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Genuine vs. counterfeit
parts |
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There is a proliferation of cheesy fake CJ parts these
days as well as the now-common practice of offering
"vintage" CJs that are anything but. As a
result, the CJ750 is suffering from a reputation for
being of poor quality when in fact a real CJ is a very
good machine. Gerald Gardebled
has been compiling information to assist you in the
identification of genuine parts. |
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Rubber sleeves for the air intakes. This is
a vintage example. |
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Another excellent example of how quality has
diminished over the years. |
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A vintage steering damper friction plate
from a 1961 CJ750. |
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The same part but found in a PLA stock from
the 1970s. |
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This is what can be found in the shops
supplying CJ parts today. You can see that the vintage
and PLA plates are of far better quality than the cheesy
new ones. |
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Vintage jugs are of much higher quality than
new ones. Take a good look at the intake on this newly
made cylinder. You can clearly see the poor workmanship. |
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The exhaust is equally bad. |
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A vintage PLA-issue jug. Look how clean the
exhaust opening is. |
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Same for the intake. Very good work here,
much better than the newly made jugs. |
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One of the biggest issues with the newly
made jugsthe air flow passages are blocked. The
result is poor cooling. |
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Another example. |
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PLA jug with virtually no obstructions in
the cooling fins. It's astonishing how poor the quality
of a new jug is by comparison. |
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Another example of clear cooling fuins. |
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And one more. Not shown but worth a mention,
the valve guides on new jugs often have too large a
diameter so you burn oil. Your bike looks like a steam
train. And in some cases the diameter of the cylinder
bore is actually too small for the piston! |
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The carburetor intake and, as you can
clearly see, the passageway is not that clean. |
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Compare this vintage jug with the image
above. Look how smooth the interior surface is. This does
make a difference in performance. |
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Final drives. The one on the left is the
newer model. The one on the right is a PLA drive from
1971. |
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Look at the difference in the casting
quality of the casing in these detail images. |
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It's pretty clear that the PLA-made casing
is much better made than the newer one. |
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This is a general view of a genuine
CJ tank. It's constructed of heavier steel and has very
nicely done welding. |
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This offset filler toolbox combination fuel
tank is not genuine. Such a tank was
never offered on authentic Changs and is of poor quality. |
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The kneepad bracket on this counterfeit
tank is the wrong shape and in the wrong position. It
cannot be adjusted. It's made from very thin sheetmetal
and won't last very long. |
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The genuine kneepad bracket
has holes for adjusting its position. |
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It's also made from much heavier steel. |
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The lid on the counterfeit tool
box tank is too thin. It will bend and break easily. |
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This detail of a genuine
toolbox lid illustrates the heavier gauge of steel used. |
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Here's the whole thing. |
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A counterfeit toolbox lid
hinge is welded on the outside instead of the inside.
This type of hinge will break fairly soon. |
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The toolbox lid hinge on a genuine
tank. |
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Counerfeit tanks sometimes
have this type of catch for the toolbox cover instead of
a proper bracket. |
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The latch bracket on a genuine
tank. |
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Counterfeit tanks are constructed with thin
metal with poor welding. The welds are susceptible to
cracking and the tanks are notorious for developing
leaks. They are sold on the internet for $200 or more but
cost only $20! LRM offers these for $20 to anyone who
wants a fake tank. The genuine CJ tanks are hard to find
now but Mike Weaver can supply you with a high-quality
Russian-made toolbox tank for your Chang. |
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This shot shows a counterfeit
CJ frame where the driver's seat can hit the middle tube
when it has weight on it. Essentially it means the bike
has no seat suspensionnot so funny when you ride on
bad roads. |
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For comparison, the same tube from an genuine
frame. The tube is shorter the seat won't bottom out. |
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This image shows the plate where the gas
tank sits on a counterfeit CJ frame. The
metal is too thin on some of them. You can actually bend
it with your hands. |
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Not so on this genuine
frame. |
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Here's an example of a gas tank bracket
being located slightly off on a counterfeit
CJ frame. |
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To compensate they elongated the holes so
the tank will mate up to them. |
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The bracket can lose quite a bit of its
integrity as a result. |
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This image shows the "workmanship"
on a counterfeit CJ frame. |
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On this counterfeit frame
the bracket welded below the tube limits the rotation of
the steering head. |
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Also, the steering damper plate is too long.
In this example, the steering damper is totally useless
because there is no contact with the plate. |
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