stickhandle2

I get that all the time with mine, guess with the lowered front and back, and being black with lots of safety chrome it looks like a HD. My response is nope not a Harley, it is better then a Harley.....then I get the eye roll haha. Mike

I have also taken our dog out on a few rides, for the other forums same user name as here, stickhandle2. My only concern with the Ural has been the brakes in wet weather, combined with the skinny tires these rigs have at times the stopping power is less then I am use to with my Venture and other bikes I have had. Mike

Well we found our sidecar, and guess what we also ended up with a 2013 Ural Gear Up, it is a nice rig, windshield for both the bike and the sidecar. As you said wow what a strange feeling the first few times riding or driving it. I am feeling more comfortable now, we actually took it up to Ontario meet n greet that happened this past weekend in Minden Ont. The comfort was better for my wife in the sidecar, then for me on the bike, but it was a blast. The UDF that you hear about on Ural sites has been huge, these machine sure do attract a lot of attention when you stop. Mike

We have just gotten a Ural in the past few weeks, when it is just me on the bike and the side car is empty, I usually put about 75# in it as ballast. I have ridden with only 25# in it but I feel more secure with the 75. Mike

We made it home safe and sound, Tammie even had a nice snooze during the ride home. Topped off the weekend by stopping in and seeing my Dad for a short visit before he was out and about. Gonna second and third was has already been said this was a great weekend, great folks renewed some old friendships and made some new ones. Big thanks to Don and Nancy, Carl and Marca for their efforts in making this meet a rousing success. Mike

Ben which way are you guys going, we are leaving Thursday morning as well, thinking we are taking the Ural so we will probably try to stay off the 400 series and QEW as much as possible. Mike

Hi Ben, It is pretty cool and I am very excited to bring it home later today and try it out. As for a second bike that hasn't been determined yet, I am keeping my RSV for the time being until I know the ural is what I really want to ride at that time a decision has to be made as the insurance up here as we Canadians know is just silly for both bikes. When the Ural is in the garage we will have 4 bikes, 2 of them have to go, our daughter is looking to take over the 84 XJ750rl that we worked on over the winter and into the spring and I kinda of like it too, so her current ride the 85 Virago 750 will probably be up for sale and as mentioned I may have to put my RSV up for sale as well. Someone will sure get a great running and looking bike, but I am getting way ahead of myself. Tammie and I plan on using the Ural to go to the Ontario Rally and that will tell us how it will be for us doing our little trips that we like to do on the bike. Mike

Puc, wow oh wow there are some beauties in there for sure. First one I see after clicking the link, kawi triple wow oh wow, then some Suzuki 2strokes , if I were closer I would be in a mess of trouble. Mike

We took the plunge and added another bike to the group in the garage (well it isn't there yet, we pick it up later this week). The other 3 are all Yamahas the new one is a 2013 Ural Gear Up. It will be fun learning how to drive a sidecar. Tammie will be happy she will now be able to knit while we ride. I will post a picture of the new bike as soon as I figure that out. Mike

We will be riding up on the Thursday......just not sure what we will be riding???? Mike

No, in Canada they have http://www.cannonballrides.ca there are different lengths of rides and different routes, the one we did was 1000 miles and it was the Eastern Ontario route. These Cannonball Rides​ happen a couple times a year, I believe the next one is in September. Mike

I hear that a sidecar rig takes a lot of arm strength to steer, is that true? My right shoulder gives me trouble after an accident a number of years ago. Which is why I like the RSV/RSTD and cruise control so much for anything other than short rides. I have not ridden one yet, but have heard differing stories, but it does make sense that it would take more strength to turn as your won't have the advantage of push steering on a bike with a side car. I just did the Cannonball Ride a couple weekends ago, did the 1000 mile one in 36 hours (ya ok Iron Butt Riders I know you did yours in 24 hours or less), but didn't use the cruise very much and I was paying for it later in the week if I moved my right wrist in a certain way. With the sidecars I have also heard that if they are not set up correctly they can wander in their lane, again adding to the shoulder workout. A fella I spoke to a the bike show in Toronto in January that makes and installs sidecars put it quite simply to me by saying if my bike didn't have a shake in the front and didn't wander before the side car, it wouldn't do that after he installed his on my bike. That is still an option I am looking at as well. Mike

Great topic, I figure my next one will have a side car on it, been looking for a while now, just haven't found the right one. Over the winter worked on a 84 Yammy xj750rl, that is now purring like kitten with a full belly. I have to decide what to do with it, I think my daughter is trying to work a swap with the old guy for her Virago. So back to the side car, Ural would be cool, also seen a couple other cool bikes with side cars. Even after selling the RSV ( that will be tough), but we already have 3 bikes in the garage. Ya I know side car hmmmmm, but I think they would be kinda cool. Mike

I am always looking for used ones but like you some are too old and some are just silly the amount of money that people want for them. There are 2 that I have found both within a 5 hour drive from our house, one is a Road Star with a motorvation side car, this is a cool looking rig and the other is a RSV with a Hannigan sidecar, not sure if I like the look of the Hannigan or not as it is kinda square looking from the back, but I love the idea of the RSV as the bike. Both bikes are low mileage which is good and I seem to be a Yamaha guy as my 3 bikes are all Yammy. Figure if I took the plunge I would sell my RSV to make the purchase a bit more affordable, and then ride one of the other two when I get the 2 wheel itch, actually it would be a good time to sell off one of the other 2 bikes as well. Thanks again for the info. Mike

I have been to the Ural dealer located not too far from us and have liked what I have seen. I don't have a problem with the maintenance and I only do about 65 mph on the RSV anyways. Great picture of you and your dog in the sidecar, that is the one thing I would look forward to when we get ours. Enjoy and thanks for the info. Mike

Good point.... thanks again.

thanks for the reply, looked in the headlight, nothing there except the connections, I didn't look behind the headlight, no airbox, nothing behind the battery box, I am also thinking a bad wire , funny enough the bike has 2 negative grounds going to the battery, maybe disconnect the older of the 2. Thank you again for the ideas, I will begin tracing some wires back, I have done some initial traces and they seem to lead back to the the headlight and lots of connectors. Maybe start pulling them and cleaning them, then see what happens. Mike

Hi folks, Question for any that have any experience with any café builds. A buddy of mine dropped off his sons Suzuki GS450 for me to taker a look at for him. His bought the bike last summer and it has not been on the road since then. At first I am told it did run (not well ) and then it stopped, but this time with no power. I started giving it a look over yesterday, turned on the key and the only thing that had any power was the neutral light, no starter , no horn, no lights. My first guess was blown fuse or fuses.........hmm where could the fuse block be, it is not where it should be as per some info I found on the interwebs (under the left side cover).....ok then some one has moved it.... not under the seat...not under the tank,..... not in the tail section.....not anywhere that I can see. Has anyone ever seen or heard of something like this or am I just not seeing it. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Mike

Hi Red, I just found this thread, I also have been looking at going to a side car for a while myself.....like yourself lots of decisions, buy a rig already done up, add a rig to the venture or look at a Ural. For me each has its own advantage. How are you liking the Ural, I think they are a very cool looking machine and even with some of the negative stuff I have read, I really like the idea of having one. I don't mind the maintenance that is required, in fact I like how simple they are. There is a fellow a couple hours from us that builds side cars and I have spoken to him at a couple bike shows about building one for the RSV, also searching the classifieds for any interesting rigs that are for sale. Mike

That is a great picture Dave. Gotta love those simple things that become great memories.

Very sorry for your loss.

Thanks, I think it was sucking in too much air, I went over everything I did and reinstalled the boots with new gaskets, then heated up the boots when I put the carbs on this just made it way easier. I heard the carbs slip into place and then made sure everything was nice and tight. Started right up at a good speed on the choke, turned down the choke and bike stalled .......ooops forgot when it was idling fast I had backed off the idle screw, (that was where I thought it must be sucking air), restarted the bike and turned up the idle screw, the bike now idles nice at around 1050rpm. Couple more things to do and then it will be ready for the road. Thanks for all the suggestions and hints. Mike

Thank you, yes they are moving smoothly, thanks for the hint. Mike

Thank you I will check for that, when I had it running, even with the very high idle the throttle still worked, but I will check that again when I put the carbs back on the bike. Mike