Jawa 350 Motorcycle

Originating from Czechoslovakia, the Jawa 350 was the first non-Soviet motorcycle sold in the USSR after World War II. Jawa motorcycles competed for the attention of Soviet motorcycle touring enthusiasts with the Hungarian brand Pannónia, and until the 1990s, they were unrivaled. 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 speed limit of 132 km/h and air-cooled engine made a great impression. Motorcyclists who were immediately charmed by the Jawa might soon become impatient with its propensity for damage – sometimes the frame would bend at the rear when carrying a second passenger, or clutch baskets would 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 a problem for it.

The drawing is by Mariusz Felek Foltak.