"The Hard Part. Often these guys will pick a route that seems impossible and will go at it. They have all broken their shifters on this kind of route and today was my turn. That stock shifter for the OHV just sticks out too far and encumbers the shifting process. Anyway, a root caught mine and pop—the cap on the shifter plate was cracked. The gearbox is really good and ran well with little oil and made it down the hill with little perfomance loss. In one pic I have both levers pulled and was going down the grade by the seat of my pants. Jia Yin rode the whole way, often having to climb on the side of the car closest to me to miss the bushes that were hard to avoid in this kind of terrain.

These are the real Chinese—the guys who are not trying to get rich but want to use their newfound freedom to travel. Mr. He has tried to go to the US twice and has been turned down despite the fact that he has a busness and money in the bank. His sister lives in the US and so he is a flight risk. To apply for a visiting visa you must prove you will come back, a requirement for the Chinese (mostly and in other SE Asian countries.) The cost of applying is over $100. I applied once for Jia Yin but they were jerks at the embassy and will not even let the Chinese present evidence. I listened to Jia Yin's interview and man were they rude. I have nothing to do with the embassy that I dont have too."

"After riding Gerald's Type I (known the world over as Alpha) I had to have one. Seeing the difference in quality between the old and new bikes was one of the contributing factors.

Before I went to Beijing I had seen the rebuilding of a Type I engine (first pictures) and had tried to buy the bike at that time but the shop owner did not own the Type I and tried to switch me to another 6 volt. But I didn't flinch and told him I was only interested in the Type I. (I dont use the term Type I as it will raise the price, just call it "the old one." The Chinese have a hard time understanding why I want the old one so I told them I want to learn to do engine work on an old bike.)

After I came back [from Beijing] I visited the shop where I found the bike being built and they told me that the owner had taken the bike and had left. It was hard to get in touch with him but I did track him down—knowing his daughter took English classes from prior conversations with the mechanic. I asked him if he knew where the school was and then tracked down the little girl who led me to her father. He offered the bike to me for a price and we settled on 4000 RMB. It was running and had most parts except the cover plate on the front of the engine. I found two later and got both. They are pictured at the bottom. They both have markings on them. The one on the left is the factory name and the one on the right says Chang Jiang 750.

You can see my workshop that's attached to my apartment and overlooks the PLA compound. I have the bike in my garage in Changchun. In the shot with with Jia Yin you can also see my Donghai."