Happy Independence Day!
Big surprise that I rode around Fairbanks for several hours Saturday morning to get used to driving the Ural. I didn't end up adding ballast to the sidecar but had no problems at all keeping all wheels on the pavement. I did visit a local parking lot at the high school to do a little 2-wheel practice and the throttle response of the Ural makes lifting the sidecar wheel pretty easy to control. Much easier to lift up the sidecar wheel in the first place but also much easier to control than the Beemer.
Of course, I had to stop and take at least a couple of pictures. The first was at the lookout on the West Ridge of the University and the second is at Creamers Field. In both cases it was pretty early in the day as I wanted to get a good feel for the rig without a whole lot of other traffic around. I then stopped at College Coffeehouse to meetup with the regulars partly to show the Ural to George Rahn. He said it looked and sounded great, no obvious signs of abuse.
In the afternoon, I rode around more including on the highway to get the feel for the rig at highway speeds. I rode around Chena Ridge and up Ester Dome including some dirt and gravel roads and I love the way this rig handles. And it feels like power steering compared to the Beemer which has no steering modifications to reduce trail. Just yesterday evening the Ural had felt "twitchy" but like almost anything, you get used to it.
As you can see in the screen capture, it was definitely a warm, summer day with the upcoming weekend looking even warmer. The iOS weather app is still confused since sunset doesn't fall on the same day as sunrise. So it shows all day as night.
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Good stuff and pics RichardM, happy to see you joining "the collective".
ReplyDeleteGlad the twitchiness is gone, was going to suggest perhaps running the front tire at 28-30 psi max to see if it made a difference but if you like it now...BTW the new steering damper on the 2014s is usable on your rig, a bit pricey tho I hear.
I believe you made a fine purchase.....
I think I joined the SovietSteeds forum when the EFI models were announced.
DeleteThe steering is still a lot lighter and I had gotten used to being able to use the bars when I move around on the bike since the steering effort is significant especially at highway speeds. I almost ordered the steering damper as the word is that it's a significant improvement.
Looking good. Very photogenic Ural too, just like Doms - although I am partial to blue and white.
ReplyDeleteMost of the Urals I see around here are things like camo, olive drab or other "military themed" colors. No black and white checkerboard option...
DeleteRichard, the first pics (and rides) seem to be very promising. I am looking forward to seeing a lot more of this picturesque bike. Obviously it was a good choice.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of concerned, as you could probably guess, about the reliability and wondering if the rig was abused at all. But as far as I can tell, it's good.
DeleteAn exciting first trip ... Congrats.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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