Post by traktourer on Oct 11, 2014 21:08:08 GMT 10
I decided to give my Ural a workout in sand yesterday to see how capable it is for future adventure touring trips.
Dennis and I had previously fitted a block pattern rear tyre and Tubliss sytem on the drive wheel, so I deflated all 3 tyres initially to 20psi and loaded 80kg into the chair. Dennis brought his beach buggy along as recovery vehicle.
The first two sandy hills went OK, but the third one was steep and long. As I powered on, the weight of the sidecar pulled the whole outfit to the left. I counter-steered right, but to no avail. We further deflated the tyres until they well and truly bulged, then I reversed, and after a couple of further attempts, got up.
The track we were following gives access to a sand dune system. Once at the beginning of the dunes we turned around and got as far back as "the hill". Dennis gunned the buggy up, but I knew I had no chance. During the recovery operation the Ural and I were were nicely filled in as the buggy tried to get traction near the crest.
Later, on typical Four Wheel Drive twin track, I tried riding with the sidecar wheel in the left hand rut, and the bike wheels on the crown, but this wasn't very successful. Once I put the bike wheels in the right hand rut and the sidecar wheel on the crown everything clicked.
By deflating the tyres I had good drive. The sidecar wheel gained flotation, which stopped it digging in so much, and the front wheel gained flotation, which allowed me to counter steer effectively under power. With the Tubliss system, the rear tyre was down to 6 psi, with no likelyhood of damaging the rim or spinning the tyre on the rim.
All in all, a good learning experience. For a one wheel drive vehicle, the Ural is pretty good. Two wheel drive would be brilliant!
Cheers, Geoff.
Dennis and I had previously fitted a block pattern rear tyre and Tubliss sytem on the drive wheel, so I deflated all 3 tyres initially to 20psi and loaded 80kg into the chair. Dennis brought his beach buggy along as recovery vehicle.
The first two sandy hills went OK, but the third one was steep and long. As I powered on, the weight of the sidecar pulled the whole outfit to the left. I counter-steered right, but to no avail. We further deflated the tyres until they well and truly bulged, then I reversed, and after a couple of further attempts, got up.
The track we were following gives access to a sand dune system. Once at the beginning of the dunes we turned around and got as far back as "the hill". Dennis gunned the buggy up, but I knew I had no chance. During the recovery operation the Ural and I were were nicely filled in as the buggy tried to get traction near the crest.
Later, on typical Four Wheel Drive twin track, I tried riding with the sidecar wheel in the left hand rut, and the bike wheels on the crown, but this wasn't very successful. Once I put the bike wheels in the right hand rut and the sidecar wheel on the crown everything clicked.
By deflating the tyres I had good drive. The sidecar wheel gained flotation, which stopped it digging in so much, and the front wheel gained flotation, which allowed me to counter steer effectively under power. With the Tubliss system, the rear tyre was down to 6 psi, with no likelyhood of damaging the rim or spinning the tyre on the rim.
All in all, a good learning experience. For a one wheel drive vehicle, the Ural is pretty good. Two wheel drive would be brilliant!
Cheers, Geoff.
