Yezdi Roadster wins car&bike 'Bike Design of the Year' for its Defiant Design

• car&bike Bike Design of the Year: Yezdi Roadster wins one of India’s most respected automotive design honours.

• Award-winning stance: A planted silhouette, blending cruiser presence with roadster ergonomics, made muscular with wide rear fender and one of the widest rear tyres in the segment

• Segment-defining modular design: Switch between a bobber-style solo seat and a dual-seat configuration in minutes, retaining a finished look either way.

• Nod to lineage: Sculpted fuel tank, reminiscent of Yezdi’s design-first heritage.

• Shadow Black edition: A true stealth aesthetic achieved by eliminating chrome and silver finishes across the motorcycle.

The ‘Born Out of Line’ Yezdi Roadster from Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles has won the “Bike Design of the Year” award from car&bike, adding another major recognition to the motorcycle’s growing list of honours. Earlier this year, the Roadster was also named the “Best 350cc Motorcycle” at the Zee Media Auto Awards. 

Yezdi Roadster wins ‘Bike Design of the Year 2026’ award at car&bike awards 2026

Boman Irani, Co-founder of Classic Legends, received the award from renowned automotive designer Thomas Dal, Dean of Strate School of Design India. The honour recognises the Roadster’s bold reinterpretation of the classic roadster with a ‘Born Out of Line’ design built around a planted silhouette, muscular proportions and modular versatility.

The company’s design-first approach pushed the Yezdi Roadster beyond predictable retro templates. Designed to be long, low, planted, and unapologetically defiant, the motorcycle blends the stance of a cruiser with the ergonomics and everyday usability of a roadster. The 12.5-litre sculpted fuel tank is a nod to Yezdi’s decades-long visual lineage and reinforces the motorcycle’s muscular road presence. With the liquid-cooled 350cc Alpha2, first-in-segment 6-speed gearbox, and assist & slipper clutch under the hood, the Roadster design also keeps rider-comfort front and centre: It boasts an accessible seat height, ample ground clearance, and relaxed ergonomics.

Boman Irani, co-founder of Classic Legends, said, “Recognition from car&bike carries weight, especially when it comes to design. The Yezdi Roadster was created by deliberately rethinking classic proportions while staying true to Yezdi’s rebellious character, a philosophy that’s defined the brand since the 1970s. As the only India-born classic motorcycle marque, Yezdi has always challenged the mould. The Roadster reflects that spirit. Its design can shift effortlessly from the stealthy modern Shadow Black to the retro Red Wolf. That versatility is exactly what we set out to achieve.”

The standout design innovation was the Yezdi Roadster’s modular seating, which allows riders to switch between a single-seat bobber setup and a dual-seat touring configuration in minutes, without compromising aesthetics. The design team engineered the rear section so that when the pillion seat is removed, the motorcycle retains a clean, finished bobber look with no exposed bolts, an area where many modular cruiser designs fall short. 

Akhilesh Manchandani, Head, Concept Design, Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles, said, “The design brief was simple to say but challenging to execute: Building a motorcycle that feels rebellious and planted, yet stays practical for everyday riding. The modular rear seat was the toughest piece of the puzzle. Whether running solo as a bobber or with a pillion, the Yezdi Roadster looks clean and finished. This award is a recognition of such attention to detail and the team’s effort to push classic motorcycle design a little further.”

Yezdi Roadster’s key design elements:

• Standout cruiser-inspired stance: A long, planted silhouette that delivers the visual drama of a cruiser while maintaining comfortable roadster ergonomics for everyday riding. 

• Sculpted heritage fuel tank: A reinterpreted teardrop tank , with the Parsi Faravahar insignia anchors the motorcycle visually while linking it to the brand’s historic design language. 

• Wide rear stance: A redesigned rear section with one of the widest rear tyres in the segment, giving the motorcycle its planted look and commanding road presence. 

• Chopped rear fender: A tight, tyre-hugging rear fender that enhances the low-slung profile and, when paired with a single seat, delivers a clean bobber-like aesthetic. 

The award-winning design principle is also reflected in the Shadow Black edition, one of the Roadster’s most sought-after variants. Rather than simply blacking out visible parts, the design team focused on achieving a true all-black aesthetic, carefully eliminating chrome and silver elements across the motorcycle, down to small details like fuel caps and hardware finishes. The result is an ultramodern stealth look rarely achieved in the category, where many motorcycles still retain exposed metallic elements.

With its muscular proportions, thoughtful modularity and fearless attention to detail, the Yezdi Roadster proves that classic motorcycles can still surprise, and that design innovation often lies in how a machine’s stance, proportions and usability come together. The ‘Born Out of Line’ motorcycle channels Yezdi’s bold and wild personality by allowing riders to shape the motorcycle around their personality and is available from Rs. 196,000 (Ex-showroom) upwards at authorised dealerships across the country.

Ownership Assurance Programme for every rider
The Yezdi Roadster is supported by Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles’ industry-first Ownership Assurance Programme, prioritising customer satisfaction and hassle-free ownership. It includes:

• 4-year/50,000-km standard warranty*

• Extended warranty options for up to 6 years*

• Up to 8 years of roadside assistance*

• Up to 5 years AMC with nationwide coverage*

• Comprehensive ownership benefits across 450+ sales and service touchpoints nationwide

*Conditions apply.

About Classic Legends Pvt. Ltd
Classic Legends Pvt. Ltd. was founded with a vision to reintroduce iconic motorcycle brands in India & international markets. The company currently boasts an elaborate portfolio constituting Jawa, Yezdi & BSA marquee brands. It aims to bring consumers a quintessential motorcycling lifestyle experience by co-creating exciting product and service offerings within its motorcycling ecosystem and bringing back renewed fervour into the performance-classic motorcycle market.