Filed Under (Ural News) by Anthony StClair on 11-03-2008
“We expect to have the official market launch on May 24th” – IMZ Ural Australia
The news is out! Ural sidecar motorcycles are expected to be in sunny Australia in early May:
It’s Official!!! Our 2008 Ural bike and sidecar has passed its ADR test for registration. This has been a hurdle stopping import in the past which has now been cleared. Whilst it is cause for celebration and excitement, there is a wait now while the bikes are shipped to Australia. This process has commenced and we expect the likely arrival is early May.
The first shipment is expected to include:
- Gear Ups: Forest Nato Camo or Desert camo
- Tourist: Black, Maroon, Dark Blue, Green, Red
- “Off-road only” Gear Up, with permanent 2-wheel drive, right-hand sidecar, in Forest Nato camo (at least one of these has the sidecar on the “right” side)
Rental Urals? There is also speculation that Urals will be available to rent for use in Australia. Hopefully this comes to pass – Jodie and I are thinking of renting one during a trip to Aussieland later this year.
Congratulations, Ural Australia!
More information:
Filed Under (Trip Journals) by Anthony StClair on 10-03-2008
Sunday’s ride marked a definite turning point for me.
- No ballast
- Rode all range of speeds, from 25mph to 55mph
- Rode in traffic
It all sums up to one thing: I’m ready for regular ol’ Ural driving. It’s a good feeling, and one I’ve just got from the inside out. I’ve had my bike for a little less than a month, and feel really good about the pace I’ve taken to learn my Patrol and how it rides.
Time to start taking it out properly.
Jodie and Ella will be so happy…
WWID: What Would Ivan Do?
WWID is a little catchphrase that we Ural owners use to help us think creatively to resolve, ahem, situations with our beloved RPOCs (or, Russian Pieces of Crap). I had a first, minor WWID situation today.
One of the latch pins for my Patrol’s trunk fell out. No idea when or where; I haven’t found it in the garage yet. It’s not a huge deal, but I figured if I could find an alternative, I’d slap something on until I can get the pin replaced.
I still had the plastic retaining bit for the latch pin. A similar sized bolt and some electrical tape later, and I was in business.
What would Ivan do? Get creative. Yeah.
Filed Under (Site News) by Anthony StClair on 09-03-2008
Ride Three was down for part of Sunday. My hosting provider had some power outage issues with their building. All’s good now, and props to my host for sorting things out as quick as they could, with an issue that got kind of dumped on them. Thanks, lads.
On the IMZ Ural boards, Jim is looking for a bag to store some things on his windshield:
I’m looking for a windshield bag to fit my Slipstreamer SS-30 windshield. Nothing real big. Just big enough for, say, a pen, a small pad of paper, a tube of sun screen, some Visine, and some Chapstick. Any suggestions?”
Suggestions range from hunting around thrift stores, to some new products in catalogs. Read the whole discussion: IMZ Ural Boards - Windshield Bags
Filed Under (Training) by Anthony StClair on 06-03-2008
It’s all about the feel
The other night, I had a horrible time finding neutral. Just could not do it — it was like my first days on the bike all over again. The next day I spent some time just working on neutral, and I think I figured some things out. These are just my observations and what seem to be working for me and my 2007 Ural Patrol; YMMV (your mileage may vary).
The quest for neutral, the gear of no-gear
- Shift all the way into first gear
- Put nearly even pressure on both the toe bar (down-shifting) and heel bar (up-shifting) of the Ural’s heel-toe shifter, with just slightly more pressure on the heel up-shifting bar
- Tense your calf muscles
- Press down, slowly, on heel up-shifter
- Pay close attention — feel for a “slip” of the gear into… nothing. Neutral is like the zen of motorcycle gears — it is the “no-gear” of motorcycle shifting. You’re feeling for not being in gear, of feeling between gears, because, well, that’s exactly what neutral is
- If it feels like you’ve shifted and suddenly the shifter feels like it’s come to a good stopping place, you’re in second gear, not neutral. Let out the clutch a little, bring it back in, downshift into first, and start over
- Continue until you consistently are feeling that “slip”, the feeling that you are out of gear, that the shifter is just hanging off in its own zennish nirvana nothingness. That’s exactly where you want it to be. Hint: it will always be less movement than you think it should be. If you feel you’ve moved the shifter enough, you’ve probably just moved it too far and are in second. If you’re confident you’ve hit neutral though…
- Prove it: Go on, let out that clutch all the way. Don’t worry if you stall, just go back to the beginning and try again. If you did get neutral, do a quick couple of fist pumps, pop the rig back into first gear, and continue on your way.
Repeat a few, oh, dozen times, and you’ll just be starting to get the hang of finding neutral on a Ural.
Filed Under (Training, Trip Journals) by Anthony StClair on 06-03-2008
Ready to Hit the Town?
This week’s rides have been pretty similar and marked by a common theme: I’m feeling ready to start taking my Ural Patrol around town.
- Did have an interesting evening with finding neutral. I’d been riding around for about an hour, and suddenly I just could not find neutral. Kept slipping into second, and stalling whenever I thought I had neutral. Went home, tried a few more times, and gave it up for the next day. Began to wonder what I would do if something was wrong with the clutch…
- Next day, no worries. I spent some time just practicing neutral, and had no problems. I just hadn’t been feeling it out right. See “The Key to Finding Neutral on a Ural” for more.
- Down to 40 lbs. of ballast in the sidecar tub, and have had no problems. If anything, it’s been more fun to remember to shift my body weight a bit more.
- Found an area where a housing development is going to go. Streets are paved, but no houses yet — perfect area to practice some techniques. There are some good but slight curves, plus a long straight stretch perfect for accelerating, shifting and braking exercises. There’s also a turn-in that’s handy for working on steering in reverse.
- Some of the stop signs are on some short but pretty steeply angled slopes. The streets have all been residential, with virtually no traffic. They’ve given a great low-pressure environment to come to a smooth stop, shift into neutral, and then work on shifting into first, releasing the front brake and working on that sweet-spot combo of rear brake, clutch and first gear, for a smooth transition from full stop to pulling into traffic while on a slope.
The Patrol Loop
I haven’t been back up to 55mph on the Northwest Expressway yet, but will be soon. I’d like one more day of practice in clear weather and light traffic before getting out there more “for real”. However, I have been getting in more kms at higher speeds, 35-45 mph, and that’s been a big help to work on smoother shifting, handlebar grip and body position.
I’ve also been doing a big loop for more experience at different speeds, stoplights (and finding neutral at them) and riding in traffic:
- Neighborhood streets at 25mph, in second gear mostly, to work the engine and warm up the bike, then
- River Road at 40-45mph, leveraging third and getting some quality time in fourth), plus stoplights, changing lanes, checking mirrors, looking over my shoulder but keeping the rig in a straight line, etc., then
- Maxwell Road at 35-40 mph, nice straight stretch when I can lay the throttle on healthy, then
- Back to the neighborhood and soon home to whip up some grub
This wee “Patrol Loop” has been a big confidence booster. It’s real-world driving, at rush hour, on some of the area’s busier roads. Stack it all up, and I’m feeling more and more all growed up, and ready to start taking the bike around town.
Filed Under (Bikeography) by Anthony StClair on 05-03-2008
Message Board Threads
Read, bookmark, and refer back often.
Books & DVDs
Get them, read them, know them, keep them close by in the garage.
What Ural, sidecar and motorcycling resources would you never be without?
Filed Under (Trip Journals) by Anthony StClair on 04-03-2008
First Day at 55 mph. Or 88.5 kph. Whatever you want to call it
Bordering our neighborhood is the Northwest Expressway, a somewhat out-of-the-way, not-too-trafficked 2-lane 55mph highway. In other words, the perfect road for me to start working on my highway-speed chops.
On Sunday afternoon, I did some warm-up riding around the neighborhood, then ventured to an on-ramp. My goal was just to wait for a very clear stretch of road, so no traffic would be behind me. Then I’d get on the expressway, accelerate to highway speed and take the first exit, not far up the road.
I did this twice (then came home so Jodie and I could take our first ride with Ella). Here are some observations:
- That’s a lot of wind smacking into your torso. Will take some getting used to. Also need to start pricing fairings.
- Acceleration takes longer. The only vehicle I’m used to on highways is our Hyundai Elantra, and that has some decent get-up-and-go. With the Ural, it takes longer to get up to speed.
- It’s not easy to shift smoothly at higher speeds. Especially when you’re nervous and still working out the kinks of moving at a faster speed while also trying to get up to and maintain that highway speed. Shifting was rough, and I swerved myself a little. That’ll smooth out over time.
It was a good exercise. I got on a highway, I got the Ural up to 55mph, and I made it through in one piece. This weekend I’ll be trying again, and should also be getting farther up the road too.
Filed Under (Ella the Hack Hound) by Anthony StClair on 04-03-2008
Bonafide Hack Hound
On Sunday afternoon, Jodie, Ella and I all went for a ride. At last. (By the way, we rode with full gear, and just snapped the photo before we geared up. We’re ATGATT riders — All The Gear All The Time.)
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