Ural Web Log - Page 2

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Sun, 8 Jan 06: A much warmer morning, only -3C with a forecasted high of +1C and sunny skies. That meant the roads would be a sea of slush by mid-day, so I left at 9am while the roads were still "dry". Hector was left at home to "guard Angie" again, as I planned to do some more "experimental" riding on the slippery roads today. I loaded the kitty litter bags into the hack for ballast and off I went. The main paved roads were already slushy from the salt truck's early morning pass and in a short time my pant legs were covered in wet goop, so I headed for the less traveled back roads. There was about 2cm of fresh snow covering the ice on most of them and I had to sit back on the luggage rack on the rear fender a couple times to get some weight over the tire while riding up some of the steeper hills. But I was having a lot of fun! I practiced using the throttle and transferring my weight to steer around corners in prolonged power slides, as well as refining my emergency stop tactics by learning to use the front brake in carefully applied squeezes. I discovered that a little jab on the rear brake at the entrance to a tight left hander sets up the rig for a beautiful slide around it with the handlebars at full opposite lock and the throttle set wide open to keep the rear wheel spinning. Great fun! I found one road that was clear of tracks, so naturally I had to ride down it. It intersected with a road that one of my co-workers lives on, so I took a short detour up to his place and did a doughnut at the entrance to his driveway before disappearing back into the woods. I'm sure I'll hear about it at work tomorrow. The Ural was looking pretty dirty by now but it was still chugging along without complaint so I wasn't ready to head for home just yet. I worked my way down to the Pretty River Parkway and headed over to Brown's Bay National Park for a photo on the boat launch near the river. Did I mention that there was 2cm of fresh snow over top a coating of ice? When I went to leave, I put the bike in gear and it just sat there spinning the rear tire... then slowly started sliding backwards down the launch towards the water. Oh, sh*t. Using my new found skills at weight transfer, I managed to swing the rig sideways to lessen the angle of approach and s-l-o-w-l-y managed to build up enough momentum to zigzag my way back up to the top and get the heck away from there. Lesson learned, I hope. On the way through the small village of Rockport I was flagged down by a guy and his wife standing at an intersection while talking to a couple of people on ATV's. Turns out he had met me on the bus trip Angie and I took to the Toronto Bike Show last month; I was a little puzzled as to how he recognised me under the helmet and ski mask but then it dawned on me... how many other lunatics out for a winter's day ride on a black Ural could there be living in the Gananoque area? As he rides a Yamaha Royal Star I made a point of extracting a promise from him that he and his wife would attend our next Southern Cruisers brunch meeting on the 22^nd. Hey, I never miss an opportunity to recruit. By the time I got home the snow was melting, the sun was shining bright and I was covered head to toe in wet road salt and dirt. But I was grinning from ear to ear, as usual. I'd put another 160km on this weekend and the odometer now sits at just over the 4,800km mark.

Fri, 13 Jan 06: I got bragging rights! I'm the first one this year that rode to work! It was an unseasonable +7C yesterday afternoon with an overnight low of only -1C, so I had no choice but to take the bike to work on the afternoon shift. Despite the warm weather and resultant melting snow, the roads were pretty dry and I didn't get anywhere near as dirty as I'd feared. Had to endure the usual "you crazy b*stard" comments from all my co-workers, but it was obvious they were all just jealous. Well, a few of them really were questioning my sanity but they were non-riders so their opinions don't count. Tammy, a Sportster riding sweetie, made a special trip down to the machine shop just to call me "crazy" and to talk about bikes, which made my night. The only downer was that I had to park with all the mouth-breathing cagers, as the motorcycle parking area had been dismantled back in December for the winter season. Looked kind of bizarre to see the Ural wedged in amongst all those cars but for some reason it gave me a peculiar sense of satisfaction. The ride home at 10:30pm was spectacular; it was cool in the low lying areas and warm on the hilltops so I was riding through fog patches all the way home under a starlit sky. The slight breeze off the St Lawrence River was intoxicating, fresh and pure - if I could figure out a way to bottle that scent I'd make a fortune! The weather forecast is calling for +9C under sunny skies today and a mild +4C overnight, so I'm tempted to take the Ural again tonight. There is a chance of rain late in the evening but if the temp remains above freezing I'll risk getting a bit wet just to get another ride in. Spent most of this morning doing the 5k service on Douk - oil changes, fastener checks, air filter inspection, etc. I love the simple layout of this machine, there's not much that you can't fix on one of these armed with little more than the owners manual and tool kit; the whole process only took me three hours - and I wasn't rushing it by any means.

Sat, 14 Jan 06: Another great ride to and from work last night, I even managed to avoid the rain on my way home as it didn't start sprinkling down until about 1/2 hour after I parked the bike in the garage. Because the snow had melted and exposed all the sand on the surface, the bike was quite messy by the time I got home. So first thing this morning I took it up the street (in the rain, wearing my rainsuit) to the local car wash and gave it a good hosing down. Got more curious looks from cagers, but I'm getting used to that by now. An older gentleman stopped me as I was about to head into the wash bay and we spent the next few minutes chatting about the bike and what it's like to ride in the winter. I should be paid for all this PR work I'm doing for Ural! Got the bike cleaned and spent the better part of an hour wiping it down and spraying WD-40 into all the nooks and crannies. Forecast calls for -14C as a high (!) tomorrow so it's not likely I'll be riding then... even I have limits.

Sun, 22 Jan 06: -10C and sunny this morning. Went out to the garage first thing to warm up the bike before heading out to our SCRC brunch later in the morning and it's a good thing I did. It fired up no problem and while it was idling away I went through my pre-flight check; all was well until I thumbed the signal light switch - the bike immediately died. Hmm. Thought maybe it was just a coincidence, so I fired it up again and hit the signal lights - and the bike shut down again. Oh, crap. I wiggled the flasher unit behind the headlight bucket and checked the wire to the left front signal for signs of chafing, but nothing seemed amiss so I tried one more time. Start, signal, die, only this time all the dashlights went out and now the bike wouldn't crank over. This usually means a blown fuse on any normal bike, but this is Russkie iron we're dealing with here. I popped the cover off the fusebox on the left side of the steering neck behind the headlight; it looked like one of the fuses was blown so I took it out for a closer look. The Ural uses those wonderful Euro-style fuses, the plastic cartridges with the exposed metal fusible link variety. The fuse was okay so I replaced it and shazam! The bike fired up again. This time the signal lights worked and the bike kept running. In fact, it worked fine for the rest of the day, which is puzzling, because when I got home and checked the schematic I discovered the fuse I inspected has nothing to do with the signal lights or ignition circuit. Go figure. I rode to the brunch in Brockville, with Angie following in the warmth and comfort of her car. Had a great meeting, good food and lots of laughs. The reporter from the EMC newspaper was there and he spent most of the time scribbling away on his notepad and reading all the promo literature our 1^st Officer had laid out for him. At the end of the meeting, I was asked if I could pose for a photo with our 1^st and 2^nd Officers and my Ural out in the parking lot. Not being one who is afraid of media exposure, I zipped outside to get the bike ready. I gave the reporter my name and told him where I lived, then he had me move the bike across the parking lot so that Brockville City Hall would be in the background for the photos. We had many "helpful" comments from all the other members gathered around the scene and it was hard to keep a straight face throughout it, especially since they had me holding a toy stuffed eagle that squawked every time I squeezed it. Had to check a couple times to make sure it hadn't sh*t all over the gas tank, because that's sure what it sounded like was happening while I held it. After the photo shoot I spent a few minutes describing the Ural to the reporter and then we all went our separate ways. Obviously Hector wasn't going to be in this one (we'd left him at home anyway because I didn't want him waiting in a cold car while we were inside), but he'll probably get his media exposure in a few months when we show up for our "Cash For Critters" charity run that our chapter supports. Had a great ride home and the odometer showed just over 5,132km as I rolled it into the garage. Tomorrow's forecast looks good, so I think it'll be another ride to work day.

Mon, 23 Jan 06: Well, my co-workers must finally be coming to terms with my refusal to leave the bike alone in wintertime. Rode to work today and instead of the usual "crazy b*stard" comments I actually had people say things like "must have been a good ride this morning" and some even smiled at me. Mind you, it really was a nice morning with no wind, a mild -3C temp and a forecast of sunshine and a +1C high, so I think everyone was just in a better frame of mind today. Almost didn't take the bike, though, as it had a strange problem when I went to fire it up for the morning commute. I did my normal ten kicks with the ignition off to prime the oil pump, then turned on the key, closed the kill switch, hit the start button and - nothing. All the lights were working but no starter motor. I have a Battery Tender Junior hooked up to it every night, so I know the battery is always fully charged before I go for a ride. So I shut everything off and tried again, this time I could hear the relay click, the solenoid engage and the starter rotate maybe 1/4 turn but that was it. I tried the kickstarter next, but it wouldn't fire up that way, either. I shut everything off again, then jabbed at the start button and kill switch a few times just in case it was bad contacts, then turned the ignition on and voila! This time it fired up. And immediately died because I had forgotten to pull the enricheners out. Had to jab the starter button a few more times before it suddenly caught and started; this time it stayed running. So I rode it to work, parked out with all the cages and 8hrs later it fired up first try when it was time to go home. This evening I disconnected the battery and removed both handlebar switch housings so I could squirt some WD-40 directly into the switches. I also removed each fuse from the fusebox behind the steering head and coated both ends with dielectric grease before replacing them, then spun each one a few times in their holders to ensure a good contact. I checked all the connectors at the starter for looseness or frayed wires, but didn't find anything wrong there. I drained both carb float bowls next, which was something I've been meaning to do for awhile. More water than gas came out of the drains so I'll have to make an effort to do this more often. I also removed the throttle grip to squirt some silicon spray lube into it; this along with liberal applications of WD-40 on both throttle mechanisms at the carbs made it operate a lot easier. I couldn't think of anything else to check, so I reconnected the battery, turned on the ignition and the bike fired up first try. WOO-HOO! Well, hopefully woo-hoo. The motor was still warm from the ride home so the real test will come tomorrow morning when I ride to work again. I've noticed that all the handlebar switches are much easier to operate now, so I'm hoping the whole bad starting issue was simply from corrosion caused by all the inclement weather I've been riding through and that the WD-40 has cured it. And the bike idles better, too, which I'm sure is from having float bowls filled with clean gas.

Tue, 24 Jan 06: The bike started a lot easier this morning (-1C), it still took a couple tries but it was nowhere near as difficult as yesterday's session. The Parkway was all mine, I didn't see any cars until just before Brockville. The trip home was uneventful but fun, as I took HWY 2 all the way and had a great time slinging around its many curves. After supper I went out to the garage with the intent of changing the knobby rear tire back to the stock all-season one; there just hasn't been enough snow here to justify using it and I was concerned that running it on pavement all the time would accelerate the wear. Turns out I had other problems to worry about, though... there was a radial pattern of oil all over the rear tire and it looked like the input seal to final drive had been leaking. I pulled the rear wheel, pausing long enough to take this pic of the oil pattern, then crawled underneath the bike to take this shot of the leak on the underside of the final drive. I cleaned up the area and checked the fluid level, it was still within the marks on the dipstick so I decided to put the knobby tire back on for now and keep a close eye on the leak tomorrow's ride to work. If it looks as bad or worse as it did today by the time I get home, then I'll have to pull the Ural off the road until the seal is replaced. This will not make Mikey a happy camper.

Fri, 27 Jan 06: Thank %&*# it's Friday! Looks like I might get some good riding in this weekend, as the forecast is calling for +5C and sunshine tomorrow, then +1C and light snow on Sunday. I rode to work on Wednesday and had a few hairy moments in the morning due to ice patches on the Parkway. I could feel the bike sort of hiccup a couple times and I couldn't tell whether the engine was misfiring or the clutch was slipping, it felt like some kind of a mechanical problem. Or at least it did until I suddenly found myself tracking sideways, then it was obvious that ice was the culprit. But the Ural is a very forgiving steed, all I had to do was back off the throttle slightly while countersteering and almost immediately the rear tire bit in and the rig straightened out again. I then dropped my speed from 90kmh to just under 80kmh and cruised along until I was forced to drop down to 65kmh when I caught up to a cautious minivan. I didn't want to risk passing, so I just idled along and waited until it took the exit to the 401 HWY. I arrived at work with time to spare despite the slower than usual speeds and had time for a quick look at the rear wheel to see if there were any new leaks before heading into the factory. There was some oil-dampened dirt buildup around the input seal but no blatant oil spills, so either the leak had sealed itself or the oil had dropped low enough so as not to escape. When I got home that afternoon, everything still looked okay but when I checked the oil I found that the level had dropped to just below the minimum mark. So I've topped it up and will be checking it regularly on tomorrow's ride. I'm hoping it will remain under control until the new seal gets in. Ken, as usual, was right on top of things and immediately ordered a new seal when I told him about the problem via email. Folks, trust me on this - buy your Ural from Old Vintage Cranks (519-856-2822). Ken will take good care of you. Anyway, Thursday and today were too cold to ride (-14C in the morning) so I had to put up with a lot of "where's your bike?" comments from the peanut gallery at work both days. When I got home today there was an email waiting in my inbox from my friend Cam, the one who rides an '05 Patrol and lives 45 minutes northwest of me. We're set up to meet for a ride tomorrow - finally! We've had problems matching our schedules but this time it looks like it's a go - there'll be two Urals motoring about the back roads tomorrow. Ride report to follow.

Sun, 29 Jan 06: Had a fantastic ride yesterday! Check it out on my Rides page: Urals, Harleys and Llamas. The rear diff seal did leak some more as expected, but it was a pretty spirited run with two riders. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be so I'm going to continue with my less harsh commutes to work until the new seal arrives. Looks like I'll only get Tuesday and Wednesday as riding days because the forecast calls for rain most of next week. I got up early this morning and took Douk up to the car wash to rinse all the dried muck and grunge off, then carefully dried her and applied WD-40 in all the usual spots. The rest of the day was spent polishing up and mounting the new sidecar nose luggage rack I made a couple weeks ago. Holds a 12-pack perfectly!

Tue, 31 Jan 06: Finally found the source of the "GRAUNCH" noise today. Was doing maintenance checks in prep for tomorrow's commute and noticed that the leading edges of the two middle rows of tread blocks on the rear tire had deep cuts in them. Angie and I had heard the noise several times on Sunday's ride and she said it seemed to be coming from near the battery area of the bike (directly under the rider's seat and in front of the rear tire). When I removed the rear wheel I measured the width across the tire and between the cut marks and found it to be 7.5cm. A quick check under the rear fender located two bolts 7.5cm apart and sticking out quite a bit - the bolts that hold the front edge mudflap in place. It seems that with suspension under full compression over harsh bumps, the two rows of tread blocks would come in contact with the bolts and create that loud grindy/crunchy noise. So I replaced them with stainless steel buttonhead bolts facing the opposite way; now the low profile bolt heads face the tire and there is lots of clearance now.

Sun, 05 Feb 06: Windy, windy day! There were gusts upwards of 70kmh, but the temp was at +7C by noon so I took the Ural into downtown Gananoque to run some errands before loading a VERY happy Hector into the chair and heading out for a visit to my parents. Fought a severe headwind the whole way there but the Ural pretty much tracked a straight line despite the attempts to toss it into the weeds. The return trip was amazing, I barely had to touch the throttle and we were cruising steady at 90kmh. Wonderful stuff. I deliberately took some sharp bumps to see if the GRAUNCH noise was still there, but it looks like that mudflap bolt swap did the trick, as I didn't hear it once. I didn't get any riding in on Saturday, as I had to do some household chores. I also had to nurse a bit of a hangover, having lost a bout with a Vodka bottle on Friday night. 'Nuff said. Anyway... I went ahead and fired up the CURD website, if you haven't checked it out already you can view it here. Looks like another ride to work day tomorrow, with light snow and -3C as the high.

Thu, 09 Feb 06: Well, crap... Looks like Douk is off the road for awhile. L The replacement seal for the final drive arrived yesterday, so after work today I set about replacing it. Jacked up the bike, removed the rear wheel, undid the brake actuating rod and removed the final drive unit and shaft in under 1/2 hour with no problems. Once I got it on the bench it was obvious that the seal was indeed leaking. Once I removed the driveshaft the crud that had contaminated the seal was plainly visible, so I set about cleaning the area before removing it. The driveshaft yoke was in good shape, showing only light wear marks on the area contacted by the seal and I was relieved that the dirt hadn't damaged anything. Once I removed the seal it was a relief to find no damage inside where the bearing sits. I grabbed the new seal and the installation tool I'd made for it at work and went to install it... and that's when things came to a halt. They had sent me the wrong seal. So now I'm stuck with a disassembled bike until I can get a proper replacement. I'll take the old seal to work with me tomorrow to see if our local industrial supply store can order me one, but I figure I'm off the road until at least Monday. Good thing I still have a car.

Thu, 16 Feb 06: The weather continues to be unpredictable, this is one of the mildest winters in recent memory. It was +5C yesterday morning under a mix of sun and clouds, so I donned my riding gear and went for a 40km sprint down the Parkway to my fave LCBO store and back. I checked the final drive upon my return and... no leaks! I had even managed to get the rear brake adjustment right as the drum did not heat up and the bike stopped nice and straight. I was so happy I rode Douk to work, even though I am on the afternoon shift this week. It was up to +7C by 1:30pm when I left home and with the strong, warm tailwind I had a magnificent ride. LOTS of waves and recognition, must have been because of that pic in last week's newspaper (a local rag did an article on the Southern Cruisers chapter I belong to). The ride home was just as nice under a starlit sky and +3C with no wind. Damn, but it felt great! Freezing rain in the forecast for today, but Friday might be good enough for another ride to work. Odometer is now at 6,001km.

Sun, 19 Feb 06: WOOT!!! What a ride! It was a brisk -18C with the windchill when I left for the SCRC brunch this morning but it was still a great ride in spite of it. Got the usual smiles and waves from the cagers, the usual "must be cold on a bike" from the gas station patrons when I stopped for a fillup and, thankfully, smiles and waves from the two police cruisers I passed along the way. I had poured some more gasline antifreeze into the tank just before I left and the bike ran like a top the whole trip, not sputtering or stumbling once despite the cold. The signal lights, as usual, did not work in the cold (I think I might relocate the flasher unit to underneath the seat to see if that makes a difference) and I had to employ hand signals again. Despite the extra layers of clothing and the electric vest, my fingers and toes were starting to get chilled by the time I pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Relief was only a cup of coffee away, though, and I enjoyed the brekkie and usual hilarious banter with my Southern Cruisers family. Didn't get any takers on my offer for a ride in the sidecar, though. J Had another UDF session when it was time to leave, as two of the Chapter members had all kinds of questions about the rig and we spent a good ten minutes talking about the bike. Gave them a couple of brochures and Ken Beach's card and I was on my way. I was heading into the wind now, so I took the intricate series of backroads all the way home, chugging along at 60kmh feeling quite cozy with the vest on and the trees blocking all the wind. Got to hang the back end out a couple times on some slick corners and gave the suspension a good workout over all the frost heaves and potholes. The Ural just ate everything up and kept purring along. Stopped at the Beer Store in Gan to restock my Keith's and now I'm sitting at the computer typing away, in a great mood. I have tomorrow off and will be riding again, will try to get some pics for the next Blog update.

Sat, 25 Feb 06: Another great ride in the snow today! Details and pics on my Rides page ("A Snowy Ride In February").

Sat, 04 Mar 06: Well, didn't get any riding in during the week due to crap weather on Monday and Tuesday and a business trip on Wednesday through Friday. Made up for it today, though. Started the day off by finally swapping the pusher knobby tire for a new OEM one. Good thing, too, as that pusher was pretty much worn out after only 2,200km - my fault, as the majority of that mileage was on relatively dry pavement at speeds of 80-90kmh. Knobbies need deep snow and muck to keep happy and the mild winter here just hasn't given enough of either. Anyway, Hector and I put on over 100km as we motored about under sunny skies, moderate winds and a -4C temp. Had a very enjoyable ride and even stopped by a farmer's field to let Hector romp about for a bit. Just as we were about to leave, I heard the roar of a diesel engine and turned to see a front-end loader come flying over the hill and skid to a stop on the road beside us. The guy hanging off the driver's door and the driver both had concerned looks on their faces; turns out they had been working way back in the field opposite and hadn't seen my arrival. When one of them finally spotted the Ural, from their vantage point it looked like a car that had slid off the road and overturned, so they had come out to investigate. I apologised for the false alarm and thanked them for their actions. They looked a bit crestfallen as they turned around and headed back to work; if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were disappointed at missing their chance to be heroes. The rest of the ride was enjoyable and uneventful, except for when I waved at an oncoming bike on the Parkway. It was the first rider I'd waved to since late last November and I took it as a sure sign that Spring is near.

Sat, 11 Mar 06: WOOT!!! What a great day for riding! Not only was it sunny with a warm 10C high, I was able to bring my Harley home from the dealer (taking the 100km long way home, of course) on its first ride of the year, I was also able to take Douk out for a 60km shakedown run. No oil leaks! The repair was a success. Full details on my Ural page.

Fri, 17 Mar 06: Rode to work Wednesday, Thursday and today this week. Wednesday was a bit nasty due to a snowstorm that caught the snowplows by surprise; it was very slippery out and I had a couple hairy moments on slick corners. Yesterday and today were fine, if somewhat chilly from the cold and brisk northerly winds. Once again my snowsuit and electric vest kept me comfy, although my hands were a little numb. Installed 132 main jets and took the washers out from under the needles on the carbs Tuesday night and had the most gawdawful ride to work on Wednesday morning as a result. The bike was fine at 1/4 throttle but anything past that and it would bog down. I gassed up just before getting home and was shocked to see it only took 8.8l for 104km. I pulled the plugs when I got home and they were clear - the damn thing was running lean. WTF?! So I put the 128 jets and washers back in and Thursday's ride was a lot better. The plugs are now a light tan colour, so I think I'll just leave well enough alone. I wanted to make a carb synch tool like this one, but our Calibration Tech at work said he had an old Manometer he didn't use anymore and I that was welcome to have it. So I brought it home with me and tried my hand at carb tuning on Thursday evening. The right side carb was out almost 3/4 of a turn in idle adjustment, so I got that sorted out first. When I twisted the throttle, the left carb pulled so much vacuum that it activated the check valve on the mamometer. I had to slacken the left cable and tighten the right before I could get the readings to stay steady. What a difference it made! It felt like a new bike again, with lots of power and much less vibration. Odometer is now at 7,100km... that's 3,100km since 1 Dec 05!

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