Chang Jiang motorcycle by Bandit9

The Chang Jiang 750 was China’s derivative of the Soviet IMZ M-72 which was a spin off of BMW’s 1938 R71. The CJ750 was typically produced with a sidecar and was used by the Chinese military in the late 50s/early 60s. It’s 4 stroke, air cooled, opposed flat twin delivered power to the rear wheel via a shaft drive like the setup still seen on many BMW motorcycles.

Bandit9 owner Daryl, acquired this CJ750 to use as a base for his first “guinea pig” project bike. The customised CJ750 titled “Loki” was a test of Daryl’s ability to piece together a custom bike in Beijing where he now resides. With the restrictions of language and a network of resources we think he’s done a pretty solid job.

Loki was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. The bike was an ex-military model so it had seen its fair share of use. Upgrades to the suspension and brakes have refreshed the bike’s handling, and adjustments to the frame have given the bike a lower stance.

Aesthetically Daryl wanted to retain some of the bikes raw looks so the frame retains its original paint, the bodywork however was given a full overhaul. The fenders were chopped and remounted to fit closer to the radius of the tyres. The fenders, headlight and handlebars were all finished in a low sheen black while the tank was treated to a deep forest green.

 

Loki is an impressive introduction for Bandit9 to the custom motorcycle building world and the choice of bike is certainly going to raise a few eyebrows. As Daryl’s Chinese improves and his contacts grow we can expect to see more great custom motorcycles rolling out of the Bandit9 workshop. Daryl’s next bike the Bandit2 is already in production and you can catch glimpses of it on the Bandit9 blog.