Narrowing down the problem

In Replacing a Broken Ural Turn Signal, Part 1, my turn signals had stopped working and I was using the knowledge on the Soviet Steeds message boards to get the gist of what was going on. Now I’m narrowing down the problem, and I’m pretty sure it’s the flasher unit (as opposed to other wiring or fuse issues). Read the rest of this entry »

The dreaded flasher electrical gremlin strikes my Ural Patrol

I’m typing this from Eugene’s 5th Street Beanery, where, despite 8 oz. of a 16 oz. coffee coursing through my veins, I must report my first true problem: On the ride over, my turn signals stopped working.

Luckily, I knew this might happen. Read the rest of this entry »

IMZ Ural Message Boards - Ural Foilhead on the Radio

Mike Palmer recently did an interview with Vancouver, B.C.’s Rolling Thunder Radio about Urals and the 2007 CURD Rally:

“Recently, I was contacted by the host of the Rolling Thunder Radio Show out in Vancouver, BC, and asked to do an interview. They had seen an article about last year’s CURD Rally in a Canadian motorcycle magazine and thought it would be of interest for their listeners. I just finished the phone-in interview with the host a few minutes ago; the 5 minute segment will be aired on 14 Apr and a sound clip (and photo of Hector The Wonder Dog and I on the Ural) will be posted on their website shortly afterwards.”

Follow the discussion: IMZ Ural Message Boards - Ural Foilhead on the Radio

Listen:

• Rolling Thunder Radio Programs For Download
• Download Rolling Thunder Clips – go direct to the clip (audio will load automatically in 1-2 minutes, please be patient, along with some great pics of Mike, his bike and his dog, Hector) (as of the time of this post, Mike’s clip hadn’t been posted yet, but keep checking back)

Update: Got an update from Mike on the Ural message boards. The segment will be airing on Apr. 28, and should be available for download “a few days after the airing.” Looking forward to it!

Riding weather, not typing weather

Not only was Thursday a great trip to Salem with Andy Grow for our Urals’ first service, but this weekend turned out to be, well, perfect. Blue skies and warm, warm, warm. I didn’t touch a computer, but spent plenty of time behind the handlebars.

Strangely enough, today (Monday) was rainy and back to normal for Eugene, so I’m now tucked up at my desk with coffee and a laptop. Thank you for all the comments and well-wishes. I’m gradually getting things caught up, first with comments and now with posts. Our Mac, which is our workhouse for photos, is in the midst of some major updating, so the trip posts will be along in the next few days.

First up, fill ‘er up

In the meantime, I’ve started by (yawn) recounting the riveting tales of putting gas in the Ural during these trips – but with a very pleasant mileage surprise, post-500km service. Actually, I like tracking the gas mileage, especially with gas prices what they are nowadays. I’m interested in seeing how it changes over time, and I’m guessing that I might not be the only one interested in seeing what Urals do over time in terms of gas mileage…

• Ural Gas Mileage: Apr. 10, 2008 Fill-up #1
• Ural Gas Mileage: Apr. 10, 2008 Fill-up #2
• Ural Gas Mileage: Apr. 10, 2008 Fill-up #3
• Ural Gas Mileage: Apr. 13, 2008 Fill-up

Also on the way

In addition to Thursday’s trip to Salem for the 500km service, there’s also been a fair bit of UDF (or, Ural Delay Factor), and one other day trip, from Eugene to Blachly/Triangle Lake. For this latter trip, Jodie and Ella also came along – our first road trip together!

More to come soon, and with photos aplenty, on…

• Eugene-Salem road trip (via Albany on the way up and Corvallis on the way back)
• The 500km service at Raceway Services
• Eugene-Blachly/Triangle Lake road trip with Jodie and Ella
• Chills, thrills but, luckily, no near-spills as Anthony rides solo and our wee family rides together through wet-and-wild Western Oregon

Parting words of wisdom

If you’re thinking about getting a Ural, it’s already too late. Don’t think about getting a Ural. Just get a Ural.

Oregon Ural Road Trip: Eugene to Blachly/Triangle Lake via Highway 36

On Sunday, Jodie and I loaded up Ella the Hack Hound and a picnic lunch for our first road trip together. We ran a quick day trip, about 3 hours, up Highway 36 to Blachly, Oregon, and Triangle Lake. More to come on that, but here’s our pre-trip fill-up stats:

• Gas Price Per Gallon: $3.799
• Gallons: 2.614
• Fuel Total: $9.93
• Tripmeter at fuel-up: 200km/124 miles (approx)
• kpg/mpg (approx.) 77kpg/47mpg
• Odometer at fuel-up: 702km/436 miles
• Date & Time: Sunday, Apr. 13, 2008, 11:27 a.m.
• Gas Station: Santa Clara Chevron, 2785 River Road, Eugene, Oregon
• Fuel: Supreme (91 or 92 octane)

Notes on mileage: Sweet merciful crap! Including Thursday’s return trip from Corvallis to Eugene, I’ve been running the bike around town every day, with a combo of in-town and a bit of freeway travel. This jump in mileage from the 30s to 47mpg is a very nice surprise. I could get used to this! We’ll probably do about 100km or so on today’s road trip, which will be 45-55mph throughout the foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range, with both Jodie and Ella in the sidecar, so it will be interesting to see what the mileage is for my next fill-up. Still, 47mpg – wow, wow, wow.

This will be short, as it’s late and I’m knackered. Andy and I had a great ride from Eugene to Salem. Service on both our Urals went great (thanks to Jim, Tony and Kurt at Raceway Services for their skills, patience and willingness to answer heaps of newbie Ural owner questions).

I rode home solo, as Andy was staying in Salem. Great trip back; both the Patrol and its owner did fine.

But I’m tired. There are pictures to prep and posts to write, but the short of it is that I’m home safe and sound, and Andy and I had a great outing. More to come.

Oregon Road Trip: Salem to Eugene via Corvallis

After getting our bikes serviced at Raceway Services, Andy was staying up in Salem and was soon heading back to his home in Juneau, Alaska. (Quick aside – his 5-year-old boy has no idea his dad’s bringing home an Arctic camo sidecar motorcycle. I can’t wait to hear how the kid reacts!)

On my way back home to Eugene from Salem, I stopped outside Corvallis to fuel up:

• Gas Price Per Gallon: $3.659
• Gallons: 2.068
• Fuel Total: $7.57
• Tripmeter at fuel-up: 108km/67 miles (approx)
• kpg/mpg (approx.) 52kpg/32mpg
• Odometer at fuel-up: 582km/361.7 miles
• Date & Time: Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008, 4:31 p.m.
• Gas Station: Highway 20 Market (Texaco, I believe), 2415 NE Hwy. 20, Corvallis, Oregon
• Fuel: “Supreme” 91-92 octane (I believe; making a mental note to write this on my fuel receipts from now on)

Notes on mileage: Combo of back roads, town and highway (45-55mph) driving. Nice to see the mileage hanging in the 30-35mpg range. Next few tanks of gas should be a good indicator of how mileage is averaging out. I’m expecting to see this 30-35mpg range stay more constant, due to the continued break-in of the Ural, plus the service and maintenance just completed, including changing all fluids, torquing the engine’s head bolts, and adjusting the valves. Will see if time bears this out.

Oregon Road Trip: Eugene to Salem via Albany

Just a quick top-off outside of Albany, Oregon, before Andy Grow and I continued via back roads to Salem and Raceway Services. I paid cash and didn’t get a receipt this time, so I don’t have the gas station name and address.

• Gas Price Per Gallon: $3.699
• Gallons: 1.287
• Fuel Total: $4.76
• Tripmeter at fuel-up: 72km/45 miles (approx)
• kpg/mpg (approx.) 56kpg/35mpg
• Odometer at fuel-up: 474km/294.5 miles
• Date & Time: Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008, 10:55 a.m.
• Gas Station: unknown; off I-5 outside Albany, Oregon
• Fuel: unknown; 91 or 92 octane most likely

Notes on mileage: Much improved mileage – from 25mpg to 35mpg. Just like in a car, running a consistent 45-55 mph seems to have greatly helped fuel economy. This is still before we’ve gotten first service done, and my Ural Patrol is still being broken in, so it will be interesting to see how these numbers change over time. May eventually try to brave a spreadsheet or graph illustrating change in Ural’s gas mileage. If so, note to self, have a night-in and drink some scotch to make working with a spreadsheet a bearable experience (spreadsheets and I don’t get along well).

Oregon Road Trip: Eugene to Salem via Albany

Andy Grow and I fueled up in the morning before heading to Salem. This was our first fill-up; here is the second (a quick top-off), and my fill-up for the trip back home.

• Gas Price Per Gallon: $3.799
• Gallons: 3.130
• Fuel Total: $11.89
• Tripmeter at fuel-up: 127km/79 miles (approx)
• kpg/mpg (approx.) 41kpg/25mpg
• Odometer at fuel-up: 395km/245.5 miles
• Date & Time: Thursday, Apr. 10, 2008, 9:16 a.m.
• Gas Station: Santa Clara Chevron, 2785 River Road, Eugene, Oregon
• Fuel: “Supreme” 92 octane

Notes on mileage: Still holding around 25mpg mark. Not great, but not bad. Again, usually this improves as the bike is broken in. Will see if there’s a difference after the service. Also wondering how the mileage will differ since most of this tank of gas will be used at 45mph-55mph on a longer trip, instead of lower speeds for errands/around the neighborhood travel.

4/10/08 500km Service - 2007 Ural Patrol

Performed free of charge (except for $26.50 for fluids and filters) by Tony and Kurt of Raceway Services.

What was checked, changed and worked on

• Engine Oil Change
• Exhaust Knuckle
• Final Drive Oil
• Torque Headbolts & Adjust Valves
• Brake Reservoir
• Spokes
• Brake Adjustment
• In-Line Fuel Filters
• Bonus Tip: Clean Burned &%$@ Off Your Exhaust Pipe
• Shopping List

Note: I’ve always had great things to say about Jim and his operation at Raceway, but I’ve got to add something else. Something else that sets Jim and his crew apart, is that bike owners can be in the service area, watching the mechanics work on their bikes or, in the case of this novice, ask heaps of questions, take lots of notes and snap loads of pictures. A lot of shops won’t allow the layman back here, for reasons ranging from insurance to shadiness. That Jim and his mechanics welcome the motorcycle owner is another plus for their operation in my book.

Bonus Tip: For all service notes (instructions and what to do are in the back of your Ural manual), at all service intervals, if it says “check” a fluid or filter, change it instead. “It’s cheap insurance,” says Tony at Raceway.

Read the rest of this entry »