By now you have paid your money and your bike may be on the way to your house.

Psst..there are a few things we should probably tell you.

CJs have number of interesting features, not bugs, we said features. If you wanted a Honda they sold those near your house too right?

First of all your bike was probably not made the year they told you it was, just trust me on this.

You can pretty much figure your CJ is either a six volt earlier bike with a flathead and no reverse or an M1 flathead with a 12 volt system, usually a starter, or an M1S OHV. If you ask someone for help we need to know which type you have as they can be quite different.

If you have not found CJU yet you need to or just kill yourself.

http://www.changjiangunlimited.com

Nobody can help you and unless you read Chinese and wish to spend years in Shanghai searching for a shop manual there is really none available. There is much info on CJU and in the online Wiki manual. If you check the Toolbox section many of us are documenting our repairs and trying to share the information.

You might also have an M5 type (plastic Chang) if the bike is OHV and has a rear suspension but these are very rare outside of China.

First Chinese gas is very bad and tank sealers do not seem to be readily available over there. This means one of the first things you should do is go to the CJU toolbox section and read Fred Belany's article on sealing your gas tank. One of the next things you should do is clean out any residue in your float bowls as this will stick the needles. You can get a very wet shoe from this; don't ask me how I know. The rust is famous for clogging the petcock and making you lose power and get gas all over you at inopportune times.

Your petcock probably sucks. Most of the rubber sealed ones tend to have the rubber melt in American gas. This can give you that interesting garage full of gas experience. A Honda one fits some bikes and a Harley one can be adapted to others, see the Toolbox.

If you have plastic carb floats they will melt in American gas. Brass ones are available, please get some if your bike does not come with them so we don't have to listen to you whine.
Get a good battery and keep the connections clean.

If you have a six volt you can use a VW regulator, see the toolbox.

If you have a 12 volt several electronic regulators are available, again see the toolbox. Mechanical regulators are an Achilles heel of these bikes.

If you have a flathead it is quite likely it will get hot and boil the gas in the carbs on hard going or hot days. OHVs don't overheat as much as they have more cooling area. There are several cures for this from a simple carb spacer to a rubber mount, or Chinese Mikuni copy carbs. Again the Toolbox has info on this.

The old ex military bikes have better switches than the later 12 volt civilian bikes. You should plan on replacing some of the switches now and again if you have the later type.

Your wiring may be quite interesting but not have very good connections. Take a close look at it and a soldering iron may be your friend. As far as a color code goes each builder appears to have a dartboard and uses it to select wiring colors. There are wiring diagrams in the CJU Toolbox for both six and twelve volt bikes.

Bulbs may have to be sourced from China or replace or modify your sockets. The little tangs are in different places. Not all headlights are the same but you can adapt something from the parts store or junkyard. Check the Toolbox for modifications others have done.

There are also some parts interchange numbers in the CJU Toolbox and a nice plug chart.
Storing

If you leave gas in the bike it will likely turn to varnish by spring. Use some Stabil as directed or drain the bike. Gas is much worse these days. Some users keep a bit of Stabil in a bike they don't use often.

Keep the battery on a tender if you aren't using it. These batteries rarely make more than three of four reliable years.

If you are going to try to start the bike in the middle of winter in your shed with thick oil and a half flat battery there is a fine chance you will fry something. We see this over and over again, don't do it. Starters can stick in the engine, you can fry a starter, it's fairly easy to toast a relay, and for God's sake don't jump it with your car. Each of these recommendations comes from someone's painful story and my head is getting flat from where I slap myself when I hear these.

If you must start your bike in the middle of the winter charge the battery, be sure the connections are clean, use light or multi grade oil (calm down Marcus, I know multigrade is a tool of the devil) and for the sake of my poor forehead try to warm the bike up a bit. Better yet just move to some climate suitable for human habitation.

Locktite, this seems to be a secret formula in China known only to the elite. They don't use it and you need to. I have had almost everything on my bike come loose and riding along and having your mirror fall down is embarrassing. You need to Loctite everything you can get off unless you like to tighten all the bolts every few miles.

Leaks can abound on a CJ and we fight a running battle trying to keep ahead of them. You will find a number of Toolbox articles on this. Make sure you pull that useless rear gear set gasket and seal it with something like Permatex. I was warned and put it off. Trust me it is easier to do when you don't have to spend an hour cleaning the bike first, and if I had not caught it, added oil and tightened the bolts to get home I would have been waiting for gears from China.

Rims may not be round; spokes may come loose or break, usually short and on the rear. This can be fixed of course and some rims are better than others. I have one Norton rim on my bike and a Triumph in front. Jim offers M5 wheels that have a bit more brake and the ones I've seen have been nice round wheels. If you have a good builder he may fit good wheels for you but for some reason they seem to be optional on all commie bikes. This may have something to do with capitalism but I'm not sure.

Brakes, well everybody told you they were about 1939 didn't they? Mine came with powder coating inside the drums and my first stop sign was more exciting than I care to mention. It could have been worse; they could have greased the shoes. Dan and Phil gave me some tips like sandpaper the drums, break them in, and adjust them carefully. You can by fiddling with them get them to lock up on a stop. Folks have approached this several ways by fitting brakes from other bikes like Ural, or I use a Triumph front. I like sidecar brakes but the purists don't, and you can fit M5 wheels and brakes; or Dan Cason is testing new double leading shoe fronts that may be an excellent answer.

Head bearings, some bikes are fitted with ball bearings that do not last long before becoming loose. A roller bearing set up is available from Long River, CJ Parts Depot, and perhaps others that can cure this looseness. To test just jack up the front of the bike and pull the front wheel forward, back, and look for play at the neck up and down.

How to find reverse, don't laugh, some of the information out there is wrong. I have two bikes, one M5 with a later manual tranny with a small lever with a rubber handle. It wants to be in neutral before selecting reverse.

My M1S require you to select first and then move the lever to reverse. There are a number of different transmissions made in different factories. At least two without reverse and at least two with reverse of different design.

Adjusting your transmission. All CJs require adjustment of the shifter as they break in. There is an article in the Toolbox on this and it may be best to carry a screwdriver and wrench for the first thousand miles. Read the article and prepare to adjust as you go.

The cables will stretch. Adjust all your cables after each ride for a while. This can also cause poor shifting and you need all the brakes you can get.