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[cheesy]

Not my finest moment. Stuck in my own front yard

[Merle Coggins]

Maybe you need to mount a plow on the front of that 'tractor'. ?

Or mount a front loader...

 

(not actually mounted, just tied down together on the same trailer)

[cheesy]

Another Polar Bear ride in the books. It was anything but Polar. Mid forties, damp, and foggy. So foggy that I took very few pics this year. I did it somewhat differently this year and met up with another couple for a late breakfast at a joint halfway between our respective homes.

I'm the folliclly challenged guy. Mary and Casey to my left and their 2017 Ural behind mine. 

 

Casey and I have been slowly working to have a get together with other Chi-town area Ural owners.

Edited January 3, 2023 by cheesy

[cheesy]

It's engine repair time for the Ural 38,000 miles. That's a Bazillion miles in Ural years.

 

Our town had its annual three day drunk festival parade a few weeks ago. I was in the parade with the local ABATE chapter. It was a beastly hot afternoon and the parade pace was SLOOOW. There were eight bikes in our group and four, including me, dropped out due to overheating. 

I rode a couple hundred miles after the overheating incident with no problems, until last Saturday. Mrs. Cheesy and I had run a couple errands on the bike when we suddenly lost power on the way home. At first I thought maybe a bad plug, coil, or Hall Sensor. No such luck. I did a compression test and got 60 psi on the left side and 86 on the right. Minimum should be in the neighborhood of 110 psi. 

Unlike a lot of stuff, the Ural is designed to be repaired by the owner. Removing the left jug is seven nuts(valve cover, exhaust pipe, cyl. head) and a yank. The right side is a bit more complicated. Need to remove the two upper bolts from the sidecar struts, then lean the bike to the left to pull the head. I think I spent more time looking for the tools I'd just set down than taking this apart.

Diagnoses are two burned valves and effed up valve guides. Piston clearance and cylinder taper are within spec, so that's a few bucks saved. New valves, guides, seals, and rings are on order. Hopefully I will be back up and running in time for some fall weather riding. At least I have my old 45 year old Honda to fall back on.

[cheesy]

This turned out to be a tad more expensive and time consuming than I expected. The only way to get replacement valve guides for a 2007 is to machine them myself. I could, but I don't have access to a lathe anymore. So, a grand later, I have a pair of late Gen 3 heads with bigger valves, umbrella seals, and redesigned valve springs.

 

However, we ain't up and running yet. While putting the final touches on the right cylinder, we had an incident. The rear ball stud at the sidecar snapped off of the bike frame.

One minute, I'm leaning over the tilted bike, installing the final exhaust stud. The next minute, I'm holding up 450lbs of bike with my hip, trying to fish my phone out of my pocket to call my wife to give me a hand.

 

There are no replacement ball studs from IMZ as it's a weldment on the frame. Choices are a replacement frame or fix it yourself. I did locate a 2010 frame* in Ohio for a not unreasonable fee, but I decided to dust off my welding skills and try to fix it. Not the prettiest job in the world, but it's back together.

 

While the bike and the sidecar are taking separate vacations, I'll hang the carbs and exhaust. The tank is also off, so I'll replace the throttle cables.

 

* I'm considering getting that other frame, just in case.

[Plymouthy Adams]

if having one is good, we all know that two would be better.  If you plan to keep this pup, frame cost is right, and you have room to store it protected...go for it now while available.  

[cheesy]

The ball stud is fixed. The pic is pre paint, so it looks kind of ugly.

 

The rig, less a drive shaft boot that was supposed to be here 3 days ago, is back together. As a bonus, there are no left over parts. It was late, and raining, when I wrapped things up last night, so that initial start up will be sometime after breakfast and Buster dogs' morning walk. If things work out, fingers crossed, I'll be spending the rest of the morning putting tools away.