The Dream's Alive
A rebel WITH a cause
A vintage motorcycle is much more than a collection of old pieces/ parts. Early on in the industrial revolution it was recognized that having a 2 wheeled personal transportation machine was a desirable thing.
Long before, the horse gave riders that feeling of
freedom and many "cowpokes" formed a strong bond with their horse.
Those early "bikers" saw this as the industrial age horse and formed a similar
bond. The
early days of the motorcycle saw them go from a curiosity to a viable means of
transportation and the people who braved these early machines were the true
roots of what is today a way of life, a way of escape and a way to make a
statement of how you feel about yourself and the world.
Today, the motorcycle industry and community is a huge marketing factor. Millions of dollars are spent in racing, specialty performance riding as well as touring or just enjoying the wind in your face, being free of gravity.
See, I fit in that last category, I can't have at this point in my life a month to take a cruise. I don't feel talented enough to do wheel stands for 2 blocks and I sure don't wanna dig into a curve at some ridiculous speed. I just want a bike to get away from things on, I want something special, I want 2 wheels (or as it has turned out 3) to burn fuel in my own special way. A 4 mile ride puts me at work, it's 2 miles to the store and downtown is a handful of lights away, I want a bike to get me to those places. I take a Sunday morning ride just for the heck of it. That's my style of riding and I want a unique bike for that purpose.
So why not buy some "Ninja" crotch rocket?
It hurts my back to bend over that far, besides, the performance and technology
used in today's motorcycles can put you into a full body cast in the blink of an
eye. I don't ride like that, I don't want to have a power to weight ratio
that can put me ahead of the space shuttle, I just wanna take a ride on a cool
machine! I have a 1975 Honda Goldwing, a very nice and historic motorcycle
and one that has settled my wonder lust for a comfortable set of wheels for many
years. 
It is a smooth riding classic machine but in the years I have owned
it, the bike has aged and now with more 30+ year old parts on it all holding
hands I am concerned about the reliability of the my GL1000. You simply
cannot get out on the road with a machine with that many original parts and feel
comfortable. Now what, do I have it rebuilt, do I spend what would be big
bucks if I could even find someone who could do the job and find all the parts
to do that? I love my "Old Gold" but she's just not a reliable piece of
equipment.
"I love old things that work like new",
new not in the sense of a blistering road rocket but new in the way the machine
originally performed. I like the retro look, of course, of older vintage
motorcycles but I also like the feel they give me while operating them as they
were intended to work when new. I like the feel of "grind-it-till-ya-find-it"
transmissions-- finesse man, finesse is how ya do it. I love the feel of
that classic, smooth running motor bringing you up to the top of each gear and
the feel of pulling in the reigns of that beast dropping into that next cog and
letting those few harnessed ponies out then hold on for some fun. I love the feel of a vintage machine, the squeaks, the
rattles, the adjustments that need to be made and all that goes with moving
along the earth the same way they used to "back in the good ole days".
Unfortunatly, I feel collecting vintage bikes today has lost the true feel of using the bike and
experiencing this "wander lust" if you will of actually experiencing
what it is to not only own a machine but also experiencing what it's like to
actually use them. I mean not just for a ride on a closed track but really
going places on it. It is so bloody expensive to
bring a classic vintage motorcycle back to it's original glory that most folks
that own them are afraid to take them out and get the tires dirty-- and rightly
so. It is a
shame but they are probably right, I mean how can you take out a machine that
you have scoured the world for parts, lovingly assembled and now have invested
big dollars that you never figured to. How do you pull up to a restaurant, park the bike out
front and go in for a beer? It's just not sound thinking to take a risk
such as that and there I feel lies the problem.
But then you are not getting the full impact
of what it is to own and operate a vintage machine like that, you are
shortchanged! We have found an answer for you -- The CJ750 is
essentially a clone of the historic BMW R-71, the original and first design of
what is arguably regarded as the first really reliable motorcycle design.
In 1938, BMW introduced the 2 cylinder opposed, drive shaft driven motorcycle
when most other bikes were reguarded as little more than a toy, an oddity and
while most motorcycles of the age were not very fast, could not carry much of a
load and broke down frequently, the R-71 was none of that, it was a fire
breathing monster for the day. 750cc was huge at that time, twin
carburetors gave the dragon power like never seen, the drive shaft design ran on
when chains failed and the design of the bike was
rugged and reliable. The Germans brought the bike design to Russia who
copied it and produced the still rugged and strong Ural M-72. The soviets now
had the "better bike". Harley Davidson tried to copy this design coming out
with the X-A which was all but a reverse engineered copy of the R-71 and later
even more robust versions. In 1957, the Soviets got China into the muscle
bike business helping them get started building their own version of the BMW
which was named the Changjiang 750 (translated: Long River). And this motorcycle is what we
are working with today.
The CJ750 had a long production life well
into the 70's. 1.6 million copies were produced by China for military use
in the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army). This bike truly has a historic
heritage and is one of those vintage bikes that set the stage for all future
motorcycle interest. Now, wouldn't it be cool to actually have one of
these historic performance machines in your garage, completely frame off
restored and ready to fire at the push of a button? I mean picture
yourself there!
Cooperative Motor Works working closely with LRM (Long River Motorworks) out of Beijing China have taken this historic vintage motorcycle, have had them totally restored and actually modified to make them reliable and able to give you the feel today of what it was like to ride this vintage bike the way it originally was, it's the real deal and the real feel. We here at the Co-op are not a dealer rather we are enthusiasts helping expose the bikes LRM is offering. After seeing their quality, I am convinced more need to see these and we're offering to help people pick one up and help in any way we can. We can help break them out of the crate and set them up for you and also we can help you with service. Why do we do this--- because I believe in them that much! This motorcycle has been completely restored, a 12 volt negative ground electrical system complete with electric start has been fitted to it (hey, retro is one thing but I'm not standing there on a cold day stomping that &^%$#) with all other functions renewed and refreshed. They are built in a collection of configurations, basic full military as in these.
Here are our first bike on the ground here at
our shop in Orlando Florida
as well as in custom configurations like
these:
Both with and without a sidecar, the CJ 750 is an awesome looking bike. A true vintage "riders" bike. You don't just look at these and dream what it would be like to ride one-- wind in your hair and all of that-- Oh no, these bikes are road ready and want to go! This bike gives you the "full package", good looks, a historic design and the ability to get out on the road and experience what it is to own and ride a motorcycle when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Yes, this is a real "prehistoric" ride.
Why have you never seen one of these on
the road?
That was the first question I had for LRM when I discovered
these machines. Turns out they have been building these bikes and
importing them for over 5 years, one at a time. Folks designed a
bike, they built them custom and then they were shipped. Thats all well
and good but that explains why they are hard to find. After receiving
mine, I felt many more people would be interested in one of these if they did
not have to send funds to China and wait. When you see one of these, you
want one--- right now. It was hard to hurry up and wait for mine so thats
our big deal here now. We are teaming up with LRM to bring these unique
bikes in quantity here to the states, have them checked out, set up and ridden
then ready to offer to buyers-- right now!
How Much?
Thats
another unbelievable thing about one of these fully restored, updated and ready
to ride vintage bikes, compared to a new bike, compared to paying someone to
restore a vintage bike these are downright cheap! Not cheaply built in
fact you can take one of these home, ride it to a bike show and probably take
home a trophy-- they are that nice! The full military, side car, flat head
motor bike I got was only $7000 complete delivered here to Orlando ready to
title and ride. Solo bikes (ones without a sidecar if you want) are in the
$6000 range.
There are many custom options available, polished engines and differentials,
chrome here and there, colors whatever you want and more. If one of the
bikes we have here is not what you want, anything can be done to make your bike
truly your style. Of course these options will effect the final cost of
the bike.
Below are some basic features of this CJ 750, there are other options such as an overhead valve motor (OHV) among others:
Features
o 750cc opposed flat head 2 cylinder motor (original BMW design)
o twin carb, (side draft)
o Drive shaft driven differential (no chain)
o 4 speed transmission (w/ reverse) "jockey shift" or toe/ heal on all.
o 12 volt negative ground electrical system
o electric start
o all restored from the tires to the seat
Check out the LRM web site, go to www.longrivermotorworks.com and look around. We here at the Co-op are excited to be paired with LRM to offer you these unique machines in a secure, supported position and that along with the quality of the LRM bikes is what is important when purchasing one of these.
You are welcome to call Marcus at LRM (our contact) and talk (first person) to LRM people or call us on our toll free line 1-877-275-4462.
So enough of the gratuitous advertising, lets talk about the culture, the fun and the nuts and bolts about vintage bike ownership. The rest of this page are blogs, notes, feelings and interesting verbiage and pics. I hope you enjoy the CJ the way I see them.
Wanna "drag" your vintage Motorcycle? Go here for how to do it Drag your ride
<<<<<<<<<<<<< We are updating this page, below is our old page, feel free to read on but soon all that will change >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Words for the ride
So, from time
to time I think about different things riding my CJ, it's a great place to work
up some creative juices. This page has a few thoughts I've had and maybe
something interesting for you. Thanks for the visit here & I hope it's
useful Words for the ride
What's this all about? Well, I'm glad you asked, as I said my ride is very important to me. It's not that I feel the need to spend big bucks and have "cubic dollars" moving me around and God please put your fingers on my forehead and hold me back if I ever seem to be effected by what the masses call style! Sure, I wanna be distinctive, as everyone does, but I like to think I also bring to the table not only distinctive vehicles, uniqueness, function, form and excitement to the stuff we play with around here but also my own style as well.
o So what do I see in all of this? Take a read of my justification to own a 70 year old motorcycle design. Go to So what do I see for more.
If your eyes have not crossed yet from reading please continue, if you are tired, spring for a soda and come back--- I'll wait.
OK, are you ready for the "big picture"? I want a new motorcycle, I want something reliable, I can work on it a bit but really don't want to get deep into a project of a basket case-- I just have too many other things in life pulling my time to invest what it would take to do that. I don't care about riding at light speed, the posted speed would be fine and I have no desire to do a wheelie down the block or jump busses back to back. I want a bike that is unique, I want something others will look at, even people who are not bike savvy and give it a thumbs up -- oh yes-- and I don't want to spend big bucks. So is there something out there like that, is there something that really turns heads, something that I can ride every day, wherever I want to go, something I can work on and maintain, something my wife will let me have and something she too can enjoy a bit?
So here is an interesting alternative to spending big bucks to have a good looking reliable motorcycle:
Hey and do you think anyone will look at you
when you pull up to a traffic light.
You betcha!
STAND OUT?
You betcha! I would say is an important part of anything I drive, ride, pedal and this bike WILL qualify in that regard! And remember this bike is a "side car" bike, it comes with it's totally restored military style side car which of course can be removed if you like but I think a side car bike looking and performing the likes of this machine will benefit from having this unique and useful feature.
This fully updated and restored bike comes directly from the outfitter in Beijing, we unpack it, check it over completely, add fluids and fire that mother up! Some tweeking and it is ready to ride, a fresh motor and all rebuilt systems are go. Will the bike jump a 70 foot line of buses? No, but why would you want to do that anyway. The bike will make most speed limits but do it with a style few can match! It will fire up on it's own with it's retrofit electric starter, it's 12 volt electrical system is more than stable to run the bike and it's features. It's not a highway machine, a comfortable top speed of 50-55 MPH will not put you in the fast lane on a highway but hey, you probably would stay away from roads like that sightseeing anyway. And man will you get looks riding this baby. It's just what I want and I bet there are others, maybe you, out there interested.
How much? How about $6500 picked up at our shop here in Orlando ready with title and all documents ready for a tag and to go home with you! Man, you can't beat that! A correct restored classic antique side car motorcycle circa 1938 vintage and design in your hands ready for fun for that kind of money is awesome!
I'll give you drive and test reports as we get them. I intend to drive the wheels off this puppy and I'll let you know the good, the bad and the ugly of it but it sure looks like a bonanza to me! If you have interest, give me a call and get on the list, we have quantities being built right now with shipments to the US to begin very soon. They can be custom built, colored and outfitted any way you like. I've always wanted a desert Tan military motorcycle and now I have one-- you can have one too! Give me a call on the toll free line about a CJ for your very own 1-877-275-4462.
o Why do I think this could be the next trend? Hey, who knows but click here for my take on this subject. Winds of change
o Here is an article I recently found about another person interested in the CJ, go to Whats the fuss
o OK, here we go on the first ride report, go to Ride Test for that.
Stay tuned here for more information on this side car motorcycle. Come back soon and learn more.