Jawa 42 Bobber or Royal Enfield Classic 350? Which 300cc motorcycle to buy?

The Jawa 42 Bobber and Perak are the two bonafide options in this displacement category.

I am interested in the Jawa 42 Bobber and I have a few questions:

1. Is this bike comfortable and suitable for a 5 ’11 tall person?

2. Does Jawa manufacture the custom dual seat?

3. Does the engine feel harsh at high speed?

4. What is the actual mileage of it?

5. What about the suspension feel compared to the RE Classic 350?

6. Is it worth buying over the Classic?

Ketan Belkhedka, Karanja Lad

Autocar India says: You can check out our video review of the Jawa 42 Bobber here, but essentially, this is a motorcycle that is all about the looks and it makes significant compromises in comfort and practicality to achieve that. To answer your questions, it is more comfortable than the Perak for tall riders, but this is still a bike that is more suited to shorter riders. As for the dual seat, it is not available from the company and while there are some options in the aftermarket we would not recommend you take the risk. 

The engine can get a bit rough and harsh at higher revs but there’s good torque available so you won’t need to rev it out too much. Depending on how you ride the bike, you can expect to get an efficiency of about 30kpl. 

Suspension comfort is one of the big compromises with the Jawa 42 Bobber and in that regard, the Classic 350 is leaps ahead. Between the two, we would suggest the Classic as it is much more comfortable, will seat a rider of your height much better and it has a smooth yet characterful engine. The Classic also handles better and you can remove its rear seat if you want to give it more of a bobber look. In fact, RE is even developing a single-seat bobber based on the Classic 350, and to read more about that, click here. Finally, the new age Classic has proven itself to be a reliable machine with no major issues.