This is a 1981 Jawa 350 two-stroke that has been rebuilt by the team at Thornton Hundred into a 1960s-style scrambler, and it’s now being offered for sale with just 10 miles on the odometer since the rebuild.
Jawa was once one of the most successful Eastern European motorcycle manufacturers, particularly in the world of motorsports, where they enjoyed innumerable race and championship wins in events like speedway, enduro, motocross, flat track (dirt track), and ice racing.
Jawa produced a range of affordable motorcycles that were sold in over 120 countries, bringing much needed foreign income behind the Iron Curtain. Image courtesy of Jawa Moto.
Jawa Moto: A History Speedrun
Jawa Moto was established in 1929 by Czech engineer František Janeček. The name “Jawa” is a combination of “Janeček” and “Wanderer,” as Janeček had acquired the motorcycle division from the defunct German motorcycle manufacturer Wanderer.
Jawa’s first production model was the Jawa 500 OHV, a 500cc four-stroke motorcycle based on an earlier Wanderer design. Despite its advanced engineering (for the time), its high cost limited its success in the market.
Recognizing the need for more affordable models, Jawa introduced the Jawa 175 in 1932, powered by a two-stroke engine licensed from British marque Villiers.
This model’s simplicity and low cost made it a best-seller, establishing Jawa as a major presence in the motorcycle market – particularly across Eastern Europe.
In the years after WWII, Jawa expanded its model range, introducing a 250cc motorcycle that would enjoy worldwide success, eventually be exported to over 120 countries.
A Rise To Market Dominance
After World War II, the company was nationalized under the newly established communist government in Czechoslovakia. Jawa became one of the key manufacturers of motorcycles in the Eastern Bloc and played a central role in the ČZ–Jawa partnership, which dominated motorcycle production in the Soviet-aligned economies.
This 1981 Jawa Moto 350 has been rebuilt into a 1960s-style scrambler by the team at Thornton Hundred in England.
During this period, Jawa models such as the 250 and 350 two-stroke twins became staples of utilitarian transport in Eastern Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa, and Latin America.
The company grew rapidly during this time, filling the niche that was not yet occupied by the “Big Four” Japanese motorcycle manufacturers – in fact in many respects the affordable, reliable, and low-cost motorcycles from Jawa established the very foundation that Japanese marques would later build upon.
The End Of Jawa – And A New Beginning
In the 1980s, the decline of centrally planned economies and increasing competition from Japanese manufacturers led to Jawa’s reduced global market share. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in major economic restructuring in Czechoslovakia, further destabilizing the company.
After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Jawa Moto became a private company based in the Czech Republic. It struggled with modernization and faced challenges in re-establishing itself as a major player in a now-globalized motorcycle industry.
In the 21st century, Jawa underwent a partial revival. In 2016, the Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra acquired the license to produce Jawa-branded motorcycles for the Indian market through its subsidiary Classic Legends.
Jawa’s two-stroke engines became well known for their reliability, and many were modified for racing.
In 2018, Jawa motorcycles were relaunched in India with new retro-styled models designed to evoke the look and feel of classic Jawa bikes while incorporating modern engineering and design.
Meanwhile, the Czech-based Jawa Moto continues limited production in Europe, focusing on niche markets and maintaining a historically-important presence in racing.
The Jawa Two-Stroke Scrambler Shown Here
This motorcycle started out as a standard Jawa 350 from 1981, it was acquired by the team at Thornton Hundred, a highly-regarded British custom motorcycle garage, and given a full rebuild into a 1960s-style two-stroke scrambler.
The bike was stripped down and given a new custom billet steel subframe and frame loop, with custom mounting designed for the twin rear shock absorbers. The forks were also rebuilt at this time to better work with the upgraded rear springs.
The engine was rebuilt with new bearings throughout and a new exhaust system with a Cerakote expansion chamber. The bike was fitted with a reproduction chromed steel fuel tank, an extended factory swingarm, and a 3D-printed battery box and airbox with a K&N panel filter.
It’s been fitted with Excel wheels laced with Cerakote hubs when shod with Michelin Tracker tires front and back. A carbon-fibre seat base was used to help minimize weight, it was given a custom foam pad which was upholstered with a “Dave the Trimmer” seat cover.
This tastefully customized Jawa two-stroke 350 is now being offered for sale, the engine has been rebuilt along with the suspension, and it’s now ready for its new owner.
A custom headlight bracket was made and paired with aluminium side panels and mudguards front and back. The bike is now being offered for sale on Collecting Cars out of Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Collecting Cars
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.