The Yezdi Roadking was a
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
produced in India by
Ideal Jawa
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 ...
Ltd,
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
from 1978 to 1996. It was based on the
CZ 250 motocross (type 980.5) ridden by
Jaroslav Falta
Jaroslav Falta (22 March 1951 – 27 March 2022) was a Czech professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1971 to 1982. As a member of the CZ factory racing team, Falta was one of the top motocross racers o ...
to the runner-up spot in the 1974
motocross world championship
FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...
. It was sold under the brand name
Yezdi
Ideal Jawa (India) Ltd was an Indian motorcycle company based in Mysore which sold licensed Jawa Motors, Jawa motorcycles beginning in 1960 under the brand name Jawa and from 1973 as Yezdi. The name Yezdi was established by a phonetic transcript ...
. The bike won several Indian
rallies and road races. The bike had a 250 cc engine with dual
exhausts and a semi-automatic
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
and Jawa/CZ's trademark integrated gear shifter/kick-starter.
Origins
The Yezdi Roadking was the successor of the short-lived Yezdi Oilking. The Oilking was the first motorcycle in India to attempt to move away from pre-mixed fuel to a separate oil lube system via an oil pump. The box-like shape on the left hand cover housed the oil pump. Unfortunately this system had a very high failure rate resulting in piston seizures. This resulted in the discontinuation of the Oilking and the birth of the Roadking. The Roadking though, still retained the protuberance on the left engine cover that housed the oil pump in the Oilking. The Yezdi Roadking was based on the 1974 CZ 250 Falta, where the original
bore
Bore or Bores often refer to:
*Boredom
* Drill
Relating to holes
* Boring (manufacturing), a machining process that enlarges a hole
** Bore (engine), the diameter of a cylinder in a piston engine or a steam locomotive
** Bore (wind instruments), ...
and
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
of was retained, but detuned for lower power than its Motocross original. The engine block is smaller than and different from the Yezdi Classic/Model B in appearance. Also the CZ original had a "Porcupine" cylinder head, which was used only in the initial models; the cylinder head later reverted to regular straight fin design. The cylinder block (Type 980.5) was from CZ. Just like in the older
Jawa 353 Kyvacka and the Yezdi Model B, the Roadking also came with an original Tesla (Czechoslovakian) headlight bulb as standard.
Frame
The frame is a single frame of
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
origin and was built out of square tube. The fork was more pronounced with a higher rake angle and came with adjustable
shock absorber
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...
s. Rims were 16 inches. The motocross and
ice racing
Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ...
origin frame and proper weight balance made handling very easy and agile compared to its rivals in India.
Engine
The
cylinder block
In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...
was carried over from the CZ 250 motocross, which had an over-square stroke ratio.
Carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
s were either Jikov (tickler
choke) or Pacco, wherein the former was exclusively for the Roadking while the latter was used for the Classic D250 model. The
spark plug
A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...
s were cold and the bike also featured a semi-automatic
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
, where a mechanism by the name cam and roller connected to the clutch push rod to engage/disengage the clutch which is unique to this and other Yezdi/Jawa models. The cam and roller is mechanically coupled to the gear selector thereby eliminating the need for a hand-clutch while engaging the gears. The motorcycle featured dual exhaust ports with dual silencers akin to most Jawa motorcycles, but unlike the CZ 250 on which it was based, which featured a single exhaust port. Another unique feature of the bike was that the kick-starter and the gear shared the same shaft as with all Jawa/CZ/Yezdi motorcycles. Once the gear rod is reversed it doubles as a kicker and once started it automatically returns to the original position.
Models
CB unit models
![Yezdi Roadking India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Yezdi_Roadking_India.jpg)
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
A contact breaker (or "points") is a type of electrical switch, found in the ignition systems of spark-ignition internal combustion engines. The switch is automatically operated by a cam driven by the engine. The timing of operation of the switch ...
ignition was replaced in 1993 with an electronic CDI unit. Until 1989, Roadkings had a provision for adjusting the front fork dampers.
Oilking
![Yezdi Oilking](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Yezdi_Oilking.jpg)
During the late 1970s, another model known as Oil King was also launched which featured an
oil pump for the 2T mix with petrol but later production ceased due to rampant issues with fuel pump failure. The prominent protrusion on the left hand side
gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
housing was the original location of the pump. Though the model was discontinued, the engine casing found its way into the Roadking and hence all Roadkings have this protrusion even though the oil pump is not included.
CDI unit models
In 1993, in an effort to increase fuel efficiency and to solve starting problems the CB or
contact breaker
A contact breaker (or "points") is a type of electrical switch, found in the ignition systems of spark-ignition internal combustion engines. The switch is automatically operated by a cam driven by the engine. The timing of operation of the switch ...
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
![Yezdi Monarch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Yezdi_Monarch.jpg)
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. However, it sold only in few numbers. Although some attribute its low sales volume to the company's need to get rid of the surplus Yezdi 350 frames that remained in the factory after the Twin was discontinued.
Indian Motorsports
In road races at
Sholavaram
Cholavaram, also spelled Sholavaram, is a suburb north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is popular as Sholavaram and is also known for the Cholavaram lake. Adjoining the lake, there was an defunct Air Force Airfield which was used as a moto ...
, the Roadking ran in its own 250 cc class, while in the Indian open class category its main rival was
Royal Enfield Bullet
The Royal Enfield Bullet was originally an overhead-valve single-cylinder four-stroke motorcycle made by Royal Enfield in Redditch, Worcestershire, now produced by Royal Enfield (India) at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a company originally founded by ...
and later the much more powerful
Rajdoot 350
The Rajdoot, also known as the RD, was a two-stroke Yamaha motorcycle made in India by Escorts group from 1983 to 1989. RD stands for 'Race derived' , in India promoted by Rajdoot in collaboration with Yamaha Japan.
It is a licensed copy of the ...
. Power was usually increased to 25+ bhp or beyond for Group E categories where the engine was bored up till 300 cc and over-engineered in stock trim. Among prominent racers were C.K. Chinnappa and Somender Singh. In rallies, N. Jagadeeswara Reddy won many rallies until 1980. Then racing couple
Jagat and Anita Nanjappa
Jagat and Anita Nanjappa are a well-known couple in the sport of motor racing in India. They belong to the Kodava community and are natives of Kodagu district of Karnataka. They have participated and won many motorbike and car rallies in India. ...
and
Thirumal Roy won several victories before switching to the
Rajdoot Yamaha RD350. During the early 1990s
FMSCI
The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, abbreviated as FMSCI, is the governing body for motor sports in India and was founded in 1971. It is a long-standing member of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Fédérat ...
, the sporting federation of India banned two-wheelers above 120 cc from rallies thus ending the Roadking's run in motor sports.
Powergliders
The Roadking engines were a favorite among the hang-glider manufacturers in India. A
Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
based manufacturer headed by late motor racing driver and constructor,
S. Karivardhan manufactured and exported several Power gliders using Roadking engines with modified aluminum heads, K & N filters and sleeved bore.
Further developments
As a result of power glider efforts, during 1996 Somender Singh, a former Ideal Jawa road and rally racer developed a more refined engine, made from aluminium as opposed to the usual cast-iron, with increased power and fuel efficiency which was featured in ''Car & Bike'' magazine. The design was never put into production even though it ended up with Ideal Jawa.
These motorcycles were also used by various police forces around the world, examples being Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey etc.
External links
Official Ideal Jawa site* https://www.yezdi.com/
{{Two wheelers in India
Ideal Jawa motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in 1978