Friday, September 26, 2014

Raceway Ural

This is the showroom of Raceway Ural in Salem, OR. There was a minor piece missing from the crankcase vent that I had picked up on Thursday. So on Friday morning, I headed back to Salem. It isn't that far from Corvallis and it was nice to get out on the non-interstate roads. As a plus, they had a blue & white model that looks very familiar that I could show to my mom. Though the truely observant individuals will see that it is a 2013 model. Drum brakes on the sidecar but common sense fasteners for the tonneau cover.

One of the accessories (not very sparkly so it isn't a farkle, right?) I picked up is a sidecar "door". Bridget commented that a lot of cold air came in through the door opening. I'm thinking that this may resolve the problem. The little plastic bag holds a common sense fastener that needs to be installed on both the sidecar and the "door" once it is fitted into place.

This is the aluminum tank and hoses to replace the stock crankcase vent. The tiny air filter goes under the seat above the battery and the tank gets installed on the left side of the frame using a nicely machined aluminum bracket not shown in this picture. The little valve on the bottom is to drain the tank. They said to drain it every week or so during the winter and even more often if there is ethanol in the gas. This does have some shiny parts so it's a farkle. The goal is to eliminate the moisture and oil getting dupmped into the air cleaner housing. Especially after each cold start.

The last accessory are replacement air intake tubes that run between the air filter housing and the carburators. The stock air tubes are three pieces with four hose clamps for each side. Lots of adjustability but kind of a hassle to get everything just right. I'm told by a very credible year 'round rider that these will dramatically simplify the process. I doubt that there will be any performance difference but there is less chance for leaks to develop due to fewer joints. They are made of heavy duty silicone-like rubber.

This is the minor piece that I was missing from the parts I picked up yesterday. A small plastic plug that goes onto the air cleaner housing when the existing crankcase vent hose is removed. They offered to mail it for free but since I was in town, it created an excuse to get my mom out of the house. And it was a beautiful day. More pictures when this stuff gets installed.

One last picture for this post, not moto related at all. The R/V Sikuliaq was just heading into Gatun Lock this evening and it was caught on the Panama Canal webcam. It is the white boat in the upper right corner of the frame. The Sikuliaq is the new research vessel for the University of Alaska Fairbanks on its way to Alaska from the shipyard in Wisconsin. The picture is really noisy since it was starting to get dark. I looked a short time later and it was really dark.

 

5 comments:

  1. Did you bring an extra carry-on bag for all the Ural goodies?

    Thank you for coming to coffee yesterday and taking us to lunch too. I think that is the second time we've closed that place down after lunch. You're just so much fun to talk to Richard!

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    1. I almost always have extra luggage space when on trips. I don't think I really need it as this stuff doesn't take a lot of space. Especially after all the hoses are removed and packed flat.

      It was good to see both of you again as well as others at coffee. Evergreen just needs to extend their hours…

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  2. I've been gone a while, but your motorcycle and sidecar are different colors now? If not, just put my question down to exhaustion.

    Nice to see your landscape photos, again, too.

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    1. Slightly different color. I still have the purple Beemer and this is a newer Russian Ural. It is one of the few actually manufactuered and sold as a sidecar. My wife found it for sale in Fairbanks so officially, it's hers.

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  3. Hi! I'm missing you! You should have an extra suitcase for the goodies from Trader Joe's for me. You should be spending just as much money in chocolate for me that you are for Blue. Just Kidding. I am looking forward to the door on my sidecar.

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