One fine day I am looking on baazee for interesting stuff.. I find this Yezdi and before I know it I have bought it.
I will skip all the drama in buying and getting and testing and discovering it.
Its a bike for people who like to bike. Simple as that. No non-biker will ever appreciate the beauty of this revered grandfather bike.
They will find it too fuel-consuming, too noisy, too heavy, too uncomfortable, too expensive to maintain, to unsafe to ride, tiring to veer through traffic, unpredictable dynamics, too old, not stylish enough.... on and on and on.
But a guy with petrol pre-mix in his blood will copy the whole paragraph on top and paste it in the PROS box.. So if u dont fit in.. get out...
Now for the review..
First of all let me list out the modifications that this 1978 model-B has gone through so u may know what points I dnt have a right to write on-
The rear grabrail has been trashed(pillion have nothing to hold)
half of the pillion seat is cut off in attempt to give the Cafe racer kind of look. And pillion rider has nothing to hold on except you ... so I can always hear them praying behind). anyway these seats are only meant for a rider and his bag.
Fuel tank is replaced with the tank from the Roadking
Steel Spoked wheels replaced with 5-spoke alloys
Silencer mufflers trashed.(loud like hell)
Yamaha headlamps, tail lamps, indicators(convenience and economy)
original carburetors replaced with the usual float-pin pacco carbs(no more overnight bleeding.. now its dry on side stand too)
fuel filter switched TEMPORARILY from the bottle-drip kind to the regular padded ones due to rust from tank going into the engine.
The total distance the bike has covered is somewhat mysterious because I am the third owner. As per claims, the odometer has been reset once and it has hardly broken down... if those are to be believed then this bay has seen around 1, 58, 000 kilometres.
For those who might be wondering and languishing in deja vu, yes this bruce’s bike, he is in UAE, and I have removed that hot chic’s silhouette off the tank
Now for the specifications so non-yezdi owners can get an idea--
Single cylinder 250cc(double silencers though), petrol pre-mix, 13 bhp, 25 kilometres to the litre, top speed is 85(thats just half throttle on top gear but if I take it further she threatens to blow up).
thats it.. company acceleration figures and other such trivia have faded out their reliability in the long 27 years of the bike.
Roads in our city being what they are, I start this bike everyday to keep her lines breathing free(and to drive the ground floor tenants crazy).. and ride it on sundays or for short trips.
I bought her in april and rode her a lot so I can find out her faults and fix each one of them for good.. she is almost ready for a long tour but I am awaiting funds so I can replace the tank.. its rusting from inside.
The bike doesnt have any issues riding anywhere, I just avoid traffic simply coz its no fun, I have the wind125 to get from point A to point B.But when I have no time or reliability constraints this is the bike to use. U can ride the yezdi all day long in the classic harley davidson pose and u wont even realise how far u have gone without being tired.And let me also say this bike is not for vrooming in and out of traffic like the little yamahas(no offence against the yams, I luv them too but this is a different league)... in fact when u ride this u will feel like a an old wise man going along in a gentlemanly fashion while the little excited kids run about. This bike has actually improved my patience levels!!
The pick up kicks some ass.. seriously.. but once u pick up dont expect three digits figures.. and u wont even feel like irritating that jumbo engine...u just want to caress her easily as she gets to the traffic speeds at her own pace... u can hear her groan if u ask something more.. apart from that if u ask her for a smooth trip she will take u there like nothing else.
The perfect thing to do on this is get up early sunday morning, ride atleast 50-60 kms, meet up friends, have a beer and get back home.But that doesnt mean u cant do more with this bike.. There are clubs who have taken her to the himalayas and back in one piece.. but that wud obviously require a complete knowledge of all the mechanisms because there is no way u can expect the bike to go flawlessly that far.
For those who are interested, this is the ’Jawa’ bike... as they discontinued the jawa, yezdi took over the same model, albeit with a different gearbox, and a slightly higher power output( 1 bhp).Am talking abt the old jawa.. the one with the torpedo shaped gearbox... I forget the exact model name.
Mileage is something that is variable as per the bikes maintanance.. u ignore her, the wheels will have more friction, or the gearbox will not have oil, something or the other. so u keep her in shape, ride her with tghe respect she deserves and she will give u between 25-30.
If u have read so far then obviously u r interested.. if u r.. get a yezdi for about 5 thousand... look for something that has the engine and the chassis without any rust, give her to a good mechanic(there are a few only anyway).. REPLACE watever is bad, note down what oil and what kind of parts are preferred, replace all the wiring no matter how good they are, replace the battery, and u will end up with something that u will always consider the best decision of ur life.
And anyone who needs the original manual for the bike and cant find it can get a xerox from me.. its awesome.. not like the little booklets they have nowadays.. u can get me at tavish911@gmail.com
Please let me know if u have any hints/comments/question.... I would appreciate any comments on the above review.