Stop talking about it, go out, buy your Ural and start enjoying it. That's how simple it is.
We have put 8,000km on a Patrol in 8 weeks, brilliant. Got 2wd, may never use it but who cares, it's there if I need too.
Ring Stephen or Mark at Ural NW tomorrow morning, put in your order and put yourself out of the misery.
Our Ural is at
www.thesunshineteam.com.au
Gotta sell the FZR1000 first. I'll probably drop my price in July
if it doesn't sell in the next week or two.
I went to the Ural rally on Marrowstone Island.
Got a ride in the sidecar of an almost Brand new 2007 Tourist,
then an older one (2005?) for comparison.
Later I drove a 1997 that had a 750 motor. It had the hand
shift and the heel-toe shifter. I had trouble finding the
heel position & my toe kept running into the carb float bowl
drain when I tried to upshift. I found that the hand shift
was easier on this particular bike (I actually kinda liked it).
I had a hard time with the foot shift, so wasn't riding all that
smooth. The owner (Patrick) was pretty brave to ride in the side
car and coach me, but by the end of a lap around the Island I
was getting it (and did okay when a stray Peacock walked into the
road).
I'm sure that I could adjust the foot shift lever more to my
liking, so I consider it mostly a non-issue (except that it
will never shift like a Japanese bike... which just is what it
is... a thing I have to consider in my decision, not a deal breaker,
and something I could 'prolly get used to).
I'll post some pics and more ride report later on & tomorrow.
Right now I'm at about 85% "yes" on the Ural. If I could get
a Dual Sport as a second bike it'd be 100%, but parking space is
an issue until I get rid of some boats.
More later...
On the Ural...
I do want one, but I have to figure out if I want it for the right reasons,
and if I will regret it after a few months.
Here's the story...
I am a very light sleeper, so I have to wait until after my kids go to
bed before I can go to bed. If I don't, they will wake me, and it will
usually take a long time to get to sleep (partly because I go to bed
unnaturally early). But to get up at 04:30 to make my vanpool, I have
to go to bed very early (I can't live on less than 7 or 8 hours sleep
like some fortunate people).
My kids are getting older, so they can't be expected to go to bed at
8 pm forever. If I don't get to sleep by 8:30 pm I am a wreck after
a few days (I can do 1 or 2 of the 9 to 9:30 nights, but that's about all).
Also, going to bed that early is not natural, so in addition to being a
light sleeper, I become an ultra light sleeper, and get lousy sleep
when I do.
In order to sleep later, I have to get myself to work. Driving is
not an option... 55 miles each way, and I'd have to leave just
as early. Taking a later ferry means waiting in line for 1/2 hour
minimum in the morning, and as much as 2 hours in the evening.
Normally I walk onto the ferry and catch a vanpool on the other
side of the water, so I don't wait to board the ferry.
Motorcycles get on right after the walk-on passengers... no waiting
in line with the cars. It also costs 1/2 as much as a car (about $125
per month for a motorcycle).
So, the days I go in late, I either wait in line or take the bike. Today
I took the bike (a great ride). But in winter, we get occasional snow
days, and frequent ice patches on the roads from freezing moisture.
I took a ferry that is almost 2 hours later than when I ride my vanpool
because I was up late last night, and I feel great even though I didn't
sleep much more than I normally do... I am just not a morning person.
So, if I want to work a later schedule, I have to ride a motorcycle
and quit my vanpool (it's more involved than that, but let that suffice).
That means riding year round, including bad weather & days when
there might be ice (I could take a car of stay home when it snows,
if winter isn't too snowy).
Two wheels and Ice/Snow do not work well together.
Three wheels is (I'm told) fun in the snow, and not too bad
on patchy ice. I can even get studded tires for winter!
So, for quality of life, a sidecar rig makes a lot of sense.
The drawbacks are many. The surcharge for the sidecar, which
they historically haven't charged, but probably will start charging
more regularly now that they implimented a new collection system on
the ferries increses the cost from $123 per month to $215 per month.
The Ural is slow (which doesn't really affect my commute), is a bit
clunky (I can adapt) and is not as 100% reliable / low maintenance
as a Japanese bike. It isn't the same as riding a bike, and I will miss
leaning into turns.
But there are advantages (beside safety in snow/ice). There is enough
storage space for a full load of groceries or camping gear, so I could
run errands at work on my lunch hour. It can carry two passengers,
and possibly three with a little bit of modification to the side car
(My two kids will never weigh too much for the sidecar). So I could
take my wife on rides, or my wife & one kid, or the dog. For short
hops I could take the wife & both kids (like church on Sunday, or
the A&W vintage vehicle cruise night in town).
Also, something new in my life might be a good thing to lift my
spirits a bit... lately I have been a bit down for some reason.
So, being the only bike I own, and a primary source of transportation
on my daily commute, it does appear to be the best solution. Working
later in the day just seems to really make for a better quality of life.
I won't be tired all the time, and I won't be as stressed out about getting
the kids to bed on time (8 pm ideally). I probably will get home a bit
late, but if the kids are up later, I might just end up spending more
time with them.
Anyway,
After reading your lengthy replies here, I'd say at this point to go ahead and drop the Ural idea. Urals ain't for everyone to begin with. If decisions are that painful and difficult for you to make at this point, buyers remorse will be the least of your problems. Overthinking a Ural is just something that will lead to frustrations galore. Chuck the idea and go back to whatever previous means of transportation fit the bill for you. Besides, there is only room here for just one person who writes as lengthy as you do; me!
š he,he, he.....
I believe I have the picture posted of the Rosera Lincoln and Beaver in my albums here. Sounds like you need your rest, as you are overthinking in overdrive mode it seems. š
I am doing a trial run of riding to work every day this week instead
of using my vanpool... after today's ride to work I am now 98.3% sure
I want to buy a Ural (But I still have to sell the FZR1000 first).
I uploaded pictures from the Marrowstone Island Ural Rally. None
of me riding one, no particularly good pictures, but at least
I was there. My primary mission was concentrating on fact-finding
relevant to my decision whether to invest in a Ural, so I didn't
take enough pictures...
Here is the URL:
http://www.pbase.com/mark_42/marrowstone_island_ural_rally_2007
You can choose original size if you want to see detail, but keep
in mind that the original sizes vary a bit from picture to picture.
Ural NW does have good prices & policies. So far, I'm not seeing
great bargains on Used Urals in the classifieds, so I may have
to buy new.
I have decided I definitely want the 2WD.
I will find plenty of places to use it.
I gotta agree with Huey, if it is that hard to make a decision, then an Ural probably isn't gonna be optimal.
Have you considerred a VW Bug ????
I would disagree in some ways. By doing my research and
knowing what I am getting into I'm less likely to get
disillusioned and want to get rid of it. Wouldn't it
be the guy who sees it and buys w/o knowing what it's
really like that ends up dissatisfied?
Big Point: VW Bug doesn't get priority loading on the ferry...
I would have to wait in line for 45 to 120 minutes every
afternoon if I take a car (like today). Motorcycles don't
wait in line (including trikes & sidecar rigs)
I already have an MR2
Currently I drive to a park & ride, take a bus, walk onto a ferry,
then catch a vanpool to work. On the way home it's Vanpool, Ferry,
Bus, Car.
This week I was taking my FZR1000 to work as a trial run to
see how I like working a later schedule to avoid getting up at
04:30 in the morning. The termal switch for the cooling fan
failed Tuesday, and it started to get hot when I was standing
and idling (like waiting to board the ferry). I drove my car
today so I could get a new switch at lunch. Ordered the new
part today, and it'll be in next week. I'll rig a toggle switch
tonight and do it manually by watching the temp gauge.
So far I like the later schedule and not using bus & vanpool,
but don't like that I can't take my Violin & practice on the ferry.
Also, I worry about traction on the wet roads... it rains about
300 days a year, and snow is on the ground about 20 days. Sometimes
the rain freezes too.
I am going to lower the price on my bike by selling it w/o the
extras that I included in the price... I can get a couple of
hundred for those items seperately on eBay.
I'm pretty well comitted to the Ural... just have to figure out
new or used & how much I am willing to finance to make it happen.
I failed the Washington sidecar endorsement written test yesterday
(too many trick / trivia questions for me)
I Bought a 2006 Ural Gear Up last night.
Re-took & passed the written test this morning, so now I'm legal
to ride during daylight without passengers. I'll take the skills
test after I practice a bit at a parking lot and in my nice
quiet rural neighborhood.
So the adventure begins...
Welcome to our world. Practice, practice, practice and most importantly have fun!
Go an try to get the thing stuck in the mud....
be sure to bring a come-along.
Mark,
in Germany everbody who has a class 1 (A) licence is allowed to drive a sidecar. At least to my times. That was one of the curious things about german transit laws I never understood. It is reasonable for me that you have to make a special training and test. At least it tells you about what you have to beware of.
By the way gravel roads and sandpitches teach much faster the driveing technics then paved roads. The first couple of weeks stay away from dense transit.
Wellcome in the club and stay on the saddle!
Have a pint on it! Your selfbrewed!
Regards
Sven Peter
(had a Guinness yesterday but not comparable to our pub in North Yorkshire)
I'll have to add beer and a comealong to my list of add-ons...
I already have a scissor jack on the list.
Oh, I also need to make a camera suspension system so that
I can keep the camera in the trunk w/o shaking it to death.
What's the use getting stuck in the mud if I can't take pictures!
I went to a party at Tommy Reiser's place a few back,had sidecars stuffed with beer on ice.....
any you folks know Tom?
Originally written by Peter Pan on 8/2/2007 1:37 PM
Mark,
...It is reasonable for me that you have to make a special training and test. At least it tells you about what you have to beware of.
I posted my thoughts about it in another thread, so I'll
put the URL (address) of that thread below rather than duplicate it here...
http://www.sidecar.com/megabbs/thread-view.asp?threadid=507&start=1
Originally written by Huey on 6/25/2007 9:39 PM
After reading your lengthy replies here, I'd say at this point to go ahead and drop the Ural idea. Urals ain't for everyone to begin with. If decisions are that painful and difficult for you to make at this point, buyers remorse will be the least of your problems. Overthinking a Ural is just something that will lead to frustrations galore. Chuck the idea and go back to whatever previous means of transportation fit the bill for you. Besides, there is only room here for just one person who writes as lengthy as you do; me!
š he,he, he.....I believe I have the picture posted of the Rosera Lincoln and Beaver in my albums here. Sounds like you need your rest, as you are overthinking in overdrive mode it seems. š
* * * * * * * * *
Hold on there Mark, Iād take what Huey has to say with a grain of salt. Actually a lump of salt or even a whole saltlick.
Huey was so hamstrung about whether or not to purchase a Ural that the folks on the Russian Iron board and the Ural board were taking up a collection to buy him one.
SCD
