Vintage Retro Motorcycle Goggles
A “re-cycle” experience
Whenever you run into a vintage motorcycle at a show or museum, do you daydream what it would be like to be one of those hardy bikers back in the day? You would be concerned about kick starting “Betty”, and making it to and actually back from a trip. Just think – grabbing a handful of non-mesh gears, slapping that cable clutch and working that collection of bolts up to top cog and holding on for a ride out there on the edge. Our biking forefathers really loved their machines to put up with all of that and find the fun and excitement that has spurred on the industry to what it is today.
I have always stood there in front of those 2-wheeled time machines and wondered what it would be like to not just own a vintage motorcycle, but to actually ride one full-time. Not just to a show or something, but to experience what it would be like to ride and maintain one of these historic motorbikes on a daily basis.
There are some problems with living this dream. How could you rely upon such a vintage collection of nuts and bolts, all the while knowing that as you ride the bike its rare vital parts may need replacement? This is the main reason many relegate these vintage bikes to a shelf just for looking at. I am proud to say that I have found a way to actually own and ride a vintage classic motorcycle in the Chang Jiang 750.
In 1938, BMW introduced a milestone motorcycle design with their R71 twin opposed cylinder “boxer” design 750 CC flat head, air cooled, shaft drive motorcycle. In its day, this was a monster machine; powerful, reliable and designed with utilitarian usefulness in mind. During WWII, this motorcycle played a key role as a 3-wheeled side car military machine, as well as a 2-wheeled personnel mover. At the end of the war, the Soviet government adopted the exact design right down to the shaft drive train, building the Knieper and Ural motorbikes. These hardy bikes were used extensively in the Soviet-block countries, and then in 1957 the Chinese government adopted this design and used an aircraft manufacturing plant to pump them out by the thousands. In 1989, the production ended, but not before over 1.6 million faithful reproductions of essentially the same motorcycle that started it all came off of their assembly line.
The CJ750 became a standard transportation machine in China, used by the military, commercial businesses, and individuals for everyday riding. This machine has withstood the test of time, and is still here in very much the same design as the groundbreaking bike circa 1938.
There were 2 versions of this ride. The original flat-head design sported only 24 HP with 5.7:1 compression. Later there was an overhead valve design that upped the HP to 32, with a little more compression. Neither bike compares to the speed and performance of today’s motorcycles, but hey, that’s OK. It’s not the speed but the style of the ride that turns me on. Top speed is determined on how long you want to hold that speed, mine likes 45 to 50 MPH, not something bikes of today need to be concerned about competing with, but again I’m not looking to go fast, I’m interested in the total ride itself.
The CJ750 can be totally restored from original 0-mile motorcycles that have been packed away and brought to a reliable riding condition. This can be done so inexpensively that riders can have a vintage reproduced classic for well under $10,000 – totally restored and ready to ride. These machines are still in use in China as daily transportation and for commercial deliveries. There are many new and reproduced parts available both in China as well as here in the USA. Several companies offer these bikes and parts for the enthusiast, so it’s not like you have a vintage bike that has parts that cannot be replaced, or one that is too rare and expensive to ride. There is no problem in riding your vintage style motorcycle every day, take a trip with one and feel what it was really like to have bugs in your teeth, oil on your boot leg and the noise of a vintage motorcycle ringing in your ear.
I have a small 4×8 trailer to bring my fun machine with me to the beach or places I like to ride, it even gets looks as a trailer queen but the stares really start coming when we load up and go for a ride, side car packed, goggles on, gloves and brain bucket and boots. You never see the back of heads when you pass, only eyeballs looking and fingers pointing as you motor past. Travelling up A1A is a religious experience for all bikers and we sit and take in all that a beautiful day on a motorcycle in that place has to offer. And most everyone that passes us give a thumbs up. We are enjoying our ride, and they are enjoying looking at us. This, to me, is what riding a bike is all about. It’s not getting there, but the ride that interests me. It’s not the smooth, powerful, fast ride but the enduring “all that is needed to get where you are going and back again”. It’s the being one with a mechanism designed over 70 years ago, piloting that vintage collection of metal parts. It’s the real “retro” ride I seek and I have found it.
So, for a relatively small sum of money, you too can experience all that it is to own and ride a historic motorcycle. If what you seek is the real thing, what it’s like to have a piece of history and make it work for you, look into the CJ750 motorcycle. I have imported 3 of these machines for friends. You can start your exposure to this exciting niche by reading about them on the internet– do a Google search, or visit my web site www.gmccoop.com and read what I have done with these classic scooters.
About the Author
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