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Post by dkw125 on Mar 23, 2024 10:23:34 GMT 10
Just took delivery of a very low kilometre 22 Gear up, after a lot of research. I recently did the Ural Australia ride morning in Uralla but in all honesty, 20 minutes on an oval doesn't really tell you much about road riding. I had it delivered as it was a long way from home and I'm glad I did as the costs of self pickup and delivery are not much different and then there is the biggie of riding it with no experience. I've done about 2 hrs of inner city riding, with either sand bags or a passenger in the first week and it isn't that hard to pick up the basics. Haven't gone over 60kph yet but that will come soon.
My initial comments are are the usual ones. Clunky gear changes, you get used to the varying left or right steering depending on what you are doing, easy to lock the rear wheel under braking, neutral light is a joke, finding neutral is very difficult, position of gear lever and foot brake aren't ideal, love going around right hand corners and you quickly work out the best technique for holding left hand turns.
This will surprise nobody-masses of smiles from pedestrians, everyone looking at you, you get into conversations with strangers etc. The 2 big issues are the hardness of the passenger seat and the crudeness of the suspension. I'm used to riding high end dirt bikes ie. KTMs/BMW GS's etc with top quality multi adjustable suspension and the Urals shocks are not impressive. I'll be seeking some advice on those issues. Its going to be an interesting experiment
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Post by Uralee on Mar 23, 2024 14:15:06 GMT 10
Where are you located Graham?
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Post by dkw125 on Mar 23, 2024 15:02:26 GMT 10
Balmain
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Post by michaelk on Mar 24, 2024 8:38:43 GMT 10
Hi Graham,
I'm in Dee Why. Just sent a PM, maybe we can meet up and have a chat>
Cheers
Mick
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Post by dkw125 on Mar 25, 2024 19:28:22 GMT 10
Dont know where to look for a PM.
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Post by haitch on Mar 25, 2024 20:28:24 GMT 10
Dont know where to look for a PM. Messages at top of the page.
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Post by miker on Mar 26, 2024 12:58:32 GMT 10
Welcome Graham, I may or may not have met you at Uralla a few weeks ago. I was riding my Garnet Red 22 Gear Up with my blue t-shirt.
Neutral is easy to get if you're stationery by knocking into reverse and back, or if you're not sure you're in neutral, push the reverse lever forward. The neutral light is a known feature.... :-)
Clunky Gearbox is also something you'll get used to. I only use my toe, down on the front of the lever and move the boot back to toe down on the back of the lever going up the gears. I can't easily get my boot under it to change as you would on a normal bike.
I changed to Ikon shocks, they may not have as much adjustment as HCS or 2Win or others, but the Ikons are made here and work well enough.
It's also good to practice riding with whatever weight in the sidecar you will normally have. I started with nothing, and have kept it to a minimum.
One thing though, if you try to compare with KTM and BMW, you'll always be depressed and discontent. It's never going to be a plush ride, but it will be much more fun when the Ural tames you to it. :-)
Mine has 20,000km on it over 20 months of ownership, you will get used to it as you ride it more.
Like MichaelK, I'm in Dee Why, so happy to hook up sometime.
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Post by michaelk on Mar 26, 2024 14:12:27 GMT 10
HI Graham, If you are on a computer, it is right up on the top line. Look for "messages"
I f you are on a phone, log in, scroll down to the bottom and tap on "Desktop"
This brings up a screen just like a laptop etc. And if you turn the phone on its side, makes it a bit better.
Mick
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Post by philg on Mar 27, 2024 17:34:35 GMT 10
Welcome. A Ural test ride is better than nothing, I think a mate who sold his 2023 GU with 96k on the clock may not have bought one, if he had tested one. February 2023 I did the Jon Taylor Ural of Oz, training course and pleased I did the Ural is nothing like our old sidecar it was so easy to ride. I ride a 2021RT and also had a GSA so know there is no comparison, everything a BMW has the Ural mostly hasn't, but that's what we like about them. Also my wife hasn't ridden with me since we sold our last sidecar in 1980, but today she rides in the Ural! She hasn't complained about the seat, just the lack of a headrest (working on that), I will add a sheepskin. Check the rear brake lever it comes set level with the footpeg and you can not unknowing touch the brake, you will learn to get the front and rear brake working together. 7000k and my late July 2023GU needed no brake pads, a mate wore out his rears in that time. I did wear out the side car pad on one side but put that down to a stuck piston. Call me a wimp but I still ride with 3x 20k sandbags when I am riding without my wife, never had an ohh shit moment, yet! I've never ridden more that 10k on the standard Sachs shocks but for $2200 I bought the HCS www.hu-sidecars.de/s/unsere-modelle/ural-shocks.php before taking delivery of my Ural. We would all like more suspension travel that and a bit more power on road would be great. I dream of a LBS/Ural/1250GSA outfit but that will have to wait, maybe.
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Post by dkw125 on Apr 12, 2024 18:25:27 GMT 10
Thanks for that feedback. A few points so far, I've taken some early advice re solo riding and have 40kg of ballast in the sidecar just to make it a bit safer. I will reduce it over time to experiment what a lighter load feels like but I anticipate the majority of my riding will be 2 up. Re a lack of a headrest I've gone a fair way already by getting a sheepskin seat cover with back and fitting padding inside it plus a rolled up yoga mat right at the top. The yoga mat is held in place by the spare wheel and works quite well as a soft headrest. I've also added padding on the seat and I find that it is much more comfy than the plain seat.
As for the suspension, I'm not prepared to spend all this money and put up with inferior standard suspension. I have narrowed it down to Ikon, the German HCS shocks (unfortunately 2 emails unanswered so I'll try one more time then give up), the English 2Win shocks and Hyperpro in South Australia. I have some knowledge re Hyperpro through previous investigations and use by my 2 wheeled riding friend and they are a quality product. Unfortunately all relatively expensive but no way around it.
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