Visiting a hardcore player of Chinese Vintage Motorcycle
Today, we are taking you to meet a vintage motorcycle player. Although there's a big problem in front of us - the weather, it wouldn't affect any of our plans.
We set off in the morning and arrived in Desheng, a small town in Guangxi, after 6 hours. Brother Pan, a celebrity in a Chinese vintage motorcycle circle, lived in this remote village. He is one of the few motorcycle enthusiasts who know how to debug the contact-point ignition system.
Entering his garage, the first thing we saw was a converted bobber-style YAMAHA XS650, an old machine from the 1970s that still functioned. In China, XS650 has also been named a blockhouse after the distinctive shape of its cowl hood. Only a few people know how to maintain this kind of contact-point ignition system so that its life could only be extended here by Brother Pan.
Unexpectedly, we noticed a Chinese-made CHANGJIANG750 (Black Star) at the backdoor. It is a very classical three-wheeled motorcycle, which is currently still in production.
There were also some old models stored at Brother Pan's studio, such as this HONGDA GL500, which was in maintenance, a classic Rally YAMAHA XT500, and various vintage engines.
Brother Pan has been wild about motorcycles for over 30 years. It is not easy to adhere to this hobby in a remote place in China. Mainly because it was difficult to find spare parts for old motorcycles. Besides, these kinds of old models were rarely seen in China, bringing not many common enthusiasts. In a manner of speaking, Brother Pan was sticking to his hobby on his own, which showed us the serious attitude of Chinese vintage motorcycle enthusiasts.
Classic books from Brother Pan’s collection
We found a local professional repair shop to maintain our vehicles in the evening and prepared for the next trip.