The CJ 750 Chiang Yangs are now relieved by more modern engines for the Chinese army. But the story behind the history of BMW's R71 after he started the business as M72 in Russia, they don't know many people yet.
The real history of the Chinese CJ 750 sidecar combinations.
The name of the company where it all started in China? That was the Staatsigen Hong Du Machine factory. That company was established through the cooperation in 1951 of the 'Eastern China Military Area Air Force Factory Number 22' and the 'Southern Midland Military Area Nam Chang Aviation Station' on the premises of the original Kuomintang Airplane Manufacture Factory with the factory number 320.
The whole was later renamed 'Hongdu Aviation Industry Group'. But the basis of it was the military economic aid plan that the then powerful CCCP lovingly awarded to its fellow communists.
That support came on time. In 1950 the 'Automobile Units Factory No.6 of the Beijing People's Liberation Army' had already tried to build a sidecar combination for the army by taking apart a Zündapp KS 500 to start a serious series production under its own flag with the borrowed German example . In 1951 the plans were ready for production and 4.248 copies were made. But in terms of reliability, the Chinese clone was not yet at Germanic level.
Before the development was fully crystallized, the entire production of sidecar engines for the army on the orders of higher authorities, including the recently acquired Russian aid, was transferred to the factories in Hong Du and the machine factory in Xingjiang. For the adoption of a completely developed product including the entire factory to make that was too good an offer to continue the development of the copied Zündapp
So that all happened in Nan Chang City, in Xin Xi Qiao Province The newly formed
company was one of the first Chinese companies to take care of the design and production of planes, rockets and - of course - motorcycles. From 1951-1952 they are busy in Factory 320 with the repair work on planes. Thanks to the Soviet utility, Factory no. 320 upgraded to a fully-fledged aircraft factory in 1953.
In January 1957 was in charge of Factory 320 - the Guo Ying gan jiang ji xi chang - formally commissioned to produce the once as BMW
R71 was born and Russian heavy boxer combinations evolved into M72 to experience their second reincarnation on Chinese soil.
At first, that was more of an assembly process from the huge Russian residual stocks. But that changed quickly: The Chinese analyzed the ins and outs of their supplied M72s and started making them themselves. The production was to be run at Zhu Zhou in the province of Hu Nan. 331. The differences between the first CJ 750 and their examples were minimal. Apparently there are even complete M72s 'reverse' to CJ 750. Connoisseurs see a difference in the first series of carters.
At the CJ's they were coarser from outside the house. Small differences also quickly occurred in the frames and the sidecar frames. With the M72, the front fenders were riveted, with the CJs screwed. The Chinese blocks and transmissions from the 1957-1966 period were of the Type1 and in fact identical to those of the BMW R71 and the M72.
With the M1 ,, the Type II it stayed that way for a while. Just like the Russians, the Chinese had produced huge stocks of parts. They had to get up first. In the meantime, the production of the Type II engine blocks and gearboxes had already started in 1966. But only in 1972 did the old stocks run out. The distinction between the blocks can be seen most clearly from the location of the oil dipstick. With the Type I engines, it is low in the block. All engine blocks with a serial number higher than 661802 are of Type II
The Russian designation M72 was just as proseish as the company name "Factory 320" The "M" stood by the Russians for "Motocycletny", motorcycle. The number 72 made it clear that this was a motorcycle with the sequence number 72 in the row of type designations. That immediately makes it clear that these M72s could come from different factories without reservation. And that was true. They were made at the state-owned IMZ (Irbitsky Motocycletny Zavod) and KMZ (Kievski Mototsikletnyi Zavod), the companies that after that time would gain some fame with the production of 'Urals' and 'Dneprs'.
From May to June 1957 the men and women of Fabriek Nr. 320 completely analyzed the Russian veterans and put them on a drawing. The factory was already there. Production could begin. On November 30 1957, the first Chang Jiang (CJ) 750 sidecar combination proudly rolled the gates of Factory Nr. 230 out. Mass production began in December 1957. The first series of 407 combinations was delivered directly to the Chinese People's Army after production.
From 1957 to 2007, the CJ 750 was the standard workhorse for the army, police and inspectors of the Chinese tax authorities and many other Chinese government departments. But then those sidecar combinations, although in the meantime equipped with 12 V installations and starter motors, were already very dated. And more and more services began to consider purchasing cars.
That trend was reversed when JiaLing proudly introduced the modern JiaLing JH600B combination with fuel injection and a steered sidecar wheel. From 2006, the modern, now developed in China, successors to the BMW R1938, once built between 1941-71, were delivered to the Chinese People's Army. And in the meantime, export versions of these modern machines have also been developed. On three, but also on two wheels. But the CJ 750 are still being made. For the Chinese citizens and merchants who have no money for such a modern JiaLing. And there are millions of them!
But the Chinese army and other government officials were driving, or going to ride, on Jialing JH 600 B combinations. They have an 600 cc single-cylinder injection block, a driven sidecar with steering wheel and a hand brake….
And what the future will bring us? Most European engine factories already have their outposts in China. But the Chinese themselves will certainly come our way.
In the meantime Motorwerk supplies 'refurbished' CJ 750. They have a Chinese ex army history, are completely new built around frames with old numbers. So you buy a factory-new classic. A to-do list is part of the purchase, on the basis of which the buyer has to check his new acquisition. Allow about forty hours for that to be done. But then you also have something.
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