STAR OF MYSORE A NOBLE MAN FARROKH K. IRANI

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Farrokh Khudamurad Irani, Farrokh K. Irani (or F.K. Irani)  is the Founder of the famous Ideal Jawa Motorcycle Factory at Yadavagiri, Mysuru, was an iconic Mysurean of his days since 1960. 

Ideal Jawa (India) Ltd was an Indian motorcycle company based in Mysore which sold licensed Jawa motorcycles beginning in 1960 under the brand name Jawa and from 1973 as Yezdi. The name Yezdi was established by a phonetic transcription of Czech language verb "jezdí" (rides). The catchphrase for the bikes sold by the firm was "'Forever Bike, Forever Value". Relaunched in 2022, the new catchphrase is "'Not for the saint hearted". Jawa motorcycles were introduced in India in 1960 and they have a cult following to this present day. Production was carried out directly in India by Ideal Jawa India Ltd based out of Mysore . The Yezdi factory was located along the railway line which heads to Mysore Junction. The factory was inaugurated by the then Governor of Mysore State, H.H Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, Maharaja of Mysore in 1961.

Jawa that produce Yezdi motorcycles was set up near mysore Junction in 1961.By far, one of the most popular motorcycles that kept Jawa Yezdi 350 Twin and Yezdi Monarch.

The Yezdi Roadking was a motorcycle produced in India by Ideal Jawa Ltd, Mysore from 1978 to 1996. It was based on the CZ 250 motocross (type 980.5) ridden by Jaroslav Falta to the runner-up spot in the 1974 motocross world championship. It was sold under the brand name Yezdi. The bike won several Indian rallies and road races. The bike had a 250 cc engine with dual exhausts and a semi-automatic clutch and Jawa/CZ's trademark integrated gear shifter/kick-starter.

MODELS:

CB unit models

The bike was silently launched in India in the late 1970s by Ideal Jawa. It had a prominent fuel tank and was finished in signature Jawa maroon and sometimes in black and gold pinstripe, priced slightly higher than the Classic and CL II models. The troublesome contact breaker ignition was replaced in 1993 with an electronic CDI unit. Until 1989, Roadkings had a provision for adjusting the front fork dampers.

Oilking

During the late 1970s, another model known as Oil King was also launched which featured an oil pump for the 2T mix with petrol 

CDI unit models

In 1993, in an effort to increase fuel efficiency and to solve starting problems the CB or contact breaker ignition units were replaced with CDI electronic ignition units. The livery was also changed. Fuel efficiency was increased by 30%, however the motorcycle's competitors were getting better and with rising fuel prices the sales plummeted until finally it ceased operations in 1996.

Monarch

At the 1996 Auto Expo, Yezdi displayed a model which used the Yezdi 350 Twin frame & fuel tank, and the Roadking engine. The rims were 18 inch as opposed to the regular 16 inch.

Ideal Jawa also exported many of the  models to over 61 countries around the world including  Turkey, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Egypt and others. Guatemala was supplied with custom White Yezdi Roadkings for their Police forces. Some Yezdi 175s were supplied to an oil company in Ghana. A model exported to Venezuela was called the Yezdi 250 MT. A few Yezdi Monarchs were used for Pizza delivery in Abu Dhabi, UAE                      

Ideal Jawa had factory teams for both road races at Sholavaram and the National Motorcycle Rally Championships. Yezdi's were preferred rally bikes in the 80s and 90s.

Starting January 13, 2022 the Yezdi brand has been reintroduced  in the Indian market by Classic Legends, after a gap of 25 years. There are three models which have been launched - Scrambler, Roadster and Adventure.

Classic Legends, a unit owned by Mahindra Group, has revived the OG two-wheeler brand Yezdi with the launch of three new models-Yezdi Roadster, Yezdi Scrambler and Yezdi Adventure-in India.

The Czech brand Yezdi is the third brand to be revived by the Classic Legends after it brought back Jawa and BSA to India. Yezdi used to sell motorcycles such as Roadking, Delux and Monarch in the country till 1996. With Roadster, Scrambler and Adventure, the brand Yezdi has made a comeback after 26 years.

All three Yezdi bikes are powered through a 334cc, single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, but are in a different state of tune and deliver different power and torque. All three bikes can be differentiated by their unique chassis and also feature different suspension and wheel sizes.

The Yezdi Adventure comes with a long-travel suspension - 200mm at the front and 180mm at the rear - and is the only variant to get a mono-shock system. The bike also has 220mm of ground clearance and rolls on 21-inch/17-inch spoke wheels.

All three models feature dual-channel ABS as standard. However, only Scrambler and Adventure get road, rain and off-road ABS modes. In terms of features, all three models come with an LED headlight and tail-lamp.

With the superb handling and powerful engines, the bikes from the company soon became a cult for the Indians. The major part of this cult is the Yezdi Roadking. It was powered by a 2-stroke 246cc engine that was capable of producing 16hp @5,000rpm and over 24Nm of torque at 4,250rpm.