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Minor Deity |
My 26 year old (you know him as Middle) is having a bit of a mid life crisis.. He bought a small bike last year, took classes and is a pretty good rider. He recently sold his car and bought a second bike..need I remind you it is September in New England? He stopped by and gave me a ride. He has a cheap car waiting in the wings for snowy commutes but this will be his primary vehicle going forward.. A Russian made Ural with side car. I got a ride in it yesterday. Fun!  Anyone know of them? Another view..  His plan is to go cross country in it next summer with his childhood best friend.  I just keep thinking I need to rewatch the movie "The Motorcycle Diaries". 
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
How fun! I really enjoyed Jim Rogers' book Investment Biker. If you haven't read it, you might want to check it out!
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
I've heard of Ural motorcycles but have never seen one. I didn't know they were still in production - or is it used? Either way, an eclectic choice. 
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| Minor Deity |
Steve, it is a 2020 model. Still modeled off the Russian copy of a 1930's BMW. I got to ride in the side car, it's standard model. Company is now based in Seattle but the bikes are still made in Siberia! Middle LOVES anything WWII/Soviet/Russian so no surprise there. I am happy that while a 750cc is not a fast bike..not built for speed but for long hauls, and off roading..think WWII workhorse. I love the spoke wheels and the trunk! Not to mention it has a reverse gear. 
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana  |
Yes. They are extremely cool! During WWII, Zundapp and BMW made two models for the German military: A sidevalve flathead twin and an overhead valve twin. After the war, the Chinese made the flathead and called it Chang Jiang. The Russians made the OHV at the Irbit Motorcycle Plant (IMZ). The Russian one is still being built with remarkably few changes as the Ural... it's basically a 1935 BMW (which, in all, was a pretty darned good motorcycle). Nearly all BMW motorcycles up to the 1970s "slash five" era were designed for sidecars, and could be ridden with or without them. The Ural is the same. The last time I looked, they have models that come with sidecars, including a "driven" sidecar -- that is, the wheel on the sidecar is attached to the driveline. These rigs have very low gearing, so they don't go very fast, but they can practically drive up the side of a cliff. The original US Ural importer was in Preston, Washington, about 25 miles east of Seattle. One of my neighbors works for him receiving and inventorying parts. She said they would get boxes of random parts without any packing list and some just loose or wrapped in paper with no markings. She would spend hours trying to figure out what the heck had arrived. They are now in Redmond, not far from Microsoft HQ. I've had a few Ural motorcycles offered to me, but I've passed them up due to the challenge of sourcing parts, although in many cases BMW or other parts can be made to work. There was one sidecar rig that tempted me a lot. I'm not really sure how I resisted the temptation. As far as New England winters... as you said, these things are made in Siberia -- actually just on the eastern slopes of the Ural mountains. Some people are known to wrap chains around the tires or drive those crownhead screws into the tires and ride them in knee-deep snow. Go for it, Middle! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_Jiang_(motorcycle) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMZ-Ural
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
Hey, Steve... what are those screws called that have a hex head with a little ridge around the edge of the head and a slotted screwdriver slot? Usually coarse thread for sheet metal. These:  You get a set of knobby tires and a bunch of 1/2" screws... drive one screw into each block on the knobby: motorcycle SNOW TIRES!
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Minor Deity |
Friend riding as passenger?
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
I didn't really like Investment Biker. Wasn't that the one that starts with him sending his girlfriend to mechanic school so she can keep their bikes running on the trip? Two great books that prominently feature motorcycling: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Ghost Rider. I had just finished Ghost Rider shortly before Neil Peart died earlier this year.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Slotted hex head self tapping screws. I just finished “Jupiter’s Travels”, an epic journey on a ‘70s Triumph.
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| Minor Deity |
That is the plan as of now. The friend will fly home, then Middle will drive back solo. But that is a year from now. Who knows what the world will be like then.  It is good to have a dream.
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
So, when he says "cross-country", where is he thinking of ending up?
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Keeping that bike running may be its undoing. Loved this book when I read it years ago. I caused me to buy a Ducati. https://smile.amazon.com/Perfe...1271&s=books&sr=1-36
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
uh-oh I ordered it
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| Serial origamist Has Achieved Nirvana |
This is the essay that almost made me buy a Ducati, and ultimately kept me from buying a Ducati: http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Loved reading that PJ. Thank you Maybe a little Ducati for me?
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