Chang Jiang (motorcycle)

The CJ750 is based on the 1956 Soviet Irbitski Mototsikletniy Zavod (IMZ) M-72,[1][2] which was derived from the earlier German 1938 BMW R71.

They were originally produced for the Chinese military and are powered by an air-cooled, four-stroke, opposed-twin engine displacing 746 cc (45.5 cu in).

CJ technological history includes racing bikes, experimental engines and futile attempts at modernizing the appearance of a long obsolete machine.

4,248 were built before military motorcycle production was transferred to the Hongdu and Xingjiang machinery plants.

[citation needed] The Chang Jiang drivetrain has been revised several times since production began.

In 1969, the CJ750 underwent some minor design changes, primarily related to sidecar frames and headlight-mounted switches.

[citation needed] In the late-1970s, the factory was merged with airplane manufacturer Guo Ying Hongdu Ji Xie Chang.

At this time, an OHV engine producing 30 hp (22 kW; 30 PS), with a six-volt electrical system, was being developed.

They were quickly replaced by a 32 hp (24 kW; 32 PS) version with a twelve-volt electrical system.

In December, 1980, a small number of 900 cc (55 cu in) OHV engines were produced in response to the acquisition of BMW motorcycles by the armed police.

[citation needed] The 750 OHV upgrade appeared in the mid-eighties and entered production at the Ministry of Aviation and Space Engine Factory in Nanchang, Hunan Province.