Jawa 350

Originating from Czechoslovakia, the Jawa 350 was the first non-Soviet motorcycle sold in the USSR after World War II. Jawa bikes competed for the attention of Soviet motorcycle touring enthusiasts with the Hungarian brand Pannónia, and remained unmatched until the 1990s. The origins of the Jawa 350 date back to the 1930s, but it was in the 1950s that the brand gained immense popularity – its motorcycles were exported to as many as 120 countries worldwide. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Jawa 350 was particularly well-known and liked in Eastern Bloc countries, where its 132 km/h speed limit and air-cooled engine made a great impression. Motorcyclists immediately charmed by the Jawa might soon grow impatient with its tendency to break down – it sometimes happened that the frame would bend at the back when carrying a second passenger, or clutch baskets would sometimes break off. Despite this, the Jawa 350, with an engine almost identical to that of the 1970s, is popular today in Latin American countries. If a Jawa can make it through the Andes or the Amazon, no terrain will be too daunting for it.

The drawing was made by Mariusz Felek Foltak.