American know-how, German BMW engineering

I was raised in a small town in New Hampshire, United States . Out of high school I went to work in the shoe factories that peppered New England.Then in 1978 I went to work for a shoe importer that relocated me to Taiwan. Then in 1981 I started my own shoe manufacturing business in Mainland China.

That business grew beyond my wildest dreams and allowed me to begin a 2nd career as a professional race car driver. I raced Sports Cars, Stock Cars, and Open Wheel (IndyCar) cars. I also instructed for several automobile companies as well as racing clubs. Then everything changed when I retired from racing and I got my first motorcycle, a Chang Jiang 750 in Beijing.

 That bike taught me how bad a motorcycle could be. So, I undertook a 2 year transformation of the bike culminating in a BMW powered sidecar machine. Along the way, I got rid of the standard 12V flathead motor replacing it with the 12V OHV motor only found in police bikes up until that time. Then I put that motor through several enhancements with the porting and polishing of the heads, and shaving the heads by .060. Finally in 2000 I smuggled in a BMW motorcycle motor and installed it.

After a while some friends came to me asking if I could do the same with their bikes (all Chang Jiangs). Finally in 2005, after I made a round the world ride on my bike, I started what was a hobby into a successful business, transforming Chang Jiangs into BMW powered sidecar bikes.

To date I've done over 170 conversions with the BMW motor into a Chang Jiang frame and about a dozen complete BMW drive trains into Chang Jiang frames. I've also converted a number of Urals with the BMW motor and drive train.

I've since moved myself and my operation to the US.

If you are interested in converting your Chang Jiang into a more powerful and reliable bike contact ,me at jim@bmwsidecar.com

Or if you're interested in purchasing a bike, I can supply you with that as well.