Clay Jones in Dalian (& Beijing) |
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While Clay was in Beijing for the huge
sidecar rally he spent some time at LRM
hanging around with Gerald. |
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That gave him an opportunity to take some
pictures of LRM's top secret facilities. |
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Here we see a bunch of SV engine casings and
a stack of vintage PLA fenders. In case you're wondering,
these components all belong to Beta. |
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There's an early M72-style sidecar frame in
this view. |
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Again from a slightly different angle. |
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That gas tank in the foreground has the
unique offset filler. |
| June 23, 2004 |
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What's the big deal? It's just Wang
Xin, one of Gerald's buds in
Beijing. |
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Wait a minute. He's about to do something... |
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...yes, indeed. There's nothing quite like
than flyin' the chair. |
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He looks like he could ride like that all
day. |
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Here he comes.... |
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...zooooom... |
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...and there he goes. The flag gives it all
the more class. |
| June 17, 2004 |
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As many of you know, Clay went to Beijing to
attend the big sidecar rally and spend some time with Gerald
at LRM. Recognize the bike? It's Alpha,
and Clay got to ride it. As a result of the experience
Clay has developed a great deal of respect for 6V SV
machines. |
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Clay, Alpha and Gerald's crew fuel up. |
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Meet Gerald's crew. And feast your eyes on
those fine bikes they're riding. |
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Another view. |
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And another. |
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Heavy traffic. Lights and helmets aren't
mandatory in Beijing. |
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Wouldn't you like to be there? I sure
would... |
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A road hazard. Better him than you. |
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While in Beijing, Clay got to meet some
local CJ enthusiasts including Ma Lei
who we know from elsewhere on this site. That's Gerald
talking with him. |
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Great tats. He'd fit in nicely with the guys
here in New York. |
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I'd like to get my hands on a set of those
police lights. |
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Some of these fellows are crazy about
license plates... like me, for instance. I've been
swapping lots of old American tags for Chinese tags and
sometimes wonder if the tags that appear in some of these
pictures may have originated from my shop! |
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What's funny? I was stopped by the local PD
for displaying a small Beijing tax tag one time.
Meantime, this bike has nearly half a dozen different
tags on it! |
| June 17, 2004 |
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Clay's images provide insight into China
that we don't see elsewhere. Here's a shot taken at Liberty
Townright down the road from Wealth Town.
Everyone has a different interpretation on the meaning of
these symbolsincluding the Chinese. |
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This open-air upholstery shop is reminiscent
of the way things were done here in the US at the start
of the transportation revolution. These guys re-use as
much of the original seat as possible due to the lack of
parts. |
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The fellow in the army pants owns the bike. |
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Here's a guy detailing someone's CJ. I like
that T-shirt! |
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Take a look at this road near Dalian! Wow!
That's Jia Yin in the sidecar. CJs are
the only way to go on roads like this. |
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Another view of a local road. |
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And another. |
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Clay says that in Dalian, newlyweds are
often photographed in CJs. That's cool! |
| June 11, 2004 |
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This old school CJ belongs to a Chinese navy
guy who didn't want to be photographed. |
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So here's his bike instead, about as
original as they can get. |
| May 11, 2004 |
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This man sells produce for a living and uses
his CJ to pick up and deliver. The sidecar has been
gutted in order to carry his products. |
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But according to Clay, bikes are being
banned in Dalian which will impose hardships on people
who depend on them for earning their living. |
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So, will the authorities ban these bikes as
well? |
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Or this one? |
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Something suggests otherwise. |
| April 30, 2004 |
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Take a look at the swoosh emblem on this Shihu
police bike in Dalian. |
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Cool emblem... |
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Lurking underneath all this is a CJ OHV
engine. I like the spare tire cover and the license
plate. |
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They sure know to ruin a perfectly good
bike! |
| April 29, 2004 |
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Introducing Scorpio who
Clay met recently in Dalian. |
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He rides an M1 in Afrika Korps tan. |
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Cool bike! |
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Time nerver dies. Oops. |
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The stern. |
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Looks like a Type I Lanxiang
engine. |
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Another stern shot. |
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Too many chefs. They're working on Clay's
bike... and no, that's not Clay sitting on it. |
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Off they go... |
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Clay shot this sidecar running light with a
blue lens and a visor. |
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This home-built fender has potential. |
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Jiangxi speedo. |
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It's not a bike but it's still pretty cool!
It's a speedboat with PLA markings! |
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How would you like to own this thing? |
| April 24, 2004 |
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Wow! See how many CJ parts you can identify
in this junk pile. I see at least eight flatheads and
several gearboxes. What a waste! |
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This SV engine has an electronic ignition... |
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...which you can see a little better in this
image. |
| April 21, 2004 |
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During a recent cruise Clay makes a stop by
this windmill (visible in the enlarged image) to check
the oil plug. |
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Jia Yin at the helm and Qi
Qi in the bucket. |
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Here's Clay doing a little roadside task
that many of us are familiar withbolt tightening. |
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Introducing "the restaurant guy"
who bought his M1M for 300RMB and spent 7000 more to get
it roadworthy. (Sorry, we didn't get his name.) |
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He's a police traffic investogator who is
opening a coffee shop and game parlor. |
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As you may have noticed, he's fond of
miltary stuff. |
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He has an entire room dedicated to miltaria. |
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Outside the restaurant. That's Clay's bike
in the street. |
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It's Gong Shan Ju, aka, the
tax collector. |
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He rides around on this M1M disguised as a
modern bike looking for street vendors who don't have
permits. |
| April 18, 2004 |
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Clay just got a new garage! It's in a former
PLA installation on the side of a mountain. This little
dirt trail leads to it. |
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And here comes Clay on his CJ! |
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Jia Yin outside the
entrance... |
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...and next to the oil pit. |
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This is a short video clip from a Chinese
WWII soap opera where the hero rides a flathead CJ! |
| April 9, 2004 |
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A CJU first! Clay sent this short film clip
of a so-called plastic Chang being ridden by a local in
Dalian. |
| April 6, 2004 |
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Say what you might, but it's still a CJ750! |
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Dalian Petrol Technology Company.
Is that a CJ gas tank I see in there? |
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It's a CJ all right, in this case a
sidevalve, probably an M1M since it has a reverse lever. |
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Interesting dashboard. |
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The speedometer appears to be a Huangshan. |
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It reminds me of the COE Jeeps of the late
fifties and early sixties. Hard to believe it's really
just a motorcycle! The badge says petrol. |
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A close-up of the badge. |
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Would you recognize this as a bike? How
would you like to own one?! |
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Imagine how fast this thing goes with a full
load. It must get pretty damn hot inside that cab,
especially in the summer. But in winter it's probably
fine, fumes and all. |
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The license plate number is also painted
across the back end of the vehicle. |
| March 21, 2004 |
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Clay finally got his M1S down to Dalian last
week. Here it's being made ready for the journey from
Changchun. |
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Loading her up in the big blue
truck. |
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The reward? Beautiful, crisp and clear
riding weather! That's Clay with Jia Yin
and her friend Qi Qi. |
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While they were out riding they stopped to
check out this rock band called the Firebirds.
The band posed with Clay's bike in exchange for some free
beers! |
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Here's the lead singer. |
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Here she is again... |
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...and once more in a slightly different
pose. |
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Jia Yin and Qi Qi. |
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One last shot. |
| March 20, 2004 |
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Clay went back to the shop in Dalian for a
closer look at that old M1 in the back room. The asking
price of 5000 RMB is pretty high for China so the bike is
still available. |
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There's the frame tag... underneath that
green paint. But it's there! |
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Your basic 6V regulator. |
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Sidecar step as described on LRM's
page for identifying vintage Changs. |
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Gearbox. See the 6V battery tray? |
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This is a perfect example of how taillight
wiring was routed on older Changs. Those fasteners are
hard to find nowadays. |
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And here's that mysterious speedometer
again. Does anyone recognize that trademark? |
| February 18, 2004 |
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