On Saturday afternoon, my son and I went out to Camp Liwa, a local church camp, to help set up a couple of large tents for a picnic tomorrow. This was his first trip in the Ural and he agreed with Bridget that it was a really nice ride compared to the Cozy. I had put the sidecar windshield on last nght as Bridget wanted to go for a ride. The rig does handle differently when there is a passenger. It also does pull slightly to the right with the sidecar windshield installed. I took off the lower leg guards for the summer. Much nicer to feel the wind on these warm days. This was the first time that I needed to use the parking brake. You can't really tell in the picture but I am parked on a hill and just having the transmission in first wouldn't hold the rig.
Afterwards, we went into town to Alaskaland aka Pioneer Park, to meet up with some friends visiting from Oregon. No pictures but this rig really is nice to drive around even on the highway. I'm slowly getting used to the heel and toe shifter but really like having a brake on the sidecar wheel.
RickS, the previous owner as well as Mickey, the Anchorage Ural dealer, had suggested changing the carb jets as the stock ones usually had the engine running too lean. The first step was to check the color of the plugs. To the right is the left plug after the engine has had plenty of time to warm up. It doesn't look like it's running too lean to me. In fact, it looks like it's a little on the rich side.
Rather than try to guess what size may be needed, I just ordered a set of jets from Heindl Engineering, a Ural dealer in Eaton, OH, and the only one I found that list the USPS as a shipping choice. Everyone wants to ship UPS since it is more convenient for the shipper but 4x as expensive to Alaska. I also ordered a (paper) repair manual, the new 2014 steering damper and the all important coffee mug. From what I read online, the hydralic steering damper is much more effective than the older style friction steering damper. Just the fact that it is hydralic would mean that the damping force would be non-linear (proportional to the velocity) instead of a constant.
This is the right plug and it looks better than the left side with a tan electrode. Maybe the plugs were just changed since it just had the non-start issue pointing to an ignition problem. So maybe I will leave it alone for a while.
There is some "popping" in the morning when the enricheners are turned off when the engine is cold and I've read that it is a symptom that things are running too lean. With an aircooled engine, you generally want to run the engine on the rich side as it runs cooler.
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RichardM, re heel-toe shifter, I never use toe to go up gears....down gears, sure....not up. I agree with you as to waiting a bit to see how the plug colors develop....the right plug looks good to me and the left one doesn't seem to be lean, rather it looks more rich than lean. As to the popping, as long as it goes away after a mile or so of running.....
ReplyDeleteI still have to hunt for the heel shifter and when I do find it, shifting up is much easier. It seems to take a fair amount of pressure using the toe shifter.
DeleteThere is usually only a pop or two when the enricheners are off and the engine still cold. I'm impressed by the effectiveness of the rear brake. On the BMW, more than a light touch will lock the rear wheel. I think that the leading link reduces the front end diving so less weight transfer to the front wheel when braking.
I am glad everyone seems to be enjoying the Ural and it is comfy for the monkeys. You know it was the right decision.
ReplyDeleteAre you getting any of our heat in Fairbanks? Or is it keeping to the south?
No heat but a very comfortable mid-70s. Beautiful summer weather.
DeleteBeautiful temps and a ride the whole family loves, could life get any better ... of course it could as soon as the new URAL coffee mug arrives.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few sprinkles but not enough to dampen the spirits of the participants.
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