Yezdi 350 Twin Road Test

[Sam Dinkar]

Got my hands on the road test of the Yezdi 350 Twin. This one was published in Dec '87 issue of Debonair. Thought some TAIndians might be interested in this. Lovely review of a lovely machine in true golden olden style !

By the way, how many of you even knew that such a machine ever existed?

[jayadev]

Yezdi was always 250cc ..350 is a news for me .
BTW I was wondering why Yezdi became history ?

I never like Yezdi in those times (I was 10) due to its noise ..duh duh dhuh.. and once I got hurt while playing with its wheels.

[jalex]

Great find there. I remember seeing one many years back, Infact it was the only one I ever saw. It was in bad condition and belonged to a peddler of sorts.

[maximas007]

I never heard of 350 but 250 I had used for a short period (a friends two wheeler dealer had one ). the one with kicker and gear shift rod the same. I don't know why they decided to do it like that.

And also it will run in 50% kerosene with lot smokes.

[Sam Dinkar]

Originally Posted by jayadev

Yezdi was always 250cc ..350 is a news for me .
BTW I was wondering why Yezdi became history ?

I never like Yezdi in those times (I was 10) due to its noise ..duh duh dhuh.. and once I got hurt while playing with its wheels.

Most of the Jawas/Yezdis manufactured in India were 250cc single cylinder two stroke models. The 350cc model had a had two-stroke two cylinder engine fed by a single carburettor. In technology terms it was way behind the only other two stroke 350cc bike made in India - the Yamaha RD 350 and failed miserably in the market.

Yezdi became history because of pollution norms and consequent changes in market dynamics. The two stroke engine could not meet the ever tightening emission norms and the market too slowly moved to fuel efficient four strokes. The Iranis (owners of the company) could not keep pace with times and the Yezdi died a slow and painful (to the enthusiasts) death. Ever wondered why there is not even a single two-stroke motorcycle being produced and sold in India today?

Surprisingly, the company website still exists !

IDEAL JAWA ( INDIA ) LIMITED

Originally Posted by maximas007

I never heard of 350 but 250 I had used for a short period (a friends two wheeler dealer had one ). the one with kicker and gear shift rod the same. I don't know why they decided to do it like that.

The design was common on eastern block motorcycles and was introduced to eliminate superfluous parts and achieve economy in design/manufacture. Jawas/Yezdis also featured an auto clutch mechanism whereby one could change the gear without depressing the clutch and you would be surprised to know that in the 1960s, this design was borrowed by Honda !

[P3T3R]

Originally Posted by jayadev

Yezdi was always 250cc ..350 is a news for me .

Originally Posted by maximas007

I never heard of 350 but 250 I had used for a short period

Originally Posted by Sam Dinkar

Most of the Jawas/Yezdis manufactured in India were 250cc single cylinder two stroke models. The 350cc model had a had two-stroke two cylinder engine fed by a single carburettor. In technology terms it was way behind the only other two stroke 350cc bike made in India - the Yamaha RD 350 and failed miserably in the market.

The 350 was not well known. People used to think it was a Roadking or some modified 250. The Engine was actually a Jawa. The yezdi 250 was also based on a Jawa.

[Sam Dinkar]

Originally Posted by P3T3R

The 350 was not well known. People used to think it was a Roadking or some modified 250. The Engine was actually a Jawa. The yezdi 250 was also based on a Jawa.

Trivia: In Czech, Jawa means , 'it moves' !

[cooldhaya]

I remember my dad owning an Yezdi when i was a very small kid around 10 years old , sorry guys don't have any picture and also don't know whether it was 250cc or 350cc. All i remember is , it had dual exhaust pipes.

[smooth rider]

i remeber seeing this bike ie the 350 cc but i was of the impression that it was the same 250cc with cosmetic changes only. getting burned by the twin exhaust was common in those days.yezdi was in my dreams in those days as i was fearful of the heavy bullet.

[Sam Dinkar]

Do you know that the Yezdi 250 could also be ridden in reverse gear? After following a particular kick start sequence, the crankshaft would rotate in the opposite direction and the bike would move backwards after releasing the clutch. Watch this in action !

yezdi runnning in reverse - YouTube

[maximas007]

Yes had run it like that but not intentional it was a accident only happened once or twice.
I don't know it could be done intentionally .
Good video

[jalex]

Originally Posted by Sam Dinkar

Do you know that the Yezdi 250 could also be ridden in reverse gear? After following a particular kick start sequence, the crankshaft would rotate in the opposite direction and the bike would move backwards after releasing the clutch. Watch this in action !

Me and a friend used to do this on his 250 classic. Its scary at times when it happens without intention.

[Sam Dinkar]

jalex: Have heard that there are quite a foe Yezdis/jawas in Kerala. Do you still see them around there? These are tough bikes and so it takes a long time to kill them, even if they are abused like anything.

[jalex]

Originally Posted by Sam Dinkar

jalex: Have heard that there are quite a foe Yezdis/jawas in Kerala. Do you still see them around there? These are tough bikes and so it takes a long time to kill them, even if they are abused like anything.

One of our members, muni_phantom has got one, He's from Kerala. He's restored it. Thats the link to the story: Restoration of Yezdi Classic II

Yezdi parts are quite hard to come by recently, after the bike has become a 'classic' in the automotive scene.