Ride Three

For Ural Sidecar Motorcycle Enthusiasts

Note to self re the recent oil leak incident:

At 2,500km service (coming up in about 1,000km), when changing gearbox oil wrap about 4 turns of Teflon tape about the drain plug threads. This should help prevent future leaks, per the Mystery Oil Puddle discussion on Soviet Steeds:

If you check the cds you will see the fellow rapping the plugs gently before removal, but nothing about overly tightening them when he re-inserts them. He does use about 4 turns of teflon tape on the drain plugs before re-inserting them, I believe. That may be just the ticket for your stopping any leakage, if it is coming from the actual drain plug area

Don in California recently got a Ural, and has been wondering if the rig is pulling to the left too much. What should he do?

Hello! I am new to this site. I am also new to the Ural community. I recently got my Ural last month! Say! How do you balance the side car. Mine pulls to the left. The instruction man. says decrease the toe in. I get it, but from where do I measure this toe in or toe out?

Adjustment needed or just inertia?

Off-hand, I’m not so sure that there’s actually a problem. Sidecar rigs naturally pull, due to simple inertia. Or, to put it another way, that’s what happens when you throw a bathtub on the side of a motorcycle. But could there be something wrong?

Here are some links from Soviet Steeds that I pulled up for Don to check out:

• Toe in toe out: How to get my Ural to go straight?
• Sidecar Alignment
• toe in or lean in??
• pulls to the right

Don, I hope you let us know how things turn out.

Back in 2004, a “Ural enthusiast” named Sergey Sinelnik rode a Ural around the world. Ultimately logging 75,000 km (46,603 miles) across 5 continents and through 35 countries, one leg of Sinelnik’s trip took him overland across the whole of Australia. Here are some more details, photos and stories about this amazing trip:

Here are just a few of the incredible photographs that were taken during their final leg of the trip around Australia. Starting from Sydney on April 25, 2004 and finishing on May 19, 2004, they traveled a total of 14,500 km or 10,000 mi. Of that distance, 3,500 km were across the Great Victorian Desert, Gibson Desert and the Great Sand Desert

Follow this and other Ural Adventures…

This is the kind of reminder that makes you shout, “hell yeah!” and then grab your gear and ride. This tale of near misadventure shows what great things can happen when plans fall through – only to liberate you from having plans in the first place.

“This recipe for adventure is available to any one of us, but is rarely prepared because we all live so well planned and convenient lives that we seldom think of it. The ingredients are very simple”

Follow the whole adventure (and recipe): Recipe for One Hell of a Weekend | Helmet Hair - Motorcycle Blog

Looks like all is good on the oil leak front. I topped up the gearbox oil with just maybe a tablespoon or two, and then ran Sveta out on a quick errand. Bike ran fine, and I’ll keep an eye on the oil.

Ran Sveta out for a quick errand yesterday evening, and I wanted to give a shout-out to the thumbs-up guys.

While running south on River Road, out of the corner of my left eye I noticed a car running abreast of Svetlana.

Turning my eye, there were 2 guys in the car. Both were grinning, face-wide smiles. The man in the passenger seat was leaning out the window a little, and when he saw I was looking at them, he gave me a big, pumping thumbs-up.

I nodded and smiled, and gave them a thumbs-up back.

They went on their way, moving up ahead in the lane. Wherever you are, thumbs-up guys in the red Nissan with the smiley face sticker on the back bumper, thanks for making my night.

Interesting discussion on ADV Rider about why a hack rider would not have chosen to purchase and ride a Ural Patrol. What gets me the most? It’s all preference. No horror stories. No big mechanical misgivings. Nothing. Just preference.

I’m just wondering. The ones I’ve seen in the dirt around here look like they’re more capable than I’d would have given them credit for. Hopefully folks can be honest for their reasons without being smacked down multiple times by a few excitable owners. I’m pretty sure it’s safe in here though.

Follow the whole discussion: ADV Rider - Hacks - Why did you not choose a Ural Patrol?

After writing this post, I’m heading out to the garage to do a little wrenching. With the cause of Svetlana’s oil leak still not diagnosed, there are a few things I’m going to check this evening:

• Tighten all drain plugs (main engine, oil filter housing, gearbox and final drive)
• Check the final drive oil level
• Check the gearbox oil level (I’ve already checked the engine oil level)

Ural’s tend to be simple, and this potential leak may be no exception. When I did my 1,000km maintenance, I tightened all the bolts on Svetlana — except for the oil drain plugs. It could be as simple as giving those a wee bit of a tighten.

Or it might not. We’ll see… and will go from there.

We’ve got a camping trip planned with some friends this weekend… but we’re not taking the Ural.

The reason is simple. It’s not mechanical. It’s not summer heat, or packing, or anything like that.

It’s conversation.

Over the next few weeks, Jodie’s going to be really busy. In addition to her teaching schedule, she has a lot of violin gigs, including some musicals. When she’s not teaching, she’s going to be in rehearsal or at an event, so we’re not going to see each other as much as usual.

So this weekend, with a couple hours drive each way, I’d rather we be able to have easy conversation in the car. We can talk, we can enjoy the drive and each other’s company in chat or silence, but mainly, we just have time to be a little closer. We don’t have intercoms for Svetlana yet, so we can’t really talk on the Ural, and besides, on the bike my main focus is on getting us where we’re going in one piece.

Much as I love Svetlana, I love time with my sweetie more. So this weekend, I’m not going to ride. I’m just going to enjoy time with my woman.

There’ll be plenty of time to ride next week. A man’s still gotta have his saddle time, after all.

Pardon my puddle

“Is your Ural leaking oil?”

“Ummm… huh?”

It wasn’t the phone call I expected. Earlier yesterday afternoon, I rode Svetlana over to see my friend Jon Meyers, a local photographer. A couple of hours after I got home that evening, he rang me and asked about Svetlana leaking oil.

“Not as far as I know. I just checked the oil this morning, actually. She hasn’t used a drop.”

“Well, there’s this puddle out here where you were parked, and a trail where your front tire tracked it as you backed out.”

Jon took a couple of photos (like the one above) and emailed them to me. The puddle and track are definitely from where Svetlana was parked, and from where I backed her up.

But here’s the thing…

If there is a leak, I can’t find it. I checked the oil this morning, and it was full. There was no oil on the garage floor. I examined the underside of the bike, from the final drive to the gearbox to the oil filter housing, and couldn’t make out anything that looked like a leak. I checked around the engine for any signs of a crack and seepage, and… nothing.

So what now?

Next steps

• Post on Soviet Steeds… check. Soviet Steeds - Hammerin’ & Wrenchin’ - Mystery Oil Puddle
• Post on Ride Three… erm, check.
• Take Sveta for a quick spin and see how she does… check. I ran a quick errand after work, and Sveta ran fine. Felt and sounded normal.
• Check oil and garage floor again… oh yeah, hang on a sec… check. No oil on garage floor… however, did notice a wee drop on the underside of the gearbox oil drain plug. Could that be it?
• Ponder… check. If the oil did come from Svetlana, could it have come from the gearbox? She was parked on a slight incline, so that could’ve caused more seepage from that plug, as the oil would have been pouring back towards that part of the housing. And if that is the case, what does it mean? Is there a way to check the gearbox oil?

Or, could this have just been some weird coincidence where I just happened to park in someone else’s puddle and just didn’t notice?

Update: Oil Leak Follow-up