Ross and Sue Kowalski
Newest images are at the top of the page.


"A friend dropped off an early VW taillight a couple days ago.

I mounted it to the red Chang which turned out to be a better solution on many counts. It fits entirely on the hinged section of the fender making it possible to remove the rear tire without removing the tail light. It is also smaller, has a glass rather than a plastic lens and has looks more in keeping with the rest of the bike.

I used the remaining 36 ultrabright LEDs I had left over from the first effort to make this one. It only fits 36 LEDs comfortably but that is more than enough. This one uses 16 LEDs for tail light and all 36 for the brake light."
September 23, 2007  
"I drove the bike to the Edaville railroad/amusement park which is right down the road from my house. I took some pics of the red bike in front of a green caboose they have in the parking lot. The new whitewalls still look good after 500km."
September 19, 2007  
"Recently I was doing some leatherwork and got thinking about making a replacement for the frame mounted toolbox on the Chang. The original one opens down and all the tools fall out in addition to it being too small for the road tools needed on a Chang Jiang. I made one and a little sheet metal cradle to support it more securely."
August 23, 2007  
"Here are pictures of my ammeter installation. The meter is from an Allis Chalmers B tractor. It is about the same vintage as the Chang!"
August 18, 2007  
"The ongoing taillight saga continues. After putting the Volkswagen taillight assembly and lens on the 6V solo Chang I added a superbright LED 1157 bulb. I was disappointed with the output and viewing angle.
I built one that uses 60 superbright LED 25 for taillight mode and all 60 for brake mode. It was early evening when I took the photos, but make no mistake, this thing is BRIGHT bright.
Even in broad daylight, it is very visible. In addition to the benefit of safety, it should use a lot less juice."
August 8, 2006  
"I got a Volkswagen tail light on eBay for a $1 and $5 shipping. The guy sent both so I have a spare lens if and when I break this one. I also found a great 12A circuit breaker for $1 at the American Science and Surplus store in West Allis, Wisconsin where I was "vacationing" (painting my mother's house) for the last couple weeks.
I also did some modifications to the kickstand to correct some severe geometry flaws with the design.
August 3, 2006  




"I finally got around to getting the red bike inspected this afternoon.

I drove 20 miles to an inspection station in 90F heat 40mph or so the whole way. The bike ran like a champ.

I added the last set of side plates to the tank and painted them red and white. I think they look better painted. I may paint the ones on the sidecar bike too."
July 10, 2007  
"Spent the day putting break-in miles on the new M1. I ran it for about 30 minutes varying the speed, keeping the engine from lugging, and keeping as little stress on the engine as possible. Here is a picture I took of the bike's shadow when the sun started to set. Nothing but fun."
June 24, 2007  
Ross's gearbox repair facility.
May 15, 2007  
"Sue had been riding around the last couple weeks with a sign to help with the campaign of our friend Dick Ward. She was at the polling station and when the results were in that Dick won, she took him for a victory lap and they apeared on the front page of the local paper. "
May 6, 2007  
"A TIG-welded pad to fix a leaky tank.  I dare say there is enough weld on there!  A friend of mine Shingo Furakawa did the welding as I am WAY out of practice on welding thin Chinese deep drawn metal to 4mm round stock! "
November 29, 2006  


"I am finally ready to order my [second] Chang.  I started thinking that I really like the retro aspect of these things and came up with another color scheme for the bike.


I am leaning towards the red and black one now."

[Excellent choice!]
November 12, 2006  






"Couldn't get much better than this.

Went riding with the wife and our dog on a beautiful fall day in New England. Sue was the monkey in the morning session and I was the monkey in the afternoon session.

For lunch we drank pumpkin beer (really, it's not bad) and made an office chair from the unused CJ seat from the bike."
October 16, 2006  
Ross's wife Sue is the actual owner of the Kowalski Chang. He also says that recently she's more or less assumed full control of the bike. Therefore...
...Ross composed this rendering that he'll use to spec out his next bike from CJS, an excellent idea. Of course there's also the notion of having two CJ enthusiasts under one same roof. That sounds to me like an ideal marriage.
Feast your eyes on these tank badges I got from Ross. They're terrific! The tough choice is which bike to put them on.
9/21/2006  
Ross got his bike from CJS in Beijing and then, after some minor hassles with the Registry of Motor Vehicles in his home state of Massachusetts, he's now in the saddle.
July 7, 2006