Clay Jones in Changchun |
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Clay collects motorcycles and owns a CJ,
a Dong Hai 750, a GuangDa and an
unknown make of postman's bike. |
| He works for a computer graphics school and
lives across from a PLA garrison. Nobody bothers his CJ
when it's parked by the garrison. As a matter of fact,
Clay has been surprised on occasion to find mothers with
their babies sitting in the sidecar. |
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This old soldier stands guard outside the Boy
& Girl Bar in Changchun. It's an M1 that has
seen better days but isn't beyond restoration by any
means. Those are cabbages drying on the
pavementfuture sauerkraut perhaps? |
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It's not such in ignominous fate for this
bike, really. One day it could indeed end up restored,
but for now its function is to draw customers into the
B&G. |
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Clay is well known around Changchun and has
assimilated nicely into the local culture. He respects
Chinese customs and traditions and has earned himeself a
nickname among the local kidsMo Tuo Che Da GeMotorcycle
Big Brother. I'd consider that an honor. |
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The enlarged view shows the entire bike.
It's mostly complete. |
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Same here, another vertical format image.
I'd clean out that fuel tank! |
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In this shot you'll see what keeps the bike
from disappearing as happens from time to time in any big
city. It's secured to the building with angle iron
brackets! You'll need a torch if you want to borrow this
bike. |
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Yep, it's mostly there. You can see the tag
on the 6V generator. I'll bet that carb could use some
cleaning. |
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One last look at the old girl. |
| 10/16/03 |
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Clay has been prowling around Changchun's Motorbike
Street by night, armed with nothing but his
digital camera and his wits. |
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This CJ has some effective brake lights as
the picture would indicate. These are pretty useful in
big city traffic. |
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One last look at the big brake lights before
we move on to... |
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...these fantastic CJ750 windshield farings!
Man would I love to have one of these, not necessarily
for the bike but for the wall of my shop. WOW! |
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Meet the Laoban, boss/shop
owner/mechanic from Motorbike Street. Here he is
wrenching on a customer's bike. |
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Full teardown in progress. |
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This proud mechanic is just beaming... kind
of like I do when I'm sitting on my CJ. |
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This bike belongs to a Chinese customer.
Some of the guys really like the US military look. You'll
see that it's decorated with US Army and MP
lettering. |
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Here it is again. |
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As it does every 24 hours, night once again
descends on Motorbike Street. |
| 10/13/03 |
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Clay's friend Lai Fang is a
photographer who not only owns this toy CJ, but a real
Dong Hai 750 as well. |
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And we'll close out today's session with a
look at Clay's bike. The enlarged image shows much more. |
| 10/13/03 |
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Again, night falls on Changchun and Clay is
out there, camera in hand. Here's a an M1M that looks as
if it gets a lot of use by its owner. |
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Say, that's not a CJ fender! Recognize the
forks and handlebars? |
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This could be a FengTong. The
sidecar has an enclosure for the passenger. |
| 10/10/03 |
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Some of Clay's bikes including the CJ and
the Dong Hai 750. The enlarged image shows even more!
These were shot outside his home. Clay has a camera on
the roof watching so he can keep an eye on the bikes
which are chained in a line. The police on the street are
really friendly and often check the bikes. |
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And what better way to complete the package
than Jia Yin? |
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This bike belongs to an old guy who lived in
a hutong that they were riding around in. Clay met his
son and asked permission to take his picture but was told
that the bike was more beautiful than him. Even though he
didn't want to share a photo he did share some beer. |
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Inside the house Clay was shown pictures
taken when the old guy was younga
carpenterand he used this bike to carry his tools
which is why there's no seat. |
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Down on good old Motorbike Street
near the train station was this CJ. You can see that they
don't always remove everything before paintingor
even mask!. |
| 10/7/03 |
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Clay and Jia Yin were out
riding around when they came across this squad of Changs
all dressed up for National Day. |
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The soldiers didn't seem too excited about
the photos so Clay kept his distance. |
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Clay drove while Jia Yin took the shots. |
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She was so excited that her hands shook,
thus the blur effect. |
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For people like usespecially those
who've never been to Chinasights like these are
amazing and priceless. |
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Here's Jia Yin outside a
meat stick shop. Yes, it's meatand many other
thingson a stick! This is a cheap way to get a
snack and is likely the safest because it's cooked in hot
oil and served right after cooking. |
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These gentlemen are grongren
(workers), freelancers who sit around the station to see
what jobs they can dig up to earn a little cash. When
Clay came out of the freight transit station they were
sitting on his bike and quickly tried to get off. Clay I
caught their surprise with his camera. |
| 10/7/03 |
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This fellow honked his horn at Clay while
following him. He just wanted to meet the foreigner who
had a Chang Jiang. Is that cool or what?! That's a Chang
Hong he's riding. |
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Clay thought this bike was pretty cool. It's
a PLA machine being rebuilt at one of the shops on Motorbike
Street. The owner allowed him to photograph it
but not the one inside his shop. Hmmm. |
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Another shot of the PLA bike. |
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This detail shot of the PLA bike shows a
grease fitting for the steering bearings. PLA bikes were
of very good quality despite the rough welds. |
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The Train Station 750 shop
where Clay buys his parts! You can buy jugs for 250RMB a
pair. There are two ladies who own this shop but the end
is near as Motorbike Sreet will be torn down. Clay
doesn't know where all the shops will go. Bummer. |
| 9/23/03 |
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Meet Jackson, Clay's
faithful companion and fellow CJ enthusiast. He has a
passport looking visa/license which cost 500 RMB. Jackson
is just under the height limit for dogs in this area.
Clay hears it costs 2000RMB in Beijing to keep a dog.
Everything is more expensive in Beijing, it seems.
Changchun has fewer restrictions too. |
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Chang Jiangs galore on Motorbike Street. The
latest news from Clay is that he's in the process of
acquiring a Dong Hai 750 to add to his collection. His
Chinese girlfriend is handling all the negotiations so
the seller doesn't know it's being sold to a foreigner,
otherwise the price skyrockets. |
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You could have this bike for a song. |
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A CJ front fender for $5! |
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These cylinders will set you back 250RMB...
or $30! |
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I'm pitching a tent. |
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Another beat CJ. I'd buy them all... |
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How about a complete frame for nearly
nothing? |
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Somewhereunderneath all that modern
looking stuffis an M1S OHV. |
| 9/17/03 |
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This very lovely lady is Jia Yin,
Clay's girlfriend in Changchun. In the
enlarged image you'll see a cooling tower in the
background, one of the many reasons they call Changchun
and the cities in the northeast da rust strip. |
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Changs on Motorbike Street. These
motorcycles start at 300RMB and go to about 1000RMB. (I'd
buy all of them.) |
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A regular Saturday event on Motorbike
Streetpushing a Chang! |
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This Chang was being offered for 5000RMB...
and it probably would have been cheaper if the buyer
wasn't a Westerner. The price to foreigners in China is
sometimes higher. |
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The enlarged image shows the entire bill of
sale for Clay's CJ. As you'll see it was 12000RMB. He
recently received word that there are two Changs in
Changchun being held by the Expatriates Motorbike Team. They're 14000RMB. Buyers be
careful.... |
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King is a Chinese guy who
very thoughtfully extended an offer to install a TV on
Clay's Chang. Never in a million years! |
| 9/10/03 |
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Here's a shot of Clay's M1S. Good looking
Chang! |
| 8/31/03 |
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