Spotted in a foilhead’s sig in the IMZ Ural message boards:

You only need 2 tools, WD-40 and Duct Tape…. If it doesn’t move and it should, use the WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, use the tape

Ah, the simplicity of the purest truths…

For all the wisdom in this statement though, no self-respecting Uralist would be without his third — holy trinity? — of Ural tools: the BFH, or Big Feckin’ Hammer.

Below is a list of Ural accessories available from Raceway Services, in Salem, Oregon. This is not an exhaustive or authoritative list by any means. For latest availability and current pricing, contact Raceway. Most of these accessories, such as the shifter kits, are made on-premises at Raceway.

• Tank shifter kits (also known as hand shifter kits) — made in-house (forward gears, reverse, reverse and forward gears, reverse and sidecar wheel engage/disengage)
• Nose racks
• Skid pans for under engine
• Side car skid pans
• High-mount exhausts
• Trim rings for ignition switches
• Shift rod improver kits
• Wrench-adjustable toe setting devices
• Hydraulic hill holder brake system for front wheel
• Beston grip conversions
• Tank-mounted temp and clock systems
• “Hippo Hands” (not a Raceway product but something they carry)
• Foot boxes
• Trunk locks

Ural motorcycles have increased in price about $1000-$1300 for the 2008 model year, mostly due to compliance changes for new EU pollution standards. Here is info on model changes for the 2006-2008 model years.

• Ural Retro 750, $12,299
• Ural Tourist 750, $10,499
• Ural Patrol 750, $11,499
• Ural Gear Up 750, $11,999
• Ural Wolf 750, $7,995

IMZ Ural has updated their website with 2008 model specs and pricing. There have been some various part improvements for 2008, but the upshot for most prospective Ural buyers is that 2008 models will cost about $1000-$1300 more than the 2007 models. For example, the Ural Patrol sold for MSRP $10,299 in 2007, but is going for $11,499 in 2008.

“Designed by alcoholics to be driven by drunks”

Have you wondered if repair and maintenance of your Ural motorcycle will reduce you to a vodka-pickled lump cursing softly on the floor of your garage? In the ADV Rider Hacks forum, Stefan asks about Ural Maintainance Headaches – essentially, what it’s like working on a Ural, if you need special tools, what parts availability is, etc.

Personally, I take great comfort in this reply:

“They are the only motorcycles on Earth that were designed by alcoholics to be driven by drunks.”

Happy wrenching, indeed!

Go to the discussion: Ural Maintainance Headaches

No point getting a rig, without adding on a few bits and pieces straightaway. Here are a few Ural accessories I’m getting with the bike:

• 750 cc Basic Service (2 disc set on basic maintenance for Urals)
• Set of mudguards
• Trunk lock

Might be more to come — there’s a “door” cover that I’ll probably get for the sidecar as well. That will be helpful for keeping wind off the hack monkey.

Year of the Ural Begins… Now for the Bike to Get Here!

The new year has been rung in, and the wait for my Patrol continues. Which works pretty well for me, actually, as it’s more time to prep the garage and get gear…

My dealer, Jim Petitti of Salem, Oregon’s Raceway Services, will update me as soon as he hears more… and then, sooner or later, the glorious countdown to my Ural arrival will begin…