.com
 
From Magnus Rosenquist in Sweden: "This bike is currently 20 miles away in a barn. It has trashed cylinders. I am waiting for the parts from Jim in Beijing but I guess the Olympics are causing delays."
 
From Geert Bruins: "Thought it might be fun to send you some pictures of an outing we had in Tanzania on our CJs, BSA M20 and a Triumph. At the moment our unofficial club has six CJ 750s. This trip was from Arusha to Tanga about 600km and all bikes made it without any major hiccups even though one guy rode his CJ most of the way with the choke on! I live in Dalian most of the time and have an old CJ there as well that I am slowly repairing."
 
From Antti Lamberg: "Here is couple of pictures of my CJ750 bought from Luke's Sidecar Solution in May 2008."
 
Candy Beinsberger sent this picture of a Belgian-registered M1M. There's no mistaking that distributor, even with a Beemer emblem pasted on it!
 
From David Olesen: "Three shows, three trophies. Not bad!"
 
"My name is Charles A. Warren Jr. I live in Village Mills, Texas. Here are a few pictures of me and my dad's CJ 750s. My bike is a 1970 M1M 12V solo. I purchased it on eBay. I am the third owner. The previous owner had the bike dismantled, the frame powder coated flat black, and then powder coated the fenders, tank with a rust-like patina."
"I really enjoy riding it. It runs great, starts on the first kick and has about 710 km on it. My Dad's bike was also purchased on eBay. It's a 2005 with sidecar, polished 32hp OHV engine, front disc brake, 141km. Dad also has another 1970 solo, but it's a project bike and needs a little work, a rear end to be exact."
"The dog in the pictures is mine. He is a Presa (Canary Island dog). His name is "Buddha Boi". He is a big part of the family! We look forward to meeting more CJ owners in the future! We are both members of the Yahoo forum."
 
Lucky Larry Fisher owns several interesting motorcycles including these two sidecar machines. Check out his M1M, seen here with his Dnepr.
 






From our old friend Lew Rosenblum:

"I hope all is well with you. It's been a while. I'm back in Shanghai, but will be moving back to the States in mid-February and retiring at the end of February. More time for golf and to fool with my Chang Jiang. I bought another one while I've been in China. This is a restored bike (the one I have now is a new bike that I bought direct from the Nanchang Aircraft Factory). I bought it from Shao Yiqi at CJ Sidecars. Yiqi has a showroom in Shanghai and a "factory" in Beijing where he does the restorations. I've visited both and met with Yiqi. He is a really nice guy who is dedicated to restoring CJs. He does a great job and the restored bike runs much better than my new one. He replaces a lot of the parts in the engine, changes the bearings in the transmission and does a lot of mechanical restoration, aside from a beautiful cosmetic restoration. I got the overhead valve engine this time. It is definitely faster, but I'm not sure which is more reliable. I'm pretty excited about it. Price is not too bad - 35,000 RMB for OH valve model and 33,000 RMB for the sidevalve model -- about $4,600 - $4,800 with the present exchange rate. My company is paying to ship it back. I will probably sell my old one. I've attached some photos.

Regards,

Lew"
 
From Dan Cason:

"Here's a pic of my machine for the registry, not exactly an action photo, but it changes every day!"
 


Introducing Candy Beinsberger:

"I'm from Belgium. I discovered your web site after ordering an M1M with the great help of Bart Sanders last year! The bike was delivered September 2006, but didn't drive until spring 2007 due to a broken brake handlle (sea transport). While replacing the handlle I noticed some damage at the mechanism pulling the throttle cables. After 1000km it broke, but I had a replacement in the spare parts kit. The M1M drives fantastic and gives lots of pleasure at low speed! Everywhere this bike is parked it is surrounded by people wondering where this 'BMW' comes from. I placed a small battery in an amunition case at the same spot the original (awful) battery case was mounted. In this ammo box is also room for the little 'electric' box with its messy wiring. But this is a project for next year. The bike has a blue-gray color and in time all the chrome parts will be this color. As you see in the pictures it is not wise to leave for a trip without the toolbag!"
 
From David Olesen: "When I went out to California to see a Raiders game, I decided to call on Fred Balanay. Oh, and get some carb spacers and some of those cool CJ badges... he he. A CJ owner and his money are soon parted."
 
From Tony Salvatore:

"I got the chance to meet up with David Olesen this past Friday during my vacation to Arizona."
"We had a great conversation over a few beers at a local brewery. Arizona is stunningly beautiful. What a great place to ride!"
 
From Dave Terrell:

"We raced my M1 at a vintage MX race sponsored by the Movie Stuntmens Association. We raced for 45 minutes and didn't finish last! :) This year I will attempt to race it as a solo bike if I can get the transmission fixed."
 
From David Olesen: "This bike was purchased from LRM and now resides in Mesa, AZ. The crate was extremely sturdy. Bike arrived safe and sound. It's been great breaking it in!"












 
Emmanuel Chantebout's SV is still looking pretty good after another Beijing winter. This bike is really well equipped.
 
Meet Greg Miles, an Aussie living in Hong Kong who says "after quite a few hassles and expense I have manged to get a CJ imported from Beijing and registered." Nice!
 




"Johnny [Chang] here in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. I went out on a limb and ordered my CJ from Chinasidecar.com. (Guo Liang, Beijing). This shop has been fantastic thus far. I'll know better on the 20th. of October which is when it's supposed to arrive. Anyhow, I ordered a stock (nobody has flugged with it) PLA M1M in puke army green. I saved about $1000 from what the big six wanted to charge. Chinasidecar packaged exactly what I wanted in very quick time. I asked them to throw in a set of "tractor rims" and they did but I still need the different hubs to match them to the CJ. So soon I'll be an official CJ dude and this is fitting for my riding habits. Years ago my pals would arrive at the house (numerous occasions) for a pre-planned ride and there I would be with my bike in a 100 pieces. Ooops, Johnny is tinkering with bike again... lol."



 
From Emmanuel Chantebout in Beijing.
 
"I am Emmanuel Chantebout from Beijing, thanks for your web site, really cool and comprehensive. I ride a Chang Jiang for three years (15,000 km) and made some changes on the bike. I changed the front suspension and the frame of the sidecar now has three springs so the bike is much more comfortable. I'm sending you some pictures, sorry the bike was dirty but there is nothing to avoid that in Beijing."
 

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8		 "Hi! I am Roel Hendrickx from the Netherlands. In April 2005 I bought my first CJ, a 1994 M1M. The reason bought this bike was because I was planning a world trip in 2006. The idea came to me to ride from China to the Netherlands. My budget is limited it should be a low cost bike. After research on the Internet and a lot of thinking I came to the conclusion that for me it would be best to buy a Chang Jiang in China and drive it back to the Netherlands. Since I already knew something about motorcycle mechanics and am good at solving mechanical and electrical problems. I thought this would be a great trip. Now it was important to find out what the possible problems are with CJs on such a long trip. And what do experienced CJ owners think about making such a long trip on your own? I went a meeting of the Dutch Ural Dnepr club (www.udcn.nl). I arrived there on my BMW GS1150 Adventure. Talking about my plan to the club members and them seeing my bike made them skeptical. There was one very good advice: "Buy a CJ, drive it and you will see for yourself that it is too unrealiable." So that is what I did. I bought the only CJ I could get in the Netherlands, an M1M. It was leaking oil everywhere, the right carburator was leaking fuel and there was a lot of white smoke. A short look at the leaks gave me the impression they were not so hard to solve. The white smoke would be bigger problem. But the bike ran well, so maybe just worn out piston rings or valve seals (I did not know yet that there are no valve seals on a SV). I took the bike home and that evening I checked all the oil and fuell leaks. Working on the bike gave me a great feeling! It was like I was 18 again and working on my mopeds. The CJ felt like a big moped. It tooe two hours to solve all the problems, it varied from loose bolt nad broken seals to a dirty carburetor. This gave me some confidence. The next morning I bought and installed some in-line fuel filters and checked the valve play. Ready to make my first longer trip (over 100km). It was a great ride. Only some problem while driving half trottle in low gear. I heard the engine detonating. At home I found out the ignition was to early, small problem. A month later after 2000km I decided to look what caused the oil burning. It was a big list: Right cylinder, deep scars in the cylinder. (The piston looked good, it seemed to be replaced, xxhaust valve burned; Left cylinder, compression rings scattered and big damage on the skirt. (This must have been the right piston before!), exhaust valve burned. First I was a bit disappointed about the damage. The damage was probably caused by a lack of oil and no valve play. Thit last owner did not tell me this. Then I got a new insight: "This is a great bike for a big trip! The engine has so much problems and still runs very well! I repaired all the damage. Cylinders bored and honed to the next possible over size, new oversize pistons and rings, new exhaust valves. I found out the left exhaust valve seat was not inline with the valve guide. The centerlines were about 1mm away from each other. Putting the old valve back I saw the same problem, the gap between valve and seat was huge! I deceided to grind the new valve in until it closed properly and just see what happens. After putting everything together again a 2000km break-in the engine performance was astonishing. The top speed increased by 5km/h and the torque increased just a little bit. It seems that because an SV has such low compression that some leaks have not much effect on the performance. An modern high compression engine would have run like shit. Conclusion: This is a fantastic bike for a big trip. So many things can go wrong, the bike will just keep on running! I was confident, I can drive a CJ for such a long distance. I it will break down, but I can repair it. One month before I went to China the charger light stayed on and the headlight got less bright. Oops. With my multimeter I narrowed the problem down to the generator rotor. The rotor had a infinite resistance, so the coil was broken. I could not get a new coil in short notice, so I had to try to repair it. I took the rotor apart, found the place where the wire was broken. Then thought about it why it was broken. Solved the cause, repaired the rotor, put it back and had charge again! Now I am in Shanghai, China. My bike is almost ready. I bought a secondhand bike with a good engine and gearbox because then I can be sure the most important parts are good. (No soft gears in the gearbox, a good crank). The bike I bought is an OHV, it looked crappy, but the engine, gearbox seemed to be ok. I decided not to buy from one of the shops on CJU or famous to foreigners in Shanghai because my budget is too small and I prefer to rebuild the bike myself to know the bike in and out and make my own modifications. They guy I bought the bike from is named Xiaopo, he is a great guy. He sold me the bike for a good price and gave me incredible help to prepare my trip. I used the work shop of a very small CJ repair shop run by a guy that knows CJs well. To make special parts like aluminium boxes and steel luggage frames I made use of some other small typical Chinese shops. Here in China they can make almost everything for a low price, the hard part is to find the right place. It was a fantastic experience to do this. The bike is almost finished. It is at the CJ shop for painting and I still have to make some parts. Here are some pictures of the bike during the build. Over two or three weeks the bike is finished, I will send new pictures then. In July I will make a test ride to Bejing. In early August I will start my ride back to the Netherlands."

1: My first trip outside of Shanghai

2: Me and my girlfriend

3 & 4: The first time I saw the bike:

5 & 6: Installing new wheels. Those tires are terrible to install so I left the job to the CJ shop:

7: Welding some holes

8: Working on the luggage frames and high exhaust pipes

I have a website about my trip: www.cjroel.nl The first page is in Dutch, the rest is English.
 


Will Aygarn: "The taillight cover fell off of my sidecar and I got a replacement from Lou Tou of LRM. I never noticed on the original but the lens on this one was made of clear glass with a rather opaque looking red paint on the upper part and the lower part left clear to illuminate a license plate. I wanted a solid red lens and preferably something more translucent than red paint. I scraped out the old paint and got a red permanent "sharpie" marker pen. After carefully giving the inside an even coat I put it back together and was satisfied with the result."

 
Will Aygarn puts his M1S to work. "I had a bad tire on my truck and turned out that the spare wouldn't fit. The VW has its own problems so I took both tires to the shop, had the good tire put on the good rim and brought it back, ready to mount. Couldn't have done that with my Honda!"
 




Check this out! It's a quaint metal 750 model from China. It's about a foot long and weighs around five pounds! I'm working on getting one but was really surprised at the price—$60. Anyway, the guy also offered me some PLA stuff which is also pictured here. He hasn't given me any prices on the army items yet. There's no telling what all else he has to offer. I'll keep you posted on this.
 


"I have two different military surplus motorcycle coats but the wind blows up the sleeves of both. When trying to keep warm every bit helps but I haven't been satisfied with any gauntlet-style glove that I've bought and I'm tired of buying gloves. I made these from leather I had on hand. The design is simple—a cone with a cuff attached, fitted to my wrist and coat sleeves. They make all the difference in the world. They keep the wind out, I put them on with my bare hands (which is easy) and then I put on my gloves over the cuffs. I can wear thin gloves when it's chilly or thick ones when it's cold. They don't look too bad. I've only heard positive comments about them ('course everybody could be laughing behind my back!) I only wish I thought of them sooner." Will Aygarn.
 
"Last June I was in a hurry and got careless shifting into reverse. Turned out it wasn't in neutral after all and I tore up the transmission. Finally a few days ago I got it running again and now Slowpoke Rodriguez has been reunited with Der Valkyrie (I even named the sidecar) and I drove it to work today. Carried more stuff than would fit on my Honda and used a lot less gas than I'd have burned in my truck. Two lessons learned: 1) Make sure it's really in neutral and 2) plan ahead when ordering parts. I waited until I was ready to use them to place my orders and then had to wait for them to arrive." Will Aygarn.
 






Adam from FHL Motors in Beijing went on the 9/24/05 ride to Jiujiayi and took these photos. He says being on a CJ750 (in the first photo) makes the toes applaud! (Happy feet!?) It looks like they had an excellent turnout for the ride.

The last shot shows the BBQ and crawfish dinner hosted by Hollis Zhou at FHL.

Look carefully at these pictures and you'll probably recognize some of the riders.





 
Handsome red 750 with pinstripes from Adam at FHL Motors in Beijing.
 
Here's another FHL bike.
 








A ride report from Adam:

"We got up at 7:00 to arrive at the gathering place before the awful traffic jam. After greeting each other, Jacky lead us to start out. I was excited for many people paid attention to us. We drove on the expressway directly to Ming Tombs. After a short while for rest we began to cover the wandering road in mountains. Soon we stopped at a small restaurant. The food was delicious and economical. Then we proceeded on. There were hardly any other vehicles so Jacky showed his wonderful skill in driving sidecar and we took photos. Now we took another way to go back home. On the way I saw many villas—amazing! When we came out of the mountains we fueled up again and there was 50km left at last. It was getting dark and we all turned on the lights. We were never so dirty when we finally got home. We had a tour of over 250 km but we were delighted."

Adam, Beijing, July 30, 2005
 


Jack Murray's LRM Super now has disc brakes.

"Having the disc really gives me a sense of security since I have fewer panic stops because I know I can control the bike."       

 
Will Aygarn's bike poses in the driveway in front of his garage (which you can see more of in the enlarged image.) That's a Hongdu windshield by the way. Cool bike!
 
Ross Griffeth took his son and daughter out for a little offroad riding last summer. Look at the trail they were on! It's nice to see people getting so much enjoyment out of their Changs.
 


Some more images from Will Aygarn down in Old Virginia. He says the bike is seen here in "showboat" mode—accessories like the windshield and leg guards that will come off in the spring. I especially like the way he has painted the raised Chang Jiang characters on the leg guards. Nice front license tag too—with a word from our sponsor.
 
From Will Aygarn: "I have been riding my CJ mostly solo since I got it so I have wanted to make the best use of the toolbox. It was awkward trying to stack the tools in that upright container so I came up with this configuration. The 17 & 19mm wrenches just do fit in the box crosswise but with this kit I think I'm ready for just about any roadside repair or adjustment I might need to make." Excellent idea indeed. There's nothing worse than being stranded for lack of a screwdriver or 14 mil spanner.
 
Introducing Jack Murray from Changchun with his new M1S from LRM. This bike has a high-speed final drive, upgraded fourth gear, German and Japanese bearings, duck boards and cast aluminum wheels. There's an interesting story behind this bike which we'll have for you soon.
You don't have to worry about keeping these wheels trued.
Solid black looks terrific on a CJ.
The port side...
...the port stern...
...and the starboard beam. Good work, Gerald.
 
Introducing Chris Angus from South Australia. "I purchased my CJ in Beijing in 1999. I have fitted Bing carbs to her and also adapted an electronic ignition system to fit in the distributor. High output coils are hidden under the tank between the frame tubes, total cost of the second-hand ignition bits only $50 and works a treat! I exported my bike to Australia when I left China in 2001. I have tried to keep it looking standard even with the upgrades:"
 
Here comes our friend Will Aygarn of Norfolk, Va. riding his M1S.
Here's how the bike looks in its present configuration. Will added a genuine Hongdu windshield, CJ leg guards and a number of other goodies. He also ditched the enormous Beijing battery tray.
Look at all the carrying capacity!
Here we see it parked in the driveway next to his other bike. This is every CJ's best side.
These bikes look better without the rear saddle... IMHO.
I'll take the one on the left, please.
Another comparison photo.
One last comparison shot. (If you ask me, there's no comparison!)
The bike arrived as an outfit. Here it is at the loading dock.
Nice, ain't it?
Getting it in the pickup was a bit of a challenge at first...
...but as you can see, Will was successful. It was a tight fit, though.
Split!
 
Introducing Boris (Biker Bob) van der Pijl of the Netherlands with his 1996 M1M. He bought his CJ for around $700 and did another $400 worth of repairs on it including new oversized pistons, connecting rod bearings and a generator.
 
Will Aygarn of Norfolk with an M1S from LRM. Will plans to ride solo during the break-in period. He has accessories he'll be installing later including a windshield and leg guards. This bike is equipped with a high-speed final drive, taller fourth gear set, MPH speedo and more.
 
Don Miller bought this black M1 while living in Beijing in the early 1990s.
Bone stock! You don't see all-original CJs like this too often.
Don has a few other bikes and says although the CJ isn't his favorite, it's definitely the most unusual.
 

Introducing Daniel Labonté from Orléans, Ontario, Canada. His M1M won the award for best vintage bike at Ottawa's Blues Fest last year. Nice bike!
 
Mark Fisher sent this image of Jay Williams' bike. Jay's contributions can be seen on some of the other pages of this web site.
And this is Vernon Wade with his CJ, submitted by Mark as well.
 
Larry Thompson took this shot of local CJ rider while in central China a few years ago. Note the numbers painted on the tank and front fender of this colorful M1.
Larry also sent this one. Underneath all that plastic is a sidevalve CJ. This model is the CJ750J.
 
Many of you know Ray Costa, owner of Pop's Cycle. Well, here's his newest CJ, a fine looking M1 solo.
Nice bike? Absolutely.
 
Don Edmonston of Atlanta bought this M1M in 1997 while stationed in Shanghai.
 
Sydney, Australia's Erich Rojas sent this "before" shot of an M1 he's working on.
Here it nears completion. As you can see, Erich's building a Panzer Grey R71 replica. I wonder how many Changs are in Oz?
 
Ross Griffeth's '57 Chang, and hey, what's that in the background?
And again.
You have to admit, these bikes look pretty nice in black.
Here's a detail shot of Ross' engine.
 
Here's an older Chang Jiang "Shangdong" found on the Internet.
 
These gorgeous taillights are available from J.C. Whitney for $17! They're made for Ford Model A and have glass lenses. For information, click here or here.
 
Lew Rosenblum's M1 Super posed here in a potential cover shot!
Nice.
Sans sidecar. Center stands are fun... NOT.
Lew sent this, uh, interesting image, titled only as "Afghan Attack!" Oh baby!
Every small town in America has a Fourth of July celebration. Here's Lew riding his M1M in the Madison, Connecticut parade with his wife and Koko the dog.
A closer view. Looks like a pretty good time!
 
This sharp black bike belongs to Eberhard Walde from Germany. Notice the Earls forks.