Changjiang CJ700 range revealed
Changjiang is best known as the Chinese equivalent to Ural - a company that spent decades turning out WW2-era sidecar outfits aimed at the military under communist rule. But Changjiang is now leveraging that heritage and combining it with more modern technology to turn out a new range of two and three-wheeled machines.
The old CJ750 was China's version of the Soviet M-72 sidecar outfit, itself a development of the 1938 BMW R71. Built from the 1950s until 2009, the CJ750 was the biggest-capacity Chinese-made motorcycle for years, but after emissions rules ended its life, Changjiang was left without a product to offer.
Recently the company has been revived with a new range of sidecar models based around CFMoto's 650 cc parallel twin, and now it's planning to upgrade its range with a redesigned set of machines using the 693 cc CFMoto engine that first appeared in the CFMoto 700CL-X, including a two-wheeled bobber built around the same engine.
Called the CJ700 Bobbie II - meaning 'bobber, 2-wheels' - the new bike breaks with Changjiang's purely retro design by featuring a cast alloy seat subframe and rear suspension upper mount, combined with a modern take on the classic bobber style. Conventional forks and twin rear shocks mean it's not trying to be at the cutting edge of chassis technology, but the water-cooled DOHC machine is still a notable step forward over the company's older creations. With 74 hp and a kerb weight (wet) of 225 kg, it's also likely to be the fastest bike ever to wear the Changjiang badge. It's also ABS-equipped and emissions-compliant, and since Changjiang is already bringing the previous 650 cc sidecar outfits to Europe in small numbers, it stands a good chance of going on sale here eventually.
There's also a CJ700 Bobbie III version using the same chassis and engine but with a bullet-shaped sidecar bolted on, upping the weight to 330 kg and dropping top speed from 81 mph to 75 mph. It also loses the ABS, probably due to the complexity of making a system that works on a three-wheeler.
Elsewhere in Changjiang's range, the 693 cc engine is also being fitted to the company's more traditional looking sidecar outfits, which have a tubular steel chassis that mimics the shape of the old CJ750s, even featuring sleeved rear shocks that convincingly replicate the plunger-style suspension of the original, even though there's really a conventional swingarm at the back. Both wire wheeled and alloy wheeled versions are to be made, as well as versions with leading-link front suspension instead of forks, and even a half-faired version that's aimed at police use.
