How different is a 1998 Ural from a "new" Ural?

hi Aaron!
You will get more specific answers over on the Ural forum
http://imzwa.secureforum.com/login
the general answer is there have been many upgrades since 98, but as long as your bike is running and you are happy with it, don't worry! Most of the changes are available as upgrades for the earlier bikes. You can even pop the entire new and improved engine into that frame if you want to.

Aaron, Welcome to Uraldom. There is a rally Oct. 12/14 at the KOA in Black Mountain, NC. It has a good turnout of Ural and Dnepr rigs, and any other makes that would like to come. It is a great way to meet other owners and learn more about your bike. I have even seen Todd show up on his BMW rig. He lives in your neck of the woods, as does Big Mike MacDonald and Mike West in Lexington. Hope to see you there.

one upgrade you should definately do is install a newer 2005 and up alternator. The older ones are called 'hand grenades' because they lock up and break the timing gears, which shatter.
the newer alt has rubber bushigs that prevent this from happening.

I owned an 05 Retro, thinking about getting another one.I thought there were significant upgrades, (e.g. in 06 or 07 they started using much higher quality fasterners (on my 05 it was really wasy to strip out the bolts, etc. because the low quality metal.

Wiring, alternator, upgraded fasteners, brakes, etc. have been upgraded over recent years. I was not under the impression these were that easy/inexpensive to upgrade?

I'd suggest you call Mark at Ural Northwesr (Bellingham, Wash). They have sold them for a long time. He might have a little bias towards new, since that is what he sells, but he would be able to better explain the differences.

I get most of my manuals from www.repairmanual.com

try these links for tons of info and resources

http://www.russianiron.com/

http://sovietsteeds.com/

Mac