Keen two-wheel devotees may be familiar with the name JAWA but perhaps less so with this particular machine. The Czech firm earned its corn by producing mostly rugged, strong, two-stroke motorcycles, and peaked in the 1950s in terms of popularity. But the beastie you see here and the stuff they sold in dealerships are mutually exclusive.
What we have here on eBay is a genuine JAWA 890 speedway bike, very similar to what 1976 World Champion Peter Collins rode to victory.
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Did You Say “No Brakes?”
Yes, that’s quite correct. No brakes. Literally zero means of bringing this machine to a controlled stop. None whatsoever. But then again, if it had brakes, they’d be of no use because you race it on a loose surface.
The spectacular sport of motorcycle speedway requires a rigid frame with a tiny amount of suspension movement in the front end. You race on a loose, shale-type surface on an oval track with a clutched start. Around 60 horsepower from a high-compression (14:1), four-stroke 500cc single-cylinder motor may not sound like a lot, but with frames that are little more substantial than that of a BMX, they’re supremely light.
Racers hit the first turn on short ovals at over 70 mph, at which point they overcome the lack of braking by hurling their bike sideways and “backing” into the corner at full throttle. They hold the bike in a sideways attitude until they hit the straightaway again. It is truly spectacular.
Is This a Good One?
The owner claims that 130 hours have been put into the JAWA and it shows—even before you start zooming in.
It’s just so cool. Evidently, the whole machine has been stripped, inspected, treated, and assembled. It has new primary and secondary chains and tires you’d expect, but details like the metal-flake seat cover, the pinstriping, and the rare intake/velocity stack (to the right side, just below the seat) show that careful consideration has been put into its appearance. The seller claims that it’s been built with show or display in mind, and they’ve achieved this.
What To Do With It?
What you do with a JAWA like this is the same as what you would do with any machine similar to those used to secure World Championships: little or nothing at all. These machines run on methanol and must be bump-started, so you’d need expert supervision at the very least.
Add to that the fact that motorcycle speedway is notoriously difficult and supremely dangerous, and that this machine is freshly restored, and it seems very much that its future belongs more in a lounge than at opposite lock up on the shale banking.
That said, if you do decide to run it, we want video!
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