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Gerald Gardebled of LRM in
Beijing |
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Alpha 1 Alpha 2 Alpha 3 Beta Gamma XA Tech 1 Tech 2 |
| "Here's the new grey LRM solo bike
built with quality parts as usual: PLA issue brand new
jugs with cross hatching, short skirt 3 ring M1-2
pistons, all FAG bearings in engine and rear end, sealed
FAG bearings for the wheels, Japanese roller tapered
steering bearings, vintage style wiring etc..." |
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| August 22, 2006 |
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This 12V SV solo was recently completed by
LRM. |
| August 6, 2006 |
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Clutch adjustment from an older 6V. |
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The ball and groove prevent it from turning
freely and therefore staying in adjustment. |
| July 30, 2006 |
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"Here is an LRM solo M1 made to
resemble an R71 from WWII." |
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"The bike features tapered roller
bearings in the steering head, NTN bearings in the engine
and final drive and sealed FAG bearings for the
wheels." |
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"It also uses a vintage NOS PLA-issued
gas tank with rubber knee pads, short skirt three-ring
M1-2 pistons and nice vintage NOS PLA issue jugs with
cross hatched cylinder walls." |
| July 9, 2006 |
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Here's a PLA sidecar bucket with a military
marking that seems to be from a MP unit. |
| July 1, 2006 |
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An M1 tranny with a marking from Factory
3017. |
| July 1, 2006 |
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"Here is a Type I engine built using
80mm car pistons and a tune up camshaft." |
| June 28, 2006 |
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Max and Alpha
were recently featured in a Chinese pets magazine. The
enlarged image shows the whole thing. |
| June 11, 2006 |
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"Out of the Wonderland are these five,
beautiful PLA issue final drives from the
seventies." |
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Top quality item. |
| May 26, 2006 |
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"And this is how the inside of a PLA
issue final drive looks after 30 years in the
stock." |
| May 26, 2006 |
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"Good quality OHV jugs. They've been
cross hatched and have better cooling fins than new ones.
As you can see, the newer ones have an iron ridge between
the fins. If interested in these jugs drop me a
mail." |
| May 26, 2006 |
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"I found some SV air intake pipe
sealing rubber rings that are marked 7425 Factory
for the factory that produced them (a PLA factory that
used to produce a lot of rubber parts for the CJ.)" |
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"On the other side they're marked 721077
for the part reference number in the catalogue. Little
details, but these are what makes a vintage restoration
more authentic and interesting." |
| May 26, 2006 |
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"This picture from a 1983 calendar shows Shan
Dong 750 solo bikes powered with M1 sidevalve engines on
Chang An avenue." |
| May 6, 2006 |
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"Here are some pictures of Max
and me taken today by Donna Photo Studio." |
| "They needed Max as a model, the second
time this month." |
| March 7, 2006 |
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| "Here are some pictures of the building
of a 750 D engine (M1M, sidevalves, 12V) I recently
built. You can see the pressing in of the crank bearing
and the crank itself. Also on these PLA jugs that have
been crosshatched, I noticed stamped numbers at the
intakes for the carburetors, a 2 on the left
hand cylinder and a 4 on the right hand
cylinder." |
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| March 7, 2006 |
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"An interesting engine case from the
mid-eighties. This 6V crankcase features four Chinese
characters: An ji ben lu. (Ben lu means
a running deer.) The engine tag is from the Yue Yang
factory in Hunan province, also known as the Number
52 Factory. On the timing gear "53" is for
the Number 53 Factory where the gear was
produced." |
| March 6, 2006 |
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A famous Russian "bottlecap" wheel
with a Russian 400x19" tire mounted on the rim.
Early CJs sometimes had these wheels. |
| March 4, 2006 |
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"Here is an air cleaner cover
from the sixties." |
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"The main difference with the
newer ones is the clamp. It's not spot welded but
riveted." |
| February 26, 2006 |
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"Air filter elements, 1.)
Third generation, 2.) Second generation, 3.) First
generation, 4.) latest generation. A little
detail but to make a correct restoration, for some it is
very important." |
| February 26, 2006 |
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"Here's an engine with a crank problem.
I have been working on it tonight. I haven't removed the
crank from the engine yet so I cannot tell right now what
is the exact reason of that failure. As you can see on
the picture the rear part of the crank came out and the
right hand rod is having a big play. Happily the jug and
piston did not get damaged thanks to the play at the
wrist pin." |
| February 22, 2006 |
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More PLA issue cylinders. The cooling
channels are properly cleared and the cylinder walls are
crosshatched, very important for an air cooled bike. |
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The crosshatch holds the oil for a better
cooling. |
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PLA parts are just higher quality than the
other stuff! |
| February 13, 2006 |
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Here is a timing gear cover from
the Yue Yang factory also called Factory
Number 52 in Hunan province. The logo is quite
different from what we have seen until now. This one come
off a PLA engine from 2001. (The enlarged image shows the
entire cover.) |
| March 27, 2005 |
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"Here are pictures taken at Clay's
place." |
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"As I was a bit busy today, I asked him
to go to the train station to pick up some jugs." |
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"They were made during the 1970s for
PLA bikes." |
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"They are much better made than the
newer ones found nowadays." |
| March 26, 2005 |
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"Here are pictures taken this morning
at the Citroen teaching center in Beijing. We are having
a class to teach CJ owners how to perform the minimum
maintenance needed on their bikes." |
| "The idea came from Jean-Marie
Bussiere and the lessons are taught by Daniel
Rouche (electrical aspect) and me (mechanical
aspect). These lessons are open to everyone and free of
charge." |
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| March 20, 2005 |
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Here's another gorgeous bike soon to be
shipped to its new owner. |
| March 20, 2005 |
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This Type I petcock was used on PLA bikes.
It was one of the surprises that turned up in my latest
package from Gerald. |
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And so were these vintage brass carburetor
floats which will indeed find their new homes on my
bikes. |
| January 15, 2005 |
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Look at this! These are Xing Fu 250
forks. They came with patriotic slogans painted on them.
One has the Mao quote "Follow the Communist
party!" and the other "Listen to Chairman Mao's
words!" |
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They were made by the Shang Hai Motorcycle
Factory during the Cultural Revolution as written on the
certificate that came with them. |
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There's a Mao quote on the certificate as
well. |
| December 30, 2004 |
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A box of 10 brass floats from September
1967. |
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They were made by the Shang Hai Motorcycle
factory, makers of the Xing Fu 250 two years later the
Dong Hai 750. |
| December 29, 2004 |
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Here are pictures of the inside mounting
bracket for the light bulb of the sidecar fender
taillight. In the past, this taillight was in fact the
same as the bike's taillight. |
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What is interesting in the one shown here is
that it features two bulbsone for the brake and
running light and the second for the license plate as
this one was used as the bike's taillight. |
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This bracket is different from the standard
one (third picture) and is of very good quality, not
often seen on Changs. |
| December 29, 2004 |
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This is a Type I engine from 1965. It has
the correct front cover from the period. |
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This particular engine will find its way
onto a future restoration. |
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Gerald currently has more than 15 Type I
engines awaiting restoration. |
| December 25, 2004 |
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Here's M1M is built exactly as a PLA bike
from 1990s should be. |
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It's authentic in every detail. |
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| December 15, 2004 |
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Clay took this excellent
picture of Gerald and Alpha in action. What a way to
travel! |
| December 15, 2004 |
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This is interesting. These are vintage final
drives from 1971 from a PLA stock. |
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Gerald discovered a Russian bearing with 1958
engraved on it when he took one apart. |
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Also, there are two part numbersone
with a 750 designation and the other with 72,
another example of the intended M72 and CJ750
applications of these early parts. |
| December 11, 2004 |
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Here's a vintage Type II CJ headlight from
1970. The differences are the rim with visor and the
dimmer switch inside the headlight, now supressed. |
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It still has the BMW type ignition switch
and a Chang Jiang logo stamped on it. |
| December 11, 2004 |
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Here's a set of handlebars from a PLA
warehouse. At first glance they look pretty standard but
if you take a closer look you'll noticed that on the left
hand side there's an unusual switchthe same type
used as the starter switch on modern 12V bikes. |
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What's it doing on a vintage PLA bike from
the early 1970s? |
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12V electric start bikes only came out in
1986. |
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In 1970 the Chinese made a change on the CJ
horn-light-advance switch. The Type I
switch was replaced by this one. |
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But according to the manual from the period
some other modifications were made. They were using a
truck light switch installed in the headlight. |
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That unusual switch on that handlebar was
for the horn. These handlebars should be from the early
1970sthe earliest would be 1970. |
| December 9, 2004 |
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Every now and then Gerald makes a special
trip to a secret place he calls CJ Wonderland. |
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On this visit Clay went
along and as you can see in these pictures, they really
hit the jackpot. |
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That truck is loaded with vintage NOS CJ
parts for use in restorations. |
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Whoa. |
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| December 9, 2004 |
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These are PLA-issue inner fork tubes from
the 1970s. They're still wrapped in protective waxed
paper! |
| December 8, 2004 |
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Gerald had one of those vintage PLA CJ tanks
painted in the traditional BMW style. It looks like 8.2
million RMB! (That's a million bucks.) |
| December 5, 2004 |
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CJ clutch disk from 1974slightly
different from the ones used nowadays. |
| December 3, 2004 |
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Gerald's latest purchasea 1965 Chang
Jiang. |
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This bike features a Russian M72 built-in
tool box gas tank, a Type I sidecar frame, a Type II
headlight (the 1970 model with the hooded rim and
BMW-type ignition switch. |
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And, as you can see, it has the Chang Jiang
logo stamped on it.) |
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This bike also has a Type I engine and
gearbox with an M72-style driveshaft. |
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There are grease fittings for the seat and
steering head. This bike could be the Gamma
Project. |
| December 2, 2004 |
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These are PLA-issue gas tanks from the 1970s
featuring rubber pads on each side and CJ decals instead
of the stickers used nowadays. |
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They are of very good quality. |
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| December 1, 2004 |
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Today was my very lucky day. I received a
surprise package from Gerald and this was inside, a
vintage sidecar running light lens and bezel. The lens
has the CJ logo cast into the glass. (That's
rightglass, not plastic.) It would indeed look
great on the bike but, by the same token, it's too nice
to actually use. Its new home may be the display case
instead. Thanks a million Gerald! |
| December 1, 2004 |
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A box of PLA carburetors float from April,
1978. |
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They were made at PLA Factory 7430. |
| December 1, 2004 |
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PLA-issue carburetor rebuild kits that
contain only the upper parts, a very unusual item to see.
The kit was made by PLA Factory 7420. It
contains two upper parts, two limiting needles and the
intermediate speed adjusting screws. |
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One thing to be noticed is that the two
locking rings for the upper part are made of plastic and
not metal as on the standard carbs. |
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The explanation? Possibly to avoid rust and
therefore not being able to easily take the carb apart. |
| November 30, 2004 |
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Clay Jones recently bought
an NOS 1974 PLA-issue engine from Gerald. The big
surprise was finding Japanese Nachi bearings
insidestraight from the factory. |
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There's no way counterfeit Japanese bearings
were being produced in China back in 1974. |
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This is a very interesting matter since it
further illustrates the high quality that went into CJ
engines from this period. |
| On the left is the certificate that
accompanied Clay's engine. The bearings appear on the
right. The builder was the State Owned Hong Xiang
Jiang Machine Manufacturing Factory. |
| November 29, 2004 |
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How about this? These are Chinese-made
sparkplugs from 1974. |
| The certificate on the right lists the name
of the manufacturer as the State Owned Nanjing
Electrical [can't make it out] Factory. |
| November 29, 2004 |
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This box is marked Chang Jiang 750 12V,
Shanghai Car Light Factory. |
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But it's also rubber stamped with Chang
Jiang-750 6V, much to Gerald's delight. |
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Inside was a beautiful vintage Type III
headlamp assembly which has small threaded holes on each
side... |
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...not like the big holes they use for turn
signals nowadays. |
| November 28, 2004 |
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Mmmmm, donuts... |
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These are PLA-issue donuts in their original
packaging. |
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They are very strong and of good quality. |
| November 28, 2004 |
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This is PLA-issue fuel hose from Factory
7425. There are three different piecesone for
the balance tube, one for the right carb and one for the
left. They're threaded on the inside and are stronger
than the hoses that come with newer factory bikes. These
particular hoses were intended for use with the CJ Type I
petcock. |
| November 28, 2004 |
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These are PLA-issue spokes in their original
packaging. |
| But take a close look at the nipple on the
right. |
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It's decorated with a PLA emblem consisting
of a star, leaves and bars. This goes way beyond cool. |
| November 27, 2004 |
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Gerald noticed this trademark on some old
cylinder head gaskets. It's that of a manufacturer we
haven't encountered up to this point. |
| November 27, 2004 |
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This is great so be sure to enlarge it. It's
a packing slip from a PLA-issue gas cap made by PLA
Factory 7436. It has a quote from Chairman Mao. |
| November 27, 2004 |
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Gerald carries John Heim's
gorgeous leather products for CJs (and other bikes.)
Here's a sample of saddle bags and seats. |
| November 27, 2004 |
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Vintage final drive case covers wrapped up
in protective wax paper. They have one cast reinforcement
as opposed to the two found on newer drives. |
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What makes these especially interesting is
the PLA Factory 7416 marking on the casing. |
| November 26, 2004 |
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A box of SV cylinder head bolts made in 1977
by PLA Factory 7424. |
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They're black whereas modern bolts are
yellow Parkerised. These bolts are of very good quality. |
| November 26, 2004 |
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Another product from Factory 7425, a
PLA plant that produced all the various rubber parts used
on Changs. |
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Gerald says this is a very strong seat. |
| November 25, 2004 |
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"Here's the box containing two seals
for the final drive. It specifies both CJ750 and M72.
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"They were made by Factory 7425 in
January, 1978. On the back is a quote from Mao." |
| November 24, 2004 |
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"Here are pictures of a box containing a
rubber for the kick start lever, made by Factory 402
in the Chengdu military district, Sichuan Province.
(Notice the 402 factory marking.)" |
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"The certificate indicates that it was
manufactured in June, 1965. What makes this otherwise
insignificant part interesting (besides its age) is how
high the quality is compared to today's rubber." |
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"The thickness is ideal for an M1 6V which
you kick to start. This rubber doesn't come off like the
newer stuff and it lasts much longer." |
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"I had one on my first CJ and four years
later it's still on it." |
| November 22, 2004 |
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Here's a rarely seen itema straight CJ
center stand. |
| November 21, 2004 |
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From October 12, 1965, the box for an inner
fork tube seal. |
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These were made by Factory 302. |
| November 21, 2004 |
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Here is a vintage CJ steering damper plate.
It was attached to the frame at the same place where the
sidecar connecting rod is attached to the motorcycle
frame, the same as on early M72s. |
| November 19, 2004 |
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You've got to see this to believe it. (The
enlarged image shows it all.) It's a vintage sidecar
running light lens. It's made of glass and is embossed
with a CJ logo! |
| November 18, 2004 |
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Not all CJ carburetors have plastic floats.
Gerald sent this example of original vintage brass floats
that were standard components in Chang carbs at one time. |
| November 17, 2004 |
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Alpha 1 Alpha 2 Alpha 3 Beta Gamma XA Tech 1 Tech 2 |
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