Curing cabin fever

This week’s weather has known no constancy. A bit of sun, then hail. Then chilly sunlight. Then pounding rain. Then more pounding rain. Then a bit of hail, and all the while, chill and chill and chill.

So this evening, with clouds breaking and the air, well, approaching warm, I found myself in the living room with a hellish bout of cabin fever. A volume of Yeats, one of my favorite poets, lay on my lap, but I kept thinking I should go for a ride. “No,” I thought, “the weather’s going to go to hell again.” I opened the Yeats, skimmed it, put it aside. I looked out the window again. Shook my head. Opened the book again, skimmed it again, shut it again. It was 6:30 p.m.; I looked out the window once more, wondering if the weather would be decent for the reminder of the day, or if ominous clouds would roll in and break at any moment.

Finally I said the hell with it, and geared up for a ride.

I didn’t want to go far, didn’t need to go far. I just needed to get out for a little while. A few minutes thought gave me the answer: ride up Skinner Butte.

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Damn tasty

Back in January, we brewed up a porter, added some strong brewed coffee, bottled the homebrew, and patiently waited. The day my Patrol arrived, we cracked the first of many Patrol Porters. And we have been very happy with this batch of homebrew.

The color is a nice brownish-black, with a head just the light side of tan. Flavor is smooth and crisp, with a malty sweetness and slight floral hop aroma at the start of the drink, and a good coffee bitter note on the finish. This was a fun beer to brew, with friends around for the brewing and bottling and drinking. Naturally, it’s even more fun to drink (especially in a frosted mug).

Ella liked it too:

The Patrol Porter recipe is going in the “yup we’ll be brewing this again” file. We’ve also recently opened a batch of oatmeal stout, plus a Newcastle brown ale clone. Undecided as of yet for what brew will celebrate the first anniversary of the Ural, but the Patrol Porter is a great, easy-drinkin’ batch of homebrew.

Over on the ADV Rider Hacks forum, mcoyote has a thorough review of how he modded and broke-in his 2005 Ural Patrol. This is a great read, and will give you lots of ideas for how you might want to customize your own Ural motorcycle.

“The Ural looked favorable from both perspectives. I’m an early adopter from the standpoint that these are unusual and unique bikes in the States, but it’s essentially an even-numbered version of something – the Russian airhead design (itself a warmed-over copy of an old BMW) jacked up with high-quality, late 20th century carbs, ignition, brakes, and improved production and QA processes. That means it’s perfect, right? Well, for what it is, pretty much.”

Follow the whole discussion: ADVrider - Russian Iron - 2005 Ural Patrol Break-in and Review

For a change from 3 wheels back to 2, there is still a Ural to suit: the Wolf. Nick Stai is a proud Ural Wolf owner/papa, and he runs a great website that discusses everything Wolf from rider comments to DIY and reliability.

• Nick Stai’s Ural Wolf website
• IMZ Ural - Wolf

OK, looks like everything went okay with the site update. If you notice anything squirrelly (other than me, that is) please comment or email.

Evening, all. I’m about to upgrade the system on Ride Three, so things will be down for a wee while. I’ll post again when all is back up. Or, just keep an ear out — if all doesn’t go well, you’ll probably hear the swearing, wherever you are.

When you’re new to something, like being a newbie novice amateur mechanic, fixing even little things like broken turn signals can take some time. I read some message boards, asked some questions and checked with my dealer — which didn’t take nearly as long as it might sound — and had my turn signals working again quickly. Here’s how it all went down:

• Part 1 - Replacing a Broken Ural Turn Signal: My Patrol’s turn signals stop working mid-ride. Probable causes.
• Part 2 - Replacing a Broken Ural Turn Signal: Narrowing down the causes to the flasher unit
• Part 3 - Replacing a Broken Ural Turn Signal: Replacing the flasher unit with a new replacement (covered under warranty, but NAPA part #263 Lit. TS Flasher is another replacement option)

The story so far

Now that I’ve got a good bead on what’s wrong with my turn signals (probably the flasher unit – Part 2) after my turn signals died on me (Part 1), it’s time to get this thing fixed.

Waiting for new warranty replacement flasher

I was going to do this whole thing about going to the auto parts store, but I wound up not having to do anything but wait. Turns out the flasher unit was covered under Ural’s excellent warranty. When I got home from work this afternoon, my new flasher unit had arrived from Raceway. Granted, it’s the same as the one that konked out, but I certainly can’t complain about the price (free).

Pictured above is the old flasher unit, now on its way to Raceway so Jim can take care of whatever he as a dealer needs to take care of with Ural. As for me, the new flasher unit is installed and working… for now.

Dielectric grease on the flasher unit? Dielectric grease is one of these things that I don’t yet know much about (will probably merit its own post), but I know enough from some of the other Ural guys to carry a wee tube of it in my trunk’s kit bag. Someday I’ll learn what it does.

I checked to see if I should slather some on the prongs before installing the new flasher unit, and Wallybob on Soviet Steeds sorted me out. Short answer? No. He also recommends snagging an extra flasher unit, as this one probably will konk out at some point. Good idea.

What if this flasher unit konks out too?

Warranty is warranty. If the flasher unit konks out again, I’ll ask for a replacement, but I’ll also ask if there are options for upgrading to a higher quality unit. Or maybe Ural can reimburse me, or reimburse up to the cost of the original. Something like that.

If I do need to go for a new flasher unit, WKinNJ on Soviet Steeds has this recommendation:

NAPA part #263 Lit. TS Flasher. Little pricy at 25.99 and snug fit because it’s a little larger in diameter but now I can drive without fear of getting run over.

For now though, my turn signals are working again. Time to get back on the road!

Flat Stanley Rides a Motorcycle in Eugene, Oregon

Who is Flat Stanley? Schoolkids nationwide participate in The Flat Stanley Project. Kids make their own “Flat Stanleys” and mail them all over the world on adventures with friends and family. Each recipient of a Flat Stanley tells a story of Flat Stanley’s time with them, and then they send him along for a new adventure in another part of the world.

Our Flat Stanley came to us from one of Jodie’s cousins, and we’re sending this write-up to his teacher. Before arriving in Eugene, Oregon, Flat Stanley visited folks in Georgia, New Mexico and even Colorado! Here in Eugene, there was only one thing to do: make sure he got to ride a motorcycle.
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Having a windshield or fairing on your motorcycle is very much a matter of personal preference. So far, I’m not fussed about having one, but may consider it at some point. If you’re kicking around getting a windshield or fairing for your Ural motorcycle, you may want to check out this discussion on the IMZ Ural Message Boards: Ural Windshields

“I am not a big fan of the Ural fairings and was wondering what everyone else out there used and approximatly what the cost is. I would like to see an all clear windshield that doesn’t have to punch a ginormous hole thru the air, but yet gives me some relief from the constant air in the face”