Anupam Thareja Exclusive On Yezdi Roadster 2025, Classic Legends Roadmap And Much More

Classic Legends Roadmap: Classic Legends has recently launched the latest entrant in its iconic Yezdi lineup, the Roadster 2025. Yezdi positions the challenger in the classic segment, and the bike incorporates retro charm with modern engineering, starting at ₹2.09 lakh (ex-showroom). In a delightful conversation with Anupam Thareja (Co-founder of Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles), he shares insights about the rising bike culture, the Roadster 2025 and how Classic Legends tends to expand in the Indian market.

Here are excerpts of the exclusive conversation:

Yezdi motorcycles are in direct competition with the rival urban classic brands in India, and they have also mass appeal as far as urban classics are concerned. So, can you explain what the main changes are that you are bringing with this new model?

So, first of all, the classic market, if you ask me, is what is classic? Classic means something that was there and it's back, but it has authentic stories. There are a lot of old brands that are coming to India, but are they classic from an Indian point of view?

You may have seen those brands on posters, but the cool dads and the cool dads they were not riding posters. They were riding real bikes on real roads and making real stories. I think those lovable rascals, after their first paycheck, their first job, their first fall, their first love was on a Yezdi. So, when you come into the classic segment, you have to be authentic. You have to have real, authentic stories. Yezdi has those stories, and that's why I think this bike will create and open up the market.

There are people who are waiting to join a tribe. They want to belong somewhere. Who are you? Where do you belong? And they need that story, and this is that honest story, which we have brought in a performance classic.  So, it's not only just classic, it has got the most powerful engine in its category, not in India, in the world. There is not a single 350cc motorcycle in the classic category which is more powerful than that.

So, you have a grand classic brand, which is loved. You have a brilliant product, and the rest, I think we will see the love of this country. I think the bike is waiting. Their tribe is waiting, and I think we will see them.

Which upgrade do you think will make this bike stand out from the competition?

I think it's the design. So, there is a combination of this brand, this drop-dead gorgeous design.

So, we are known for our design. When we do our research also by design, we are like right here, and everybody is, and that makes us very happy. But I think, as I said, more than this, just more than this brand, design, product, it is the honesty with which we are bringing it. In a brand like Yezdi, I'm not going to tell you feature by feature we have to take away reasons. Why should you not buy the bike? To buy the bike, there is enough love. So, what are the reasons to take that out?

The reason is enough distribution, services available, good parts, and good quality. I think that's what we have brought. With Mahindra, with Anand Mahindra, with a bunch of all these guys, I think what we have been able to pull off is magnificent.  

How does this bike position itself with its direct rivals in the 300cc to 400cc segment?

So, first of all, I just told you this brand, there is only one more brand, probably that can have the same stories, similar stories. But these stories are much cooler, much younger. I don't know which city you are from, but in Delhi, the North Campus, the South Campus, the JJ College of Arts, this is where this wolf was preying. This is where he used to hang.

Now, how do you make the direct competition? You have to give more than what somebody else is offering. I think this brand is more. The product which we are giving is absolutely unbreakable. It's a phenomenal product, and now we are coming up with all the other tentacles, which is we have almost 50 clubs which have more than 15,000 members already, and that's growing. So, this is the tribe which we are building. So, I keep on telling people we don't sell motorcycles. We are into motorcycling. So, it's a lifestyle. It's a way of life.

Yezdi is not a product. Yezdi is an emotion. It's a thought. It's a way of life, and that was the brief I gave to my designers who now make a product, and that's what they made, the most beautiful thing you will see.

How does Yezdi expand its business in the current Indian market?

So, by the launch of this product, firstly, this product will be available tomorrow morning at all dealerships. We have come from 200 dealerships to 350 dealerships by this launch. By the festival, we will go to 450 dealerships, and by the end of the year, we will go to 500 dealerships. So, every 6 or 7 kilometres, you will find a Yezdi dealer in a Yezdi service station. So, that's called reach. So, you reach people. So, there are only three ways to increase sales.

There is a product, and there is pricing. So, we now have a product for ₹150,000 to ₹350,000. The third is distribution. So, we are going after all these three things, but this is called the business case. The most important thing is, as I told you, the software element, the brand, the tribe, the emotion. So, we are constantly working on all these parameters, and hopefully, you will see the results.

My last question is, why is this place (Mukesh Mills)? Why have you chosen this place? Is there any connection with emotion?

This is called Mukesh Mills. So, they say it's haunted. I don't know whether you saw the movie Om Shanti Om, which was shot here. The whole story is based on this place, so what better place to come and see where there are the ghost of Bombay whispers and a brand that refuses to die. So, you know, the eeriness of Mukesh Mills just tells you that legends don't fade away. They just evolve. So, that's the launch of Yezdi for you. And by the way, Shah Rukh Khan's favourite bike is also a Yezdi. So, it's a nice serendipitous thing coming to Mukesh Mills.

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