Greetings from (the youngest?) new Ural owner on this site

Hi guys, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to post pictures, diy instructions and purchasing tips because you'll never know how many months I spent on this site waiting for that one day when a used Ural would pop up in my area (NYC).

Well it finally did, and I'm proud to say I own a 2006 Patrol in Woodland Green. I'm not really one for forums, but precisely because you guys helped me out so much, I'm going to put in the time to keep you updated on my experiences. At 26, I may be the youngest Ural owner amongst you guys, but I am f*cking thrilled with my purchase.
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On heated gear: I bought this Ural in Conneticut 2 days after the big one (that Noreaster that ended in over 3 feet of snow) and having little to no experience riding in winter, some of you guys had me scare sh*tless. I brought heated gear with me, but found that with a pair of textile snow pants and jacket, layers made it so that I was TOTALLY fine riding for two hours back to NYC. So I promptly returned my First Gear jacket liner. I really don't see what all the fuss is about.


On flying the sidecar: another thing you guy had me scared sh*tless about was flying the sidecar. Riding back to NYC meant that I'd have to go solo on a highway with pretty hard turns. I found that leaning my body on right turns prevented the car from ever flying, and it really has been a non-issue ever since.

On stuff breaking: everything seemed fine this past month as I tested out my new ride, but I have to admit, something fell off... After a thorough inspecting of the hack, the one item I missed was the nut that hold down the luggage/cargo rack and the spare wheel. It took almost the whole month before winding down a quiet road in the upper west side of Manhattan and then it happened. The luggage rack fell off. I immediately stopped and looked back. There came a white POS putting along and somehow the moronical driver didn't see the large object on the ground. SPARKS!!:eek1 The metal went flying. I thought I was instantly in to having to replace a $150 item. But just as many of you have also said, the Russians build their stuff to last (even if they break down hehe). Picked it up, bent some metal back into place and voila! I was back on the road. I ordered the replacement nut from UralNE (which was also where my bike came from). It made me laugh when I opened the package up to find a "brand new" piece that looks like it's been through 50 adventures.


If there are any more questions, I'm happy to answer them, and I'll definitely keep posting my experiences. Once again, thanks so much for everything guys. From what you guys posted, I felt I knew the bike so well that I wasn't surprised at how comfortable I was riding it with no previous experience. Love the attention, love sitting upright, love putting around as opposed to blasting away at dangerous speeds. I leave you with a picture from yesterday morning in NYC.

Nice camera work. Glad you are enjoying your Ural.

Nice Ural, I don't know about being the youngest owner though . I got my Tourist at 24, haven't put nearly enough miles on it, but I'm 26 now as well.

Cool first post! Congrats and welcome!

Great pics (though you might want to think about shrinking them all down to about 1000-1200 pixels wide like your pic #1 and #3).

Great first report! Check out: Sovietsteeds.com There is lots of info there related to Urals. Cheers!!!

I should have gotten this thing back when I was 16 and Urals were much cheaper. It's a chick magnet!

I got my first Ural when I was 22, so I have you both beat but that was fourteen years ago.

They're generally more old-man magnets than chick magnets, but in the city sidecars definitely get attention everywhere. People won't give a Ferrari a second look but I get more doe-eyed pedestrians' stares, smiles, and thumbs up than you can imagine.

I also remember my first 30 mile trip home on my Ural, which was a 1996 and in addition to the 'pucker factor' of my first sidecar ride it also threatened to quit on me several times in the process

Beat me to it, old guys love these things.

Related note, my route home with mine took me over Trailridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Luckily my wife was following me in her car because the brake lights quit as soon as I got into the park. I distinctly remember chugging the thing up to the summit (>12k feet) in 2nd gear hoping it wouldn't quit on me. I also managed to fly the car for the first time on a deceivingly sharp right hander in the canyon between Loveland and Estes Park and nearly crapped my pants. Great time .

Damn 22 is young!! Ok you guys got me beat on the age. But hey look, I get to make all the same mistakes you guys made and you can live through them again through me!

And since I live in NYC these are mistakes born in Russia, Poland, Spain, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Japan and everywhere else you can imagine!

I got my gear up when I was 24. Now I'm 26 now. We should start a 26 yo club.

Cool bike, and that weather looks perfect for a Ural.
Enjoy.

Sorry to ask this type of question (no I am not!) but what is the leather jacket you have in the 1st pic?? Leather quality looks real nice!

Ah - you noticed?!

Ata boy MMC!

Thanks! It's a U.S. Wings "Legend" Texas Steerhide Imported! http://www.uswings.com/ijlegend.asp#LGND

I was given the USA-made version which is almost $200 more expensive as a present before I ruined it, and took the chance at buying the imported which ended up being IDENTICAL. I figure although you guys might be patriots, no sense in owning an imported bike and being nitpicky as to where your leather comes from.

US Wings is an amazing company making affordable jackets. Unless you specifically want lambskin, there's no need to go for the more expensive Bison leather, as the steerhide is thick and supple!!

Word of warning:

1. If you are ANYTHING but very fit, make sure you order the long as opposed to the regular. The regular sits right on my belt and worried me at first of not being long enough.

2. Takes about a month to arrive, and smells like brand new leather for a long time (6 months and counting). I love the smell of leather, but some people have complained and on my recent trip to Texas a guy in the bathroom told me I smelled like saddlebags. On the other hand in a bana (Russian bathhouse) a gorgeous Russian girl wouldn't stop asking me to let her smell it. Then I swooped in for the kill by telling her the vehicle I came their in.

Congratulations and welcome!

Nice pics!

Welcome to the dark side. And congrats!

You'll get on just fine here ... welcome , and thanks for the story and pic's.

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You are going to now have new family.
You too soon to look very old before your time; constantly answering same question for at least half hour, during 5 minute gas stop.

Much pride as you ride 55mph in 70 zone.......stay in slow lane