Jimbo's Classic Sidecars

Nice CJ, well finished

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:11:52 -0500

This CJ 750 was completed by Big Bad Bill in Beijing. It has a clean look, nice blue paint, good chromes, nice engine polish. The engine outputs a nice rumble at idle, the bike is well set.

Big Bad Bill's bikes are among the nicest in Beijing. His website can be found at http://www.cj750.net. Big Bad Bill's website gives a lot of background information on the CJ, and on the Chang Jiang scene in Beijing. Worth visiting, no doubt.

Jimbo's Shop in Video!

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:03:31 -0500

Just a short video to present our sidecars. Check it out.

Restored & Rebuilt From the Ground Up

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:56:07 -0500

So you've got your ChangJiang, your vintage sidecar? And you wanna be a star?

Maybe you bought it from us, maybe you got the whole rig from someone else. Whichever way you went has no importance. If you consider our shop for customizing or rebuilding your bike, that's probably because you heard we don't f@## around with our clients' rides.

We restore your bike to a level that no one could ever complain about. As a matter of fact, no one [alive] has ever complained about our workmanship.

First of all, we are the only shop with a full track record of innovations (click to read about these).

We have our own body shop where we weld, under coat, paint, polish, and fabricate.

We manufacture custom exhaust systems with crossover pipes. We fit your ride with vintage reproduction body parts, and custom castings such as aluminum hubs and valve covers.

When you order a custom build from us, we start with a vintage ex-military Chang Jiang 750 sidecar.

We strip it down to bare metal to rebuild it from the frame up. All stock wiring is tossed, junked, and a new wiring harness is custom-made and installed.

All the welds are inspected, re-welded if necessary, and molded if you order it this way. The motor, the transmission, and the rear drive are all rebuilt using only SKF bearings.

If you want to keep your CJ motor, that's up to you. But we really recommend moving on to a BMW motor. We love the R75 and R80 Series, which have proven to be super-reliable decade after decade. German precision engineering at its best.

We polish the motor to a chrome-like finish, or leave it in its original grey robe if you prefer the old skool look.

All the chrome parts are first stripped, and then re-chromed properly using copper-nickel-chrome plating.

We developed a custom undercoating which we apply to the sidecar tub to prevent rust.

And we look at so many more details that listing them here would be a bore. But call us, visit us, and we'll give you the full tour.

In the end, your vintage sidecar has not lost an inch of its authentic look. But it has gained a hell lot more reliability and roadworthiness.

The Brains

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:41:42 -0500

In the right corner, in the blue sweatshirt with the welding mask: Jim Bryant! Yup, it's me. Born and raised in the glorious state of New Hampshire, United States, I used to be a race car driver. My gig was IndyCars, and for many years I sweated over big engines, hot asphalt, and racy girls.

My pro career then moved to China where I introduced several large US companies like Pizza Factory and Subway. This is when I met the love of my life, and decided to make Beijing my permanent home.

I got involved with ChangJiang motorcycles back in the mid-1990s, when my wife had the good taste to offer me a vintage sidecar to remind me of my good ole days.

I was hooked, and the bug never left me. Over the years, I have restored and built more CJ 750 sidecars than I can shake a dipstick at. On the last count, I believe I was at over 50 custom builds and BMW-motor conversions.

God blessed me, I love my job!

And in the left corner, in deep purple sweatshirt, all black hair out: Kian Jian Chao! Call me Kang. I don't speak much, let's make it fast.

I started working on ChangJiang motorcycles as a mechanic in the Chinese Army back in 1985, over 20 years ago.

Left the army, but never stopped taking care of these workhorses. Built my own clientele in Beijing where everybody knows me. Then partnered with Jimbo as one of the only guys in town who really knows his shit.

We're out there to build the best ChangJiang bikes, bar none. Clients swear we deliver the goods. That's all I have to say.

Our 100% Guarantee

When you buy a CJ750 from our shop, you get a 100% guarantee: Your bike is reliable, you can ride it everyday and not worry about getting stranded on the roadside somewhere.

We know the job. We do it well, better than anyone around, matter of fact. And we stand behind the quality of our workmanship.

That's our 100% guarantee.

Come visit us, and watch your bike being built.

New H-D Panhead seats

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:30:43 -0500

Our seats are but by hand from the pan up. The Pan is modeled after the Harley Panhead, so it fits those models as well.

The leather is 2 mm thick, and hand dyed. It is then hand cut, and hand stitched.

Hand tooled leather is also available.

These seats will fit on the H-D Panhead, the BMW /2 (with the T-Bar as well), the Chang Jiang, and the Ural.

Leather Saddlebags

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:18:26 -0500

Our genuine cowhide leather saddle bags are made by hand by our supplier, a husband and wife team. The purchase the leather, they dye it themselves, the hand cut it, and they even hand stitch it themselves. Truly old world craftsmanship.

Nice CJ slideshow with many customs

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:06:04 -0500

Nice close-ups of the CJ. This slideshows has good footage with many views of the custom builds output by this Brazilian/Floridian shop, Super Toni Motos.

Making Your Vintage Ride Extraordinary

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:02:15 -0500

Let's be brutally honest: though the CJ750 is a venerable vintage sidecar, it's also an unreliable, oil-leaking, failure-prone, underpowered piece of machinery.

Anyone who rode a ChangJiang 750 has interesting war stories to tell.

We know. We ride CJ750s every day. We maintain them. And we often have the sad duty to break the news to unfortunate owners: "We are sorry, but your tranny has just left the building."

Our shop not only repairs ChangJiang vintage motorcycles, but we actually rebuild and customize these unique sidecars to morph them into very robust motorcycles, reliable enough to be used as your daily ride.

As you will discover in this blog, we combine:

40 years of insider knowledge of the CJ 750;
Good ol' American experience and standards of quality in the motorcycle business;
The precision of German engineering with time-tested genuine BMW motors.

Come to our shop if you want us to:

Custom-build your own classic motorcycle

Totally restore your vintage motorcycle

Inspect and comb with a fine-tooth a used sidecar you think of buying

Custom polish your motor, forks, shocks, and other parts

Custom chrome plate any part of your vintage sidecar

Engineer a part for you

Powder coat your frame, hubs, wheels, tub, etc.

Change your flimsy CJ750 wheels for our exclusive M5 high-quality wheels

Airbrush and paint your ride with a special theme

Apply undercoating and rust-proofing

Convert your underpowered CJ750 motor to a genuine BMW motor

Perform some preventive maintenance on your ride

Need some roadside service 'cause your ol' CJ750 died on the way

Mig / tig weld some parts of your frame or sidecar

Rewire your bike and do some other custom electrical work

Set you up with custom leather accessories that look good and feel vintage

Many of our distinguished clients are expatriates who love the look and feel of a vintage sidecar. They have high expectations, and require their motorcycle to stick to high-level quality standards.

Most often, they come to our shop because we were recommended by their biker friends. And they bring back their sidecar with them when they go back home.

And indeed, even if you live outside China, call us. We will do as good a work on your vintage sidecar as if you lived next door to us.

Welcome to Jimbo's Classic Sidecars blog. We hope this visit will be entertaining, and don't hesitate to drop by or write us.

BMW sidecars on tour

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:18:59 -0500

A Ride to Simatai Great Wall, China

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:15:09 -0500

It is hot in Beijing Downtown, so we made a Ride to the Countryside. Simatai Great wall is a well known Destination, but this time we also drove to the "other Side".

Yinziyu is a small Village which is guarding the Valley and this Part of the Great Wall since hundreds of Years. Forgotten to the World.