AND BRING YOUR ALUMINUM FOIL!! Saturday we'll host the Second Annual Foilhead Competition and Baltika Festival at RDV. Sarge
Howdy All, Having a dedicated Ural forum would be cool but I wouldn't advise holding your breath in anticipation of it happening; it took a LONG time just to get the "Hacks" forum as many wouldn't then nor today recognize our sickness as a valid motorcycle related form of transport or amusement.
Hi Mr Cobb,I think you may have read the original post wrong- "With Urals becoming so popular it occured to me that maybe you guys might like your own specific Ural thread like many of the other forums seem to have.If not then we'll get AceRph to delete it.Just a thought." This is the thread. Cheers A2
As one of the original settlers of 'Little Siberia', I can't wait to go back. The little hill in the corner of the field is just the right size to bump start a tempermental Ural in the morning. As an added bonus any Ural owner attending this event will become an official member of the Riders of The Eastern Front(ROTEF).
Just recieved my "New to me" 98 Ural Sportsman after years of BMW's MY they are ah... rough . No offence to the foil heads and I have only ridden it 20 Km ( before the charging light started winking at me. and the rear brake heated up and smoked and..... WEll it has had little use and will take some time to sort out. The winking lights I fixed by cleaning all connections and using dielectric grease. The brake easy ajustment. I should have done a full tune up and fluid change - and I will before I go much further. I have owned 6 other hacks Two custom hightech ones . and Honestly I have never owned one that got so much attention and I only rode it to the gas station. Once. I'll have to make hand outs , The Harley guy did not know there WERE Russian bikes ! " No really it was made in Russia- Honest" WE only need to continue this thread. Chuck
Yes they (Pre-2003's) are rough. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Foilhead but, frankly, I wouldn't touch a 650 with a ten foot pole. Others love them. Usually, they are more gearhead oriented. Me? I'm very "wrench challenged"! I like my nice, reliable 2004. Sarge
Howdy Chuck, First off welcome to the foil, second before it costs you and engine get rid of the RPOS alternator and replace it with a denso unit, yes the denso costs money but it way cheaper then an engine, third be very nice to your final drive they are made out of unuptainium, if you bust it the chances of finding parts are slim to none however if you do manage to phuck up the final drive the regular two wheel drive is a direct bolt in. Just my opinion for what it's worth unless you really like to tinker don't buy a used Ural older then 2005.
Would a '98 have the infamous RPOC alternator? My '97 has the 424 (?) alternator-not known for self-destructing,but a rather feeble electrical output,too. I'll agree that the 650s are rougher than a corncob,but they have their good points-I just haven't found them yet. Mine suffered the all-too-common crankshaft breakage last fall, but it was still able to drive home on that broken crank:huh . A detailed rebuild followed,with better quality bearings all around,a new clutch,Accel coil,K68 Pekars, and carb manifolds with a balance tube between them. The difference in how it ran before and after the crank breakage is amazing. The rock-hard brake shoes were swapped out for better ones, and a stronger turnbuckle in the front TLS brake makes it stop much better. As you might guess from all this, yes, 650s take more than a little wrenching
Mr. Cob Thanks for the info I have read that the R alt is junk . to be honest I was aware that Most of the bike is Junk . ( ok to be honest it works looks good but the Spider senses just dont vibe right ) I was looking for a project the sportsman looked an orphan enough to be cheap . I am a long time BMW person mostly airheads ( some 8-10 of them) and while the 650 is weak It a grate place to drop a R 80/R90 engine. Proven reliability and something I know how to work on. Maybe that would be a better outcome. we will see. Thanks Chuck
Chuck, One item: Of the 650 Urals, the most desirable is the Sportsman with its 2WD differential. The newer 2WD's are direct drive and can only be run that way in the dirt. The Sportsman allows you to run 2WD on the road which, I have read, makes them handle very nicely. One of my hopes was to, one day, come across a Sportsman that some ham-handed owner had succeeded in roaching the engine. Buy it dirt cheap and slap a new 750 motor in it. Now THAT would be one sweet rig! Sarge
Ha Ha! You should go into fortune telling Sarge. Last night I took my rig to dinner when I came out it would not turn over - Not an electrial issue- The kicker will not move The Bike shifts The clutch works The Kicker with clutch in ratchets bike forward SO the problem is in Front of the Clutch ( I believe) I checked to be sure it was not hydrolocked. Several people pushing could not get the engine to roll over . Perhaps the timing gears faild when I shut it off ,but unlikly, I believe the crank ( it's a multy piece i believe) is toast. SO I looked into the 750 engine Too spendy when I can buy a good running R 80-100 BMW Motorcycle for less. Anyone have one lying around? I have a new home for it. I believe they all fit up to 83? I think. Chuck
Someone suggested I look at the Flywheel screws. What flywheel screws? Seems I have lost two screws. any idea what size they are? I tried taking out one of the remaining ones but they want to stay in MR. COB will your clutch fit in my 650? And who should I get the screws from? Thanks Chuck PS I still think a R 80 would work just fine in there.
