The amazing CJ900

 
Here it is the—the rarest of the rarest of the rare—the CJ900.
 


Clay sents these shots of the 900 parked outside his apartment building in Beijing. You can also see Clay's Harley.

November 20, 2005  
Detail shots of the CJ900 from Clay Jones




























































November 18, 2005  










November 15, 2005, from Gerald Gardebled in Beijing:

"After several [months] of transaction and two years of hunt I finally was able to get the 900cc CJ in. This bike features a slightly different 900cc engine that the other ones that I showed you here two years ago. [See the images below.] That engine was built in 1976 when the others were built in 1980. The bike that you see in these pictures is actually one of the few prototypes of the CJ900 made before they started the small production run."































 
Take a look at this monster.
Looks a little like an R75 engine doesn't it? This is a rare motor. It's a 900cc OHV CJ engine!
It dates to December 28, 1980, and Gerald has three of them, all new old stock, still in the original crates!
These engines were built by Guo Ying Xiang Jiang Ji Qi Chang as indicated by this certificate that accompanied the engines.
According to the documentation, there was indeed a very small production run. They were made in response to the BMWs used by the Chinese Armed Police and are largely copies of BMW engines. They never went beyond prototype stage.
There are quite a few differences with the M1S engine.
Look how the starter is fitted.
The distributor sits on the starboard side.
That's a serious valve cover. The Chinese writing says Chang Jiang in a script that's a little different from what we're familiar with.
The carbs are a bit more substantial than what we're accustomed to seeing.
Here's the port side carburetor.
Carb adjustments.
Port side jug.
The air cleaner housing is also quite a bit different.
This thing is HUGE.
Detail of the distributor.
Carb from another angle. There's nothing cheap about the construction.
Double U-joint!
Final drive.
Final drive hub.
Another view of the final drive.
Looks like it was built for a swing-arm frame.
Clutch release and output shaft. Look how rugged these components are.
The kick start lever looks to be of very high quality.
 
This will probably be your only opportunity to peek inside the famous CJ900 gearbox!
Here's the left side.
Here's the foot shifter...
...and here's the hand shifter.
The front.