Looks like more riding and training time became available. HI is off the table. Mrs. C isn’t happy about it but I am quite pleased.
An end run was done around Harold regarding the Denver trip by the sales guys to get me out there. I thought Harold okayed it, so I booked everything. As a wrist slap to me, no HI. If you can gather, it didn’t hurt a bit. I was left out of the HI project from the beginning, so being dragged into it now when things aren’t working right doesn’t hold much appeal.

Swapped out the front tire yesterday. Wasn’t a bad job, except for pinching a tube. Twice. Noticed no difference in riding except that the front tire now has tread. I need to check, but I think I got close to 10K km from that tire.

9000km on the front tire. Not too bad for a sidecar. Hope to get a couple K more out of the pusher and sidecar tires.

Haven't figured out how to post pics from my tablet to here yet, but stay tuned. Just rode almost 400 miles with two three speed bikes hanging off the back of the RPOC and a sidecar full of camping gear. Beat to hell doesn't begin to describe it.

Will start a new thread about the 2018 Lake Pepin 3 Speed Tour in a day or so.

here's something to add to the discussion. weekend before last we made trip to Spencer TN for a COG rally. the three of us rode over on the C10 rig. We did just over 1000 miles in 4 days. it was one of those trips we won't do again, but years from now will make for great stories! check out the rear tire after the trip. with all the weight in the car and pull from the trailer, I leaned out the bike a ton to correct the steering (to make it steer neutral). couple that with some high speed highway miles going across I40 between Asheville and Knoxville and this is the result. :hmm:

My pusher was bad, but not that bad.

1000 in 4 days, nice. (250/day). Glad you and the tire made it, yikes!

Will be doing half that milage in 2 days off pavement this weekend and I know I will be done.

off pavement is another story entirely. that'll take the wind out of your sails for sure!


700 of my miles were done on Thursday going over and Sunday coming back. while there we did about 150 a day.

It's hard packed but has the oh shit corners too. I just need to slow it down. Also the cattle guards that I have learned to straighten up vertical when crossing. Hitting those steel bars can be a little scary with morning dew.

Yea, on the pavement but having that trailer chasing me the whole way would make me a little nervous however.

actually, the trailer did terrific. I hardly noticed a difference when pulling it. I really think it was due to my expert packing job. always put the cooler filled with beer and ice in the front. :yay:

Had our first real on the road breakdown yesterday. Flat front tire. The rig steers not at all when that happens. The bigger problem was that all power to the sidecar went bye bye, too. Only it didn't show up until I tried to run the air compressor.


Long story short, I cut the plug off the compressor and tapped into the power from the trickle charger SAE plug. That got me to my cousins' place. Her hubby helped me breakdown the front tire where we found the rim strip had come apart. It was fine three weeks ago. Used medical adhesive tape as a temporary fix to get us home. Also put in a new tube.



Found the fuse to the sidecar blown this morning. I think Mrs. C may have shoved her purse into the wiring and shorted something. I couldn't make that fuse pop. Patched the old tube this morning, too.

I'm tired of rubber rim strips making me sad. I use Gorilla tape now.
Glad you were able to MacGyver it to get to your cousin's place. Also glad you have a cousin that could help.

the joys of tires with tubes. glad you were able to resolve it, but I suppose it put a dent in your happy riding day. :(

Ditto. I’ll see how the adhesive tape holds up. Before the arrival of Mr. Tuffy brand rim strips in the bicycle world, the go to rim strip was Velox. Velox was basically heavy duty adhesive tape with the brand name printed on it.

I planned on going with Gorilla tape but couldn’t find it in 1”, but did find Gator brand in 1”. Will give that a try.

SR-Mrs. C was already in a sour mood because of her allergies. This didn’t help.

I take that back, it's T-Rex tape I bought.

Here's a great review of the duct tapes available. T-Rex is on there, Cheesy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbXy3c2oAfA

I tear Gorilla tape lengthwise into about six foot strips and wrap around the rim. Hasn't let me down yet.

I have a 3” roll of Gorilla tape but me tearing it into 1” strips is akin to Creepy Dave using Anti-Sieze. It will just be a mess.

The Gorilla tape I have must be 2", because I simply tear it down the middle. I'd measure it, but it's at the shop.

I'm working in San Francisco this week. Turned out it was something the sales rep could have handled and saved the company some bucks.



Anyway, as I'm wont to do, if there is a Ural dealer in the area, I will pay them a visit, if I have time. I had time. This time it was TriQuest Cycles in Santa Clara. I had a great visit with Ski, the owner and a great guy. Ural sales and service is all he does. We ended up shooting the breeze for about two hours in his office.



I got quite the education, too.


He showed me the 'Dealer Tools' on the IMWA website and asked me for the VIN of my bike. Surprisingly, I had it on my phone with my insurance policy. He entered it in the IMWA website and my VIN came up as being part of a recall. The recall was for an improperly cut circlip groove on a tranny shaft. Ski emailed IMWA in Redmond, WA, asking if mine had been done. As I've never had a shifting issue, he said it either didn't have a bad shaft or it had been done. Twenty minutes later, IMWA replied that mine had been done on 9/26/07. He told me a lot of the behind the scenes history of Ural in the US, from CMSI, the original importer, to IMWA today, as he was there for most of it. Also told me which online dealers that are good to work with and which to avoid. I'm familiar with all he mentioned, and agreed with his assessment.



I also toured his shop and I got a closer look at the 2018 models. They are a lot less clunky looking than my 07. Ski said 07 was one of the better years for Ural but they still had their issues, as I can attest.


This was one of the best visits I've had.

What a terrific moment in time! I hope you stay in touch with that gentleman.

Urals have issues? no way! :D

Perhaps 'issues' was the wrong word. Maybe it's 'character'. Nah, who we kidding, it's issues.


I did learn that the final drive 'character' is finally being dealt with by IMWA and IMZ. The cast iron ring and pinion gears are being replaced with matched and hardened gear sets that will also come fitted with a new driveshaft yoke and u-joint. Hard part to swallow is that ninety buck replacement gear set will now be in the neighborhood four hundred smackers. On the other hand, last one ever needed.

Great contact for future network posibilities :tup:

My first attempt at truing a motorcycle wheel started last night.

Mrs. C and I did a couple of trips yesterday, totaling about a hundred miles. The last trip was to the local Cabelas for a $15 fishing license that cost us $80 by the time we got out the door.:hehe:

Because it was beastly hot, we rode without our usual headgear. We both could hear a clicking noise coming from the rear wheel we wouldn’t have heard with our helmets. My first thought is that I’m pulling the FD again.>:( We get home and I find nothing amiss. Sigh of relief.

So, put some lighter clothes on and commence to swap out the milk jugs on the front bumper of the Jeep for end caps. Finish that and start putting the tools away when I see the rear tire on the Ural is flat. Fuhhhh.

Pulled the rear wheel and found my clicking noise, the hub and rim were loose on the spokes. It took me two hours, a butane torch, vise grips, and a 10mm socket to loosen the spokes from the nipples. Thank God Ural saw fit to have spoke nipples with a 10mm hex on them. Spent another ninety minutes removing each nipple, chasing the threads and lubing each spoke with moly lube.

I’ve built dozens of bicycle wheels, so this is not really a problem for me but it’s the first time I’ve ever done spokes larger than 14ga. These puppies are 5mm and short, so sort of like trying to bend a sewer pipe bare handed. Got the initial eyeballing done last night. Doing the final truing this morning before the sun hits the garage. Russian steel rims are only a facsimile of round, so if I can get within 5mm for out of roundness and 2mm laterally, I’ll be ecstatic.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/...5c9e7138_z.jpg
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1734/...3701ca47_z.jpg


I did mention that the rim was only a facsimile of round, so good enough is the best one can hope for.

Cheesy, look me up if you're ever in the Phoenix area. There's a Ural dealer (actually, it's one of the largest motorcycle dealers I've ever seen in my life. They have Ural, Ducati, Vespa, BMW, the Japanese Big 4, Aprilla, it's pretty awesome walking through their showrooms) up in Scottsdale. It's worth the ride up and around the 101. If you're ever out this way, we can pull some of the toys out of the garage and go for a ride.

I will take you up on that if I’m ever in Phoenix longer than it takes to change planes.

Looking forward to it. I would like to get your take on the differences between your carbureted Ural, and the newer fuel injected rigs. It would also be awesome just to sit down and have a beer with someone who has a lifetime of different experiences. Hopefully it works out sooner rather than later.

Quite the morning. Just to give you an idea of the weather at Chez Fromage, I stepped out of the house at six am and my glasses fogged up.

I was out at six am to change out TWO Ural tires. One worn out, one flat. I wasn't sure if I effed up the one that went on me Sunday but I figured I'd replace it anyway with a new tire. Haven't looked at the flatted tube yet but have a very strong suspicion that rust on the rim caused the problem. Anyway, cleaned both rims down to bare metal before mounting the tires. First time in a long time that I did not pinch a tube when mounting a tire, too.

Four hours later, rode the rig to work at the bike shop after I finished. Neither has gone soft yet, so I must have done something right

Another possible meaning of RPOC: Retired Pissed Off Cheesy :p:D

If I were retired, I’d not be pissed off.

Unless the RPOC grenaded its rear diff again... :p

That’s just a shoulder shrugger.

An RPOC cruised by the house tonight.

Man, the Ural got quite the workout this past two weeks with the grandkids. At least four tanks of fuel. Last night, Karis and I rode the 35 miles to the Sycamore Speedway in Sycamore, IL so she could see dirt track racing one more time before we take her back home. She has become quite the fan of noise, dirt, and stink. And female drivers.

The rig got its fair share of UDF in the parking lot and we had a very pleasant ride home in the dark, getting back around 11pm.

Other things that happened with it these past two weeks were a hundred mile ride for a car show, picnic, and ice cream with the oldest grandkids. A little yard riding with the two youngest ones. Also did an overnight camping and fishing trip with older ones. I felt the need for a scotch laced coffee after that adventure.

Although, I’ve grown to despise my employer, I’m looking forward to get back to work to get some rest.

Someone is sneaking up on me.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1811/...3cb435c6_z.jpg
This is at the Sycamore Steam Show. http://www.threshingbee.org/ There were more bikes there this year than in the last five years combined, including this beauty.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/931/3...83d98807_z.jpg

Becoming quite the little truckster.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1883/...3f190a0b_z.jpg

New speedo arrived today. Tach came a couple of weeks ago. Tomorrows' project.

New Speedo Install Day today. Planned on doing the tach, too, but things were a tad more involved than 'plug n play' with the speedo and didn't get that far.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1941/...7d239c74_z.jpg

Why did I pick this speedo over the plethora of other GPS units out there? Two reasons. First, it's designed to use a remote reset button. So no hacking to adapt one. The second, a manual reset trip meter with a memory. The trip meters on the others I looked at would reset to zero when the ignition was turned off. Tough to know when it's time to gas up when you are always starting out at zero. At least the carbed Urals have a reserve petcock. The fuelies, ahem, yer ESS OHH ELL when she starts to sputter.

Installation is pretty straight forward. The unit is similar to a larger VDO gauge as it is held in place with just one large plastic ring. I was pretty pleased that I didn't need to use the Ural riser ring when installing the gauge. That came back to bite me later.

As this is a GPS speedo only, there are only four wires plus the GPS receiver. Red(+), Black(-), White and Green go to either side of the remote button. The GPS receiver has a coax connection. Hooked everything up and it worked.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1908/...b544f45b_z.jpg

About getting bit. When I installed the last unit, I cut the Ural riser ring enough so that unit would clear the internal crossbar. I held on to the shorter section of the ring. Good thing, too. When I went to install the headlight, the bucket wouldn't clear the coax connection. So, disconnect the wiring, remove the speedo, fit the ring, and put everything back together.

The unit does work well but I have a few dislikes. It's not as bright as the last unit, so it can be hard to read in bright sun. There is supposed to be a backlight, but damned if I can find it. Contacting the seller about that. The cable for the receiver is pretty short. My original plan was to mount the receiver on the top of the tail light bracket. No soap. Mounted it on top of the headlight nacelle. Dislikes, but not deal breakers.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1961/...6e016521_z.jpg

The receiver is that black thingy on top of the nacelle. The cut up sour cream container is in the early stages of becoming a shade for the speedo.:D It is in paint now.