was modest, a gathering of company executives and guests at the embassy rather than a public rally. But it set out the full timeline of a motorcycle that began as a Czechoslovak firearms maker's side project and ended up on Indian highways for six decades.

From Prague to the Jawa 42

Jawa was founded in Prague in 1929 and built its first motorcycle, the JAWA 500 OHV, that year. By 1932 it had the lighter, more affordable JAWA 175 on sale, a formula of small, accessible bikes that would travel well beyond Czechoslovakia. The brand reached India in 1960, sold through Ideal Jawa, and ran for decades before production stopped.

Classic Legends revived the name in India in 2018 with the Jawa 42, now joined by the Jawa 42 FJ and the Jawa 42 Bobber. The standard Jawa 42 is priced from ₹1,86,925 ex showroom, with a 184 kg kerb weight, a claimed 26.94 bhp and a top speed of 125 kmph. Thareja said the Jawa 42 "helped establish the modern classic category in India," a segment that now includes rivals from Royal Enfield, Honda and Triumph among others.

A community that gathers every July

Czech Day is a small, formal occasion, but the bigger date on the Jawa Yezdi calendar is International Jawa Yezdi Day, held on the second Sunday of every July. The 24th edition, on 12 July 2026, was organised by Classic Legends along with more than 40 independent Jawa Yezdi rider clubs and dealerships. Riders took to the streets in 150 cities across 11 countries, with Bangalore alone seeing more than 500 motorcycles turn out under the Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club.

What began, by Classic Legends' own account, as a small owner led gathering has grown into one of the largest recurring meets for any single Indian motorcycle brand, vintage or new. For an Indian rider wanting to see a Jawa or Yezdi of any era in one place, that July Sunday, not an embassy reception, is the date to mark. Owners can find their nearest city gathering through the 40-plus registered Jawa Yezdi rider clubs that Classic Legends lists as co organisers of the day.

For now, Czech Day stays a company event with no public entry announced. The next test of how wide that community has grown will come next July, when clubs in India and abroad again set a date to ride.

Sources

• Jawa 42 Carries Forward a Czech Legacy Built in India
• Jawa celebrates Czech roots and its legacy among Indian riders
• 24th International Jawa-Yezdi Day Celebrated With 7,500+ Riders In 150 Cities, 11 Countries