Page of Bens Bikes in Holland about the Chang-jiang M1M

CHANG-JIANG

26-7-25: RARE PICTURES

Since 2002, I have been collecting photos of the Chang-Jiang that are or were on the internet. www.chang-jiang.eu.

Frontfender says Ural.

The first CJ750s were direct copies of the Ural M72 from the early 1950s. Shown here with curved front fender brackets. These were later replaced by straight ones.

A rough estimate of the number of engines produced cannot be made, not even by AI. It is generally assumed that between 500,000 and 2,000,000 were made in all variants. Anyone who knows the answer is welcome to say so.

By the looks of it, a copy of an M72. Low front fender and the first sidecar model without a sprung sidecar wheel.

Looks like an early M72 or first production CJ750

Early M72? First sidecar model in Korea.

Chang or Ural in Korea.

M72 (or CJ?) in Korea.

M72 (or CJ?) in Korea.

Not a Chang Jiang, but a Zündapp copy in China. It was soon replaced by the CJ750.

This photo is often described as Chang Jiang. To me, it looks more like an M72 from early production.

Early sidecar and high front fender.

Second sidecar model. CJ or Ural production?

Four man in a sidecar

Fairly recent picture with the first model sidecar without suspension, but it strongly resembles a Ural or Dnepr from the early 1950s. This can be seen from the front fender brackets.

Soldier on a CJ from the final production run. Identifiable by the taillight.

A row of neat Changs from the nineties.

Military or police on a side-cockpit model with a BMW copy frame. Called "plastic-Chang".

Thousands of them must be "temporarily" parked in China. In the background, there is another one with stars on the tank. These were often sold to England as "Fivestar".

Photos of the last factory:

Pictures from 2002 from the Nanchang factory where the last bikes were assembled.

Batch of gearboxes with reverse gear. It is possible that these were manufactured elsewhere.

This is a very special photo. It is clearly visible that there is a copy of a BMW engine block standing here.

Production line of the overhead valve blocks that were officially never made at Nanchang. Actually, the overhead valves were never put into an old frame by Nanchang. Those were various private matters.

Remnants of the casting machines.

That pouring doesn't always go very well.

Other side of the production line.

Production of the gearbox.

Big ends, a bit rusty.

750B-3

Police motorcycles ready for delivery.

Sidecar side, later type in a museum.

Rare photo of a 900cc engine block of which only a few were made.

A meeting of a CJ club sometime in 2002.

The side valves in the old frame with rear plungers.

And there are many like that.

The side valves in the new frame:

Copy of the BMW frame. They were usually supplied with the overhead valve engine, but the side-valve version was cheaper and many engines were still available. Does have a BMW copy front fork. Parts are almost interchangeable.