The International Jawa Yezdi Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of every July. It is an annual celebration of Jawa and Yezdi motorcycle brands and the nostalgia, heritage that these motorcycles offer. Both brands exist in India, in their modern avatar, offering a delectable line-up of models that have a sizeable customer base as well.
From L to R: Deepak Kamath & GH Basavaraj on their attempt to circumnavigate the globe in the shortest possible time on a two-wheeler
On the occasion of the 2023 International Jawa Yezdi Day, we had a quick chat with Deepak Kamath, a veteran motorcyclist, who holds various cross-country records and was the first person to circumnavigate the globe for the Yezdi-Castrol Continental Raid on a Yezdi Roadking back in 1994-95, covering 40,000+ km across six continents in 119 days, with 47 days of riding, along with many other feats of long distance motorcycle trips. He is the only Indian in the world to have ridden a motorcycle on all seven continents and that is a record that still holds! Here are a few excerpts from Car&Bike’s chat with Deepak Kamath.
The certificate for the maiden attempt to travel the world on two-wheels
When asked about his inspiration to travel, he said it was his mother, an avid traveller, and his time spent in NCC, particularly the ‘1 Karnataka Armoured Corps’, that ignited his desire to travel across the world, and raise the Indian tricolour in places where no Indians have ever been to before. But, despite his travels and laurels, he is not satisfied, not yet. He yearns for more and is still hopeful of riding to places where people haven’t ridden before.
The Yezdi Roadking in London, posing with the Big Ben, Palace of Westminster
“At one stage in life, it happens that, you know, like you think that you are contented until unless you open up your eyes and dream of something that you think is impossible. Only with the right effort is something that it can be made possible for me today. I sit at my home; I look at my wall of trails which says. I've done all these seven continents and it's not like, you know, like, it's not like I've hopped, skipped, and jumped. I have really spent quality time in places where I've travelled to 79 international borders till date, across all the seven continents and that includes Antarctica,” Kamath says of his extraordinary travel tales astride a motorcycle.
From L to R: GH Basavaraj & Deepak Kamath posing with the pyramids in Egypt, with their beloved Yezdi Roadking
Quizzing him on his favourite motorcycle from the current Jawa-Yezdi line up in India, he says that the Yezdi Scrambler is a machine that he really enjoys riding and is his favourite since it offers a nice and linear spread of power and torque across the rev range and is quite entertaining to ride. Among the Jawa motorcycles, he is also quite fond of the Forty Two Bobber.
Among the current Yezdi line-up, the Scrambler is Kamath's favourite
“See, very recently I was in Pune, and I got an opportunity to ride the entire line-up of Yezdis including their Roadster and Scrambler and the adventure. I also got to ride the BSA. Oh, that's a machine beyond, you know any words? People should ride it to believe it honestly, you know, I am, as I said, you know, like I'm not a Jawa guy, but I really fell in love with the Bobber, particularly, the one in the Copper colour.”
And the Forty Two Bobber is Deepak Kamath's favourite among the current Jawa line-up
Deepak Kamath’s call-sign is ‘Armstrong’. When we asked him about his unusual call-sign, he had an interesting story to share.
“So, I think landing on the moon has been one of the phenomenal achievements of humankind, right? So, I was born in 1969 which is also the year when Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon. That's one part of Armstrong. And the second part of Armstrong is Lance Armstrong, the cyclist, who is a seven time Tour-de-France winner, and a cancer-survivor. Yet had the guts and will to keep winning year after year,” he said.
The duo covered a total of 40,000+ km in 119 days, across the globe, with 47 days of actual riding
On account of International Yezdi Jawa Day, the one message that he would like to give fellow motorcycle and travel enthusiasts is to ride and travel more for oneself and not for the social media.
The Yezdi Roadking was ridden for over a 1,000 miles or 1,600 km on each continent. The bike is seen here on a highway in South America
“I have been in this for four decades and 40 years ago, this was not the scene. People respected each other. People really loved talking about motorcycles, and people did races and rallies in a controlled environment. But today, unfortunately, it's all for social media? People doing crazy speeds and stunts and putting it on social media. Thankfully, the cops have now stepped up! You know, they try and identify and cancel licenses and do whatever, but then the person has already done that mistake, right? Somebody else has seen it. The bad example has been set already. Plus, the social media is already a platform which glorifies fear and that needs to stop.”
Kamath with the Yezdi Roadking, in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, during his attempt to circumnavigate the globe
Our chat with Deepak Kamath could have gone on for more than a few hours but for paucity of time. He is a man who loves a machine on two wheels and loves sharing his vast knowledge and experience of travel and motorcycles with enthusiasts across the country. And yes, his fondness for Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles is well-documented too.
He is based out of Bengaluru, Karnataka and if you happen to catch him, get ready to listen to beautiful stories on travel and motorcycles that will definitely fuel your desire to take your motorcycle out and get going.
