CJ750 toolbox

Front fender height: To lower or not to lower.

Some people prefer the way their Chang looks with the front fender lowered. From what I've been able to discover on the Internet and elsewhere, Changs were generally built with the high-mounted front fender. This is to afford plenty of clearance as the fork telescopes, particularly on the local terrain where these bikes were intended to be used. The lowered version seems to have come along in response to a small demand found in foreign markets, mainly Europe and the States. Those bikes are intended for hobbyists rather than the Chinese military or police. Looking at what's available on the Web, virtually all of the low-fendered machines are custom bikes built for export.

Here are examples of both:
First, the grandfather of our bikes—the 1938 BMW R71. The civilian version has a low fender. This fender travels with the wheel so all mounting hardware is fixed to the telescoping portion of the fork.
This fender was used by RLI International of Beijing. Their bikes were marketed to enthusaists in foreign markets. Again, all the mounting hardware is attached to the moving portion of the fork.
This is a DTE M1M, the "Chrome" model. It's not a bad looking fender except for the splash guard, but that's a functional part of the package.
Edelweiss Militaria caters to WWII re-enactors. They offer Changs with a stock high fender. All of the mounting hardware is fixed to the stationary portion of the fork.
And here's another Dong Tian bike, this time with a high fender.


I'll be honest with you. I think the lowered fender looks pretty nice. It gives the bike more of a cruiser look, which is basically what it is, not a motocross bike. But you know what they say about opinions.

If you decide to convert to a lower fender, there is one very important thing to consider. ALL of the mounting hardware must go on ONE part of the fork—either the part that telescopes or the part that doesn't, but NOT BOTH. It's easy to overlook this detail as you view your CJ sitting in the garage. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what would happen on the first bump.

Attaching brackets to the lower forks involves welding on six small pad eyes—although I'm not convinced the upper two are really necessary. On my bike the upper pad eyes have, on occasion, interfered with fork travel. They'll be ground off this winter. We'll then see how it goes with just the four lower ones. Maybe next winter I'll be welding on some new ones.

Fender brackets are very easily fabricated using steel stock available at any hardware store. All you need is a bench grinder and a drill.

The bracket mounting points on the fender are in different locations, so new holes are required. What about the old holes? Well, that's up to you. If you ride your Chang as much as I do, you might save this for a winter project, then use the time to fill the holes with metal.