Chang Jiang



Gerald Gardebled in Beijing
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	When it comes to Chang Jiangs, Gerald is indeed the man. He was born in Martinique and has lived in China for ten years, six of which he has devoted to CJs—his passion. He has vast technical and historical knowledge and is dedicated to preserving the originality of CJ750 and Donghai 750 motorcycles. He is widely known as the CJ Guru. Favorite activity? Riding his CJ all over China.

		"Here is a brand new, early CJ headlight with the BMW-style ignition switch. It also has a stamped Chang Jiang logo!"
January 18, 2006
	"These are original fork middle sections for low front fenders. They came that way from a PLA stock and are not the standard ones that are usually cut to use with low fenders"
May 17, 2006
	"From the CJ wonderland, a brand new M72-style CJ sidecar frame. This is a very early Chinese-made one according to the way the front part would be attached to the bike frame. These were made until 1969."
May 10, 2006
	"Six band new Type I tranny cases. The good thing about these is that on a former trip I had gathered the foot shifter parts and some other little parts that are really hard to find. Without these building a Type I tranny would be impossible. Two of the six cases are the very early version of the Type I, the same as the M72. In the bottome picture we see both versions next to each other. You can see the differences. The four other cases are all from 1965 according to the stampings found on them. I'll have to remove the protective wax on the two others to find out what year they were made."
May 10, 2006
	"Here are some early final drive covers, same as the M72 covers and different from the ones made nowadays."
May 10, 2006
	"I came back with some PLA issue clutch actuating parts, too."
May 10, 2006
	"Original PLA petcocks, the first type used on the CJ and much better than the ones made now. They don't leak and they have a better gasoline flow. I made a flow comparison with the Honda petcock that fits a CJ and they are the same—but the CJ petcock is cheaper than a US$50-60 Honda petcock! The vintage original CJ petcocks are not easy to find."
May 10, 2006
	On deck for restoration at LRM is this fine old warhorse, a 1967 PLA M1. It has an M72-style sidecar frame and fuel tank with knee pads plus a number of other interesting features.
April 25, 2006
	Gerald's recent visit to CJ Wonderland resulted in this wonderful find, an offset fuel filler gas tank with one of Chairman Mao's quotations on it. It's a genuine PLA artifact from the Cultural Revolution.
April 24, 2006
	Also from the wonderland, these sidecar running light bezels and lenses. The lenses are embossed with the CJ750 logo and best of all—they're made of glass.
April 24, 2006
	"Here's a Type I tranny—really hard to find nowadays. They are rare. When you find one you are happy but when you find the one like this you are happier. Why? Because this one has never been apart. According to the checks I have made it doesn't have many kilometers too. The interesting thing is the wire used to seal the shifter. The adjusting screw bolts have holes as does the upper right side of the shifter cover screw. These holes are for wire and that has a seal pressed on the end, proof that this tranny was never taken apart. It's the first time I've seen this and I've asked others (such as M72 restorers and dealers) and they have never seen this done on the M72 trannies that are the same as the CJ Type I."
March 22, 2006
	"Here are pictures of 34HP OHV race engine parts. They are aluminum. I have managed to get the jugs, cranks and pushrods in order to build a couple engines and bikes. If there are some people interested in these race engines with aluminum jugs (or a kit to improve their actual OHV engines) they can contact me. Bikes, engines and kits will be available. Also, I am working on the Gamma Project right now and it should be ready this week. As soon as it is I'll send you the pictures." Most excellent!
January 18, 2006
	"Here is the completely finished 6V OHV racing engine. It features a dual exit ignition coil. The cylinder head covers are old production made with much thicker aluminum than the ones made nowadays. You can see how much better they are when you take them in hand. They have some interesting markings on them. There is also a picture of the engine tag. As you can see it is written CJ650. This engine is 34HP. The standard 12V OHV engine is 30HP. This engine has been fitted with PZ26 26mm carburetors that are the best in size for this type of engine. They are not produced anymore."
January 5, 2006
	"Here it is, the 6V OHV CJ650 engine with aluminum jugs, all rebuilt. The 650 does not mean that the engine is 650cc. According to the people I talked with who know a little about this engine, it's a 750cc and the 650 does not stand for cc. So this is mainly how I did the rebuild: The original CJ 650 engine was a 12V so the first thing I did was to remove all the 12V components to have this engine turn into a much more reliable 6V one. There are too many troubles with the 12V system on a CJ. I also removed the cast iron cylinders. I changed all the bearings with NTN and FAG ones. I also had the aluminum cylinders prepared with cross hatching. I used a pair of early OHV cylinder heads with brass jacket for the spark plugs and brass valve guides. I out in the OHV 6V camshaft and that's it. I will build a solo for this engine and it will become one other member of my little float of rare CJs.'
December 29, 2005
	"Here is a crank from a CJ650 OHV engine. The crank is the one at the bottom of the picture. The crank at the top is a standard one. As you can see the body of the crank at the bottom is shorter than the standard one. The rods are the same length but the stroke is shorter due to a shorter body."
December 19, 2005
	Gerald has a talent for seeking out the rare and unusual as we have seen in the past with the CJ900, a 6V 650c OHV, CJ racers and a number of other oddities. Gerald's most recent discovery is a set of aluminum racing jugs for the OHV engine. Such an engine generates 36 HP. These jugs were made in the eighties and nineties and are surely rare. You can follow the thread on the Chang Jiang Experience to learn more. One of the things mentioned there is the fact that the cylinders had sleeves. What will he come up with next? Stay tuned...
December 18, 2005
	Here are some rarely-seen factory issued CJ stainless steel gas caps.
December 17, 2005
	This LRM solo OHV is heading for Canada. Classic!
November 27, 2005
	"TWO WHEELED TROUBLE" according to the headline of this Beijing newspaper. Hey, wait a minute! That's Gerald!
November 18, 2005
	"Here are pictures of my solo M1 6V that features a 1974 NOS PLA engine, tranny and rear end. The pictures were taken by Clay and Jia Yin."
November 7, 2005
	"This is an old Russian truck at the airfield of the Hong Du factory in Nan Chang. You can see the HONG DU factory logo on the door."
November 5, 2005
	"Here are pictures of my last find from one of my hunting trips for vintage parts trip—a brand new Type I crankcase and a brand new Type I tranny case. Both rare items nowadays."
November 5, 2005
	A partially built Type I gearbox.

	"Here are pictures of a partially built 6V Type I engine. This engine has been built with only brand new vintage parts except the following: • The bearings are FAGs. • The flywheel is a lighter one from the early nineties. • The pistons will be the newer upgrade ones made by the Factory Number 52. I have been testing them on Thierry's bike during the Mongolian trip and they performed well. This engine will be 26P instead of 22HP. Note that the engine case is a brand new one from 1965."

	A lot of new Changs come with tool kits, frequently of poor quality. But these square headed sockets for head bolts are the real thing, a must-have.
	This is probably kind of a rarity, a tire pump!
	There are some jobs you simply won't be able to do without these special spanners.
	At first glance, this Type I horn and spark advance control switch/lever looks pretty nasty.
	But that brown stuff is actually a protective wax and paper coating applied by the factory to preserve the metal.
	Once it's removed, this rare item will look brand new again!
July 4, 2004
	These are extremely hard to find nowadays. It's a Type I horn and spark advance control switch/lever.
	It came at the right time since Gerald is starting yet another CJ restoration.
July 2, 2004
	This is a Type II headlamp from 1970-72.
	Gerald just got four of them that he'll use in upcoming LRM vintage restorations.
	This type of headlamp has two small threaded holes instead of the one big one used nowadays for mounting turn signals.
June 17, 2004
	Vintage Gong Nong brand rear brake light switches. Gong Nong means, literally, workers and peasants.
May 29, 2004
	This is a Type I rear brake switch as found on early Changs as well as the Xing Fu 250 pictured on the box. The enlarged image also shows the switch. The labels on these old boxes are most excellent.
April 21, 2004
	This is interesting. It's a 6V generator from 1965 with Cyrillic letters. The letter shah is used (along with the English AW) to identify the armature terminal while the letter ya indicates the field terminal.
	The number tag has a mixture of Chinese and Russian and—as pointed out by Greg Johnson—a little bit of English as well.
	Here are two pictures of a steering brake part that look exactly like the one used on early M72s.
	They came from a 1965 Chang.
January 7, 2004
	This image shows the number cast into a final drive casing made by PLA Factory 7416. It was made in 1967. The Chinese characters make it all the more interesting.
January 6, 2004
	This is a Globe brand (Di Qiu Pai) ignition switch that was used during the sixties and seventies. It's from the same factory that made CJ coils, points and condensers.
12/30/03
	A vintage spark advance lever like the one used on Alpha, complete with Chinese characters..
	This one has been modified for use with a Type II horn and headlamp.
	Here's one way to modify them—just cut it in half!
11/11/03
	This is a Type II horn and headlight switch, in use since the 1970s.
	All real Chang Jiangs should have one.
11/11/03
	This is a genuine PLA air filter housing. These are slightly smaller than the housings now in use.
	The smaller size not only looks good but it takes up less space...
	...making it easier to perform maintenance, etc.
11/11/03
	Four PLA issue rear fender reflectors that were found on all Changs until the late seventies.
11/10/03
	This is great! It's a CJ750 Type I spark advance lever with built-in horn switch and headlamp control. The lever at the bottom of the assembly pulls a cable connected to a dimmer switch inside the headlight.
	And this is the dimmer switch that sits inside the headlight.
	Best of all, the Chinese writing. Hey Gerald, I need one of these!
	This is really nice!
11/10/03
	More images from Gerald's trip to CJ holy city of Nanchang. This is a small shop that specializes in wheels although they also sell other stuff.
	New rims waiting to be assembled.
	Trueing stand. (I think all of my wheels missed this step.)
	Ready to roll!
11/9/03
	Introducing the Gai Zhuang 750. This image is from a Chinese magazine. It's an OHV CJ dressed up to resemble a Harley. Yipes.
11/9/03
	A throttle cable from PLA factory No. 7407.
11/8/03
	One stop during Gerald's trip to Nanchang was the shop that does lighting for CJs and other brands of bikes.
	Lenses, housings, etc. It's all here.
	Headlight rims, etc.
	Assorted components...
	...and more...
	...and some wiring and connectors.
	During Gerald's visit the workers were working on some of the last headlamps that will be available for CJs from this facility.
	The numbers of available old-style CJ headlmaps are diminishing.
11/8/03
	I'm not exactly sure what this jig is used for but it's part of the CJ manufacturing process.
11/8/03
	Gerald just made a two-day buying trip to the Holy City of Nanchang. Here, seen from the window of the train that took him there, is the Long River, more commonly known as the Chang Jiang.
	Parked outside one of the shops he visted was this CJ which looks like it was built from a wide variety of parts, both new and vintage. The shop uses this bike for deliveries, etc. This particular shop specializes in engine components and is one of the last sources for certain vintage items. Gerald says it's the number one engine parts shop in all of China.
	If you're wondering what's inside, take a look! The enlarged image shows even more! Gerald says we'll soon have more pictures from his trip.
11/2/03
	Here is Gerald's M1. The leg guards have the Chinese characters for Chang Jiang embossed on them.
	Very nice looking bike indeed.
	Gerald and his cousin outside Beijing last May during an 800 km trip on his green M1. Notice the bike off-road tires, PLA jeep blackout light on the sidecar and the armored vehicle blackout light on the handlebar. This bike has the gas tank toolbox. That's Gerald wearing the 1971 Chinese Air Force goggles!
	Gerald's Beijing polution solution!
	Here's a shot of Gerald aboard his M1. That's the flag of Martinique on the front of the sidecar.
	And here he's doing a little chair flying in the streets of Beijing.
	Looks like he could ride like this all day long.
	Gerald and his M1 were featured on the cover of Beijing Weekend last year. The enlarged image shows the entire cover. Nice helmet!
	Yes, you could say Gerald is a bit of a local celebrity. His M1S made the cover of still another Chinese magazine!

	One of the nicest things about living in China is being able to get together with other CJ riders for a good time.
	Fun. It even sounds like a Chinese word.

	What's the favored means of transportation for French expats living in Beijing? Maybe this view of the French embassy will provide a clue.
	And they all buy their bikes from Gerald!

	I've been contemplating a set of high handlebars for my bike so Gerald sent this image to show me what's available. I'm still contemplating.

	Looks like Simon Vallance's M1 is just about finished.
	I'd say it turned out pretty nice!
	Bone stock with a few of Gerald's touches.
	Sweeeeeet...
	Front the stern.
	Another view.

	Welcome to the Forbidden City! Gerald mentions a place here called Wu Men where they used to behead people.
	Which is coolest—the building or the bike? Tough choice.
	Hope he doesn't lose his head for doing something that's, uh, forbidden...

	We've already posted images of this bike. It's the M1M work-in-progress bound for a customer on Minorca. Well, it's done, and here's the result.
	The new owner is going to love this bike.
	It's a former PLA bike with hardly any miles on it.
	Gerald did a full cosmetic restoration on it, and it certainly does look good.

	Gerald's M1S at the Great Wall. It has an M72 style sideframe, an IMZ air cleaner on top of the gas tank and a vintage CJ sidecar taillight.
	This is the air filter cover.
	Here you can see how the air is ducted to the carburetors. In the enlarged image you can also see some interesting tags on the engine and gearbox.
	What a great bike!
	No Changs in this picture of the Great Wall, but it's worth a look anyway. This is, beyond any doubt, the most incredible man made wonder on earth.