Or, between 1st and 2nd gear my arse

For the first couple of days on my Ural, shifting into neutral was a bit, well, problematic. Which is a nice way of saying that I haven’t had so much trouble finding a gear since I was 15 and learning to drive on my dad’s 5-speed pickup.

Nor am I alone in this, which is a bit of a comfort. On the Soviet Steeds Message Boards, mightymatt43 has been having a hard time consistently shifting into neutral on his 2007 Gear-Up:

“i’ve been having trouble finding neutral because the indicator light does not come on unless i put pressure on the reverse shifter. i’m having trouble finding it regardless but without the indicator light it makes it even more difficult… any ideas?”

When Kurt from Raceway dropped off my Patrol, he explained that the green neutral light was a bit of a “dummy light.” Sometimes it lights accurately, sometimes not; sometimes you’ll hit neutral, but no light will come on. Call it a quirk. Ain’t it lovable?

Oh wait, there’s neutral

I took what Kurt said to heart. So as I’ve worked on shifting, I’ve focused not on relying on the light, but on feel. The first couple of days, this was very difficult. I’d come to a stop, attempt to shift up into neutral and… stall. I’d restart the Patrol, verify that I was in first… shift up again just ever so slightly and that’s gotta be it and… stall.

Bugger.

Restart. Shift up into second this time — maybe it’ll be easier to shift down into neutral from second, than to shift up to neutral from first? And… stall.

Oh, crap.

And so it went, during the first couple of days. Luckily, no one was behind me when this happened at stop signs.

However, Urals are funny creatures. Especially when they’re new. Everything relies on the breaking-in period. And practice. And continuing to persevere. Kind of like life, except I’ll spare you the sudden tangent into metaphysical wisdom, and just say that over the next couple of days, shifting into neutral began to get easier and easier.

During the breaking-in period, every kilometer traveled means the Ural’s gears and engine are breaking in a little bit more and a little bit more, fitting together better. Suddenly I was stopping, shifting into first, then slipping up the toe shifter just a bit… nudge… and… slip…

Right into neutral.

Hand off clutch, and a purring engine. I was starting to get the feel of it.

It’s all about the feel

The feel really is everything on a Ural. First to neutral is just a nudge and a slip, almost like a twitch of the toe. Any farther — second and stall. Any lower, a thick thunk of first, and of course, stall. Mind you, this is what I’m finding to be the case on my Patrol. As the acronym goes, YMMY (Your Mileage May Vary).

Shifting into neutral is a matter of getting the feel for your Ural’s transmission, clutch and shifter. It’s a matter of feeling out the difference between that slip into neutral, and that slightly too-far thunk into second gear.

The first couple of days were not easy, but the last couple of days have seen much improvement and more consistent shifting. On today’s ride, I only stalled out once. Otherwise, I was nailing neutral every time.

At this rate, I’ll be ready for traffic soon. Heck, I’m even consistently remembering to cancel my turn signals now.