Surprise Blast from the Past! This new bike wakes up from dead, hits iconic Indian motorcycle where it hurts

Demand for new motorcycles and scooters is stated to have slowed down in December 2018. It caused the Eicher Motors-controlled Royal Enfield  to witness its worst monthly sales since June, 2011. This is a massive surprise. What is more, it is not the fancy Japanese motorcycles that have hurt Royal Enfield, it is actually a blast from the past, its old rival Jawa that has woken up from the dead that is responsible for the mayhem. Yes, the reason being cited is the comeback of Jawa motorcycles.

The two Jawa bike models unveiled in mid-November witnessed an unprecedented surge in bookings - it proved so popular it caused Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)-linked firm Classic Legends to halt the booking process on December 25. M&M had stated that bookings had to be halted as there is a stock-out situation at its factory in Madhya Pradesh. 

It informed that deliveries of Jawa bikes from the recent bookings will start in March 2019, and continue till September. Reports say that it was the first time in more than eight years that bookings of a bike was halted due to surge in demand.

The demand for Jawa bikes has been witnessed despite their higher price tags compared to Royal Enfield's Classic 350, which is priced at Rs 1.4 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), while Jawa 42 is priced Rs 1.55 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Jawa and Royal Enfield bikes showcase similar retro style inspired motorcycles. These were sold in the era of 1960s and 1970s. Jawa bikes are powered by a single cylinder 300cc engine producing peak power of 27hp, while Royal Enfield Classic is powered by a 350cc single cylinder engine generating 20hp of peak power.

Notably, Royal Enfield witnessed a drop of 14 percent in In domestic sales in December 2018. This is stated to be the sharpest drop since 2011. Royal Enfield sold 56,026 units in December against 65,367 units sold in the year-ago period.