Ride Three

For Ural Sidecar Motorcycle Enthusiasts

It’s been over a week now since our idling issues on our Highway 126 day trip, and I am glad to say that the Ural has been running fine. I’m not going to do anything to the Ural at this point. Instead, I’m going to keep an eye on how Svetlana rides, and will focus on getting more miles/kilometers on her.

Here are some things I’ve learned:

• The idle might need to be kicked up a hair. If I decide to do this, however, I’ll also need to re-sync my carbs. For my not too mechanically minded self, that will mean a carb syncing tool like a TwinMax — which at this point I’d rather just put on my Christmas list.
• Temperature, not bike condition, could have been the primary issue. Our daytrip was on a hot day: about 97°, in full sun. Urals, being air-cooled beasts, do not always run happily on hot summer days. We have not had any similar issues since this hot-day’s ride, so things may well be okay.
• The ultimate key is break-in. Svetlana is coming up on 1400kms, and I’m pretty confident that by the end of September she’ll be ready for her 2500km maintenance interval. (It’d be sooner, but we’re going to be away a lot.) While still not really out of break-in, every km should see performance improvements.

It’s been an experience, figuring out the different potential causes and nuances that can affect Svetlana’s running. Even better? The causes, the circumstances, are all simple.

And that’s what I love about my Ural — simplicity.