Gerald Gardebled in Beijing
	Page 1  Page 2  Page 3  Page 4  Page 5  Page 6  Page 7  Page 8  Page 9
			"Here is one of LRM's new bikes. It is ready and available for sale. SV, M1M, 12 volt, electric starter and reverse gear. Polished engine and chrome parts. If anyone is interested they can get in touch with me at gardebledg@hotmail.com."
January 22, 2007
		"Here is an M1 SV engine I built for a customer. This engine has been built with vintage NOS PLA issue parts to ensure its quality. All components were hand picked. Bearings are FAGs, the pistons are M1-2 three-ring short skirts pistons with M5 rings. The cylinders as you can see in the pictures have proper cleaned cooling fins that allow the airflow to circulate properly. The cylinders are PLA issue and are crosshatched. The heads are NOS PLA issue with the brass sleeve for the spark plug. And I used solid copper head gasket for better cooling."
January 18, 2007
	"Today was China National Day. I went to Tian An Men square and I was able to get pictures of a lot of the City Management Police Xiang Jiang sidecars. These are made by the Hu Nan factory, the same one that makes the engines for the Chang Jiang motorcycle."
October 2, 2004
	The Shandong images submitted by Jim Bryant (click here) prompted Gerald to shed a little light on these unusual machines. This image is from a manual.
	You can see a few parts that look as though they'd interchange with the CJ engine. It's impossible to say accurately just from looking at pictures, but this engine doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence.
	A detail from the parts illustrations. One has to ask why Shandong chose to completely redesign the engine when the original was just fine.
	Is that a magneto? The illustration above shows the distributor mounted elsewhere so my guess is yes.
	And here's a diagram of the Shandong sidecar frame, again, different from our bikes.
November 10, 2004
	Luca asked Gerald if he'd mind doing the service on his bikes. It's not hard to guess what his answer was. Here's Luca's R12 by the way.
November 2, 2004
	Does this engine look familiar? The jugs and heads look very much like those on a flathead CJ...
	...and well they should. It's a 1928 BMW R42, something you don't see very often, especially in China.
	The owner is Luca Vinciguerra. He needed some mechanical expertise and got Gerald's name through the Italian embassy.
	There were carburetor problems that Gerald had sorted out in ten minutes.
	Here's the grand old dame next to another great bike—Alpha.
	Makes you drool.
	Luca looks quite pleased in this shot...
	...as does Gerald...
	...as does Clay.
	By the way, Luca also owns this 1928 Indian. But it's not your basic V-twin machine. This is the rare straight four. You're looking at some money here. Maybe Gerald will get to wrench on this bike someday.
October 31, 2004
	Gerald delivered Beta's sheet metal parts to the paint shop. Take a look at what was sitting outside!
	Components from Beta. Look at the offset fuel filler on the tank.
	All of these fenders are the real deal.
	Someone else was having some CJ stuff painted there as well. This is a flamed out sidecar fender.
	And a flamed out front fender. The splash guard looks like it's been cut down slightly.
	And the rear fender.
	The sidecar bucket.
	Again...
	...and again.
	And last we have the flamed out tank.
May 29, 2004
	Gerald sent these interesting images taken from a Chinese magazine article about the police. Check out this well used flattie. There are two pictures in the enlarged image.
	Imagine riding around on a flathead CJ all day... and getting paid for it.
	Some policemen and women with a flathead CJ. The enlarged image also shows a rather unusually equipped bike. I don't recognize the sidecar, windshield or leg guards.
	And last of all, a modern "plastic" Chang with three policemen on board!
May 21, 2004
	This bike is being customized at a shop in Beijing, not by Gerald.
	It's a water cooled M1S destined to become a solo.
	Here's the engine...
	...and the engine tag.
	Disc brakes on the front end. These inverted forks are the big thing nowadays.
	This is the first Chang I've seen with them.
	Even the balance tube has been sprayed.
	Take a look at the enlarged image to see the quality of this paint job.
	Here's an overall view of the tank.
April 6, 2004
	Introducing Bull Froggies MC, Beijing's newest sidecar club.
	Look at all the kids (and Changs!)
	This was their first gathering. These two bikes are flatties. The green one is an M1M.
	The club is comprised of French expats living in Beijing.
	I'd love to be in a club like this! There's at least ten CJs in this picture. Wow!
March 28, 2004
	Did you ever how these guys managed to get the sidecar wheels off so easily... and without any tools?
	We'll let you in on a little secret. The nuts holding the sidecar wheel in place have little handles tacked on them...
	...and no cotter pins!
March 24, 2004
	This could very well be the oldest CJ engine in existence. It's a 1959.
	CJ Godfather Shen Liang Qing tells us that the first CJs came off the line in 1959 as opposed to 1957 as claimed elsewhere. That would make this an exceptionally great find.
	This engine has a few M72 similatrities not found on later engines. The cover where the distributor seats has nipples on the bottom right side where the ignition coil was once mounted on old M72 engines.
	Looking down from the top.
	In this detail image of the gearbox you can see that the air filter is secured by only one screw as opposed to two used on later gearboxes.
March 20, 2004
	Another incredible find.
	It's a 1987 PLA M1.
	Sure, it may look pretty ragged but...
	...it only has 12km on it! This is a Jiangxi speedometer, by the way.
	If you still have doubts, check out the protective wax paper on the exhaust pipes. This is applied by the factory and probably doesn't last more than a minute or two after the engine is running.
	No run-of-the-mill petcock here. Instead the bike has a mechanical fuel filtration device.
	Here's where you activate the fuel flow. This bike will be restored and then offered for sale.
March 19, 2004
	This isn't your average PLA bike.
	It's a 1993 M1M showing 38km on the odometer. That's right, 38km.
	How did it get 38km on it when...
	...the engine has never been started!? Gerald opened it up for inspection and this is what he found. It's an absolutely spotless Lanxiang engine.
	Nonetheless he pulled the flywheel and...
	...replaced the rear oil seal with this upgrade.
March 12, 2004
	Gerald doesn't have any trouble keeping warm. He was out and about yesterday with Alpha which is now back together after the maintenance project.
	Hey, it's Chris Drumgoole, seen here on his M1 that Gerald built.
	Nice bike!
	That's an NOS engine from 1985.
	Chris with Alpha in the background.
	I like it!
	Look closely and you'll see the blue engine tag. Lucky Chris, that's all I can say.
January 3, 2004
	This 1966 M1 was originally a PLA bike and later used by the police.
	It's on deck for restoration.
	Here is how frame-mounted toolboxes were attached.
	Second time around for this old soldier?
	Look at the M72 style sidecar frame. Gerald says the bike is just loaded with interesting details. It will be a great project.
12/18/03
	During Gerald's recent buying expedition to Nanchang he spotted only one M1M the entire time he was there... and here it is
12/2/03
	Solid state 6V regulator. These are of superior quality.
	Inside. You can idle with all your lights switched on and see no change in their brightness.
11/19/03
	Speedometer cable manufactured on July 30, 1970 at PLA Factory No. 7407.
	...and here is the packing slip.
11/20/03
	Every CJ rider needs one of these—a genuine PLA motorcycle helmet from the mid-1980s.
	This illustration from an old CJ manual shows a rider wearing one.
	And so does the cover.
	As does this PLA propaganda photo...
	...and this most excellent propaganda poster.
11/19/03
	This engine will be used in the 1967 CJ restoration currently underway. It's a first production run version of the Type II SV.
	It is almost identical to the Type I engine.
	These are bikes being built.
	Gerald specializes in 6V M1 bikes—but they also build M1M and M1S machines.
	NOS M1 engine with gearbox.
	The 1967 M1 is being built for one of Gerald's French customers.
	Another view of the assembly area.
	This NOS 1985 M1 engine is for Chris Drumgoole.
	Quality standards were very high when this engine was built.
	Chris knows that Gerald is China's premier authority on 6V engines.
11/18/03
	Wouldn't this look great on a CJ? It's from an old Jie Fang army truck.
	It has a really nice vintage look and a glass lens.
11/17/03
	Type I headlights and lenses from 1971.
11/16/03
	This is a high-quality PLA Type II ignition switch which went into production in the late sixties.
	This one was made in Nanjing but they were also made in Shanghai.
	The nice thing about these assemblies is that they can be taken apart for repairs.
11/14/03
	This is Mr. Shen's 750 shop in Nanchang. The sign says Huang Shan speedometer main agent supplier and Zhan Jiang carburetor national distributor.
	Let's browse.
	Hmmm.
	Gerald calls him the CJ Godfather. Without him, all the CJ builders would be in trouble.
	And this is why. Everyone gets their parts from Mr. Shen.
	Just look at all this stuff!
	Engines from the Lanxiang factory. The engine tag reads Chang Jiang 750 Motorcycle Engine, Ministery of Aviation, State Owned Luohe Machinery Factory.
	Sidecar frames...
	...attaching hardware...
	...brake pedals...
	...tires...
	...sidecar frames...
	...headlamps...
	...all KINDS of stuff.
	It's no wonder Gerald likes to visit Mr. Shen's shop.
	Wheels...
	...engines...
	...and, well, you name it.
	Cables...
	...exhaust pipes...
	...fenders...
	...uh, boxes...
	...modern cast wheels.
	Wouldn't it be fun to go through all the stuff on these shelves?
	Oh yeah, you know it.
	One last look.
11/11/03