Rpoc

[cheesy]

I did mention that the rim was only a facsimile of round, so good enough is the best one can hope for.

[Emerikol]

Originally Posted by cheesy

I'm working in San Francisco this week. Turned out it was something the sales rep could have handled and saved the company some bucks.



Anyway, as I'm wont to do, if there is a Ural dealer in the area, I will pay them a visit, if I have time. I had time. This time it was TriQuest Cycles in Santa Clara. I had a great visit with Ski, the owner and a great guy. Ural sales and service is all he does. We ended up shooting the breeze for about two hours in his office.



I got quite the education, too.


He showed me the 'Dealer Tools' on the IMWA website and asked me for the VIN of my bike. Surprisingly, I had it on my phone with my insurance policy. He entered it in the IMWA website and my VIN came up as being part of a recall. The recall was for an improperly cut circlip groove on a tranny shaft. Ski emailed IMWA in Redmond, WA, asking if mine had been done. As I've never had a shifting issue, he said it either didn't have a bad shaft or it had been done. Twenty minutes later, IMWA replied that mine had been done on 9/26/07. He told me a lot of the behind the scenes history of Ural in the US, from CMSI, the original importer, to IMWA today, as he was there for most of it. Also told me which online dealers that are good to work with and which to avoid. I'm familiar with all he mentioned, and agreed with his assessment.



I also toured his shop and I got a closer look at the 2018 models. They are a lot less clunky looking than my 07. Ski said 07 was one of the better years for Ural but they still had their issues, as I can attest.


This was one of the best visits I've had.

Cheesy, look me up if you're ever in the Phoenix area. There's a Ural dealer (actually, it's one of the largest motorcycle dealers I've ever seen in my life. They have Ural, Ducati, Vespa, BMW, the Japanese Big 4, Aprilla, it's pretty awesome walking through their showrooms) up in Scottsdale. It's worth the ride up and around the 101. If you're ever out this way, we can pull some of the toys out of the garage and go for a ride.

[cheesy]

I will take you up on that if I’m ever in Phoenix longer than it takes to change planes.

[Emerikol]

Originally Posted by cheesy

I will take you up on that if I’m ever in Phoenix longer than it takes to change planes.

Looking forward to it. I would like to get your take on the differences between your carbureted Ural, and the newer fuel injected rigs. It would also be awesome just to sit down and have a beer with someone who has a lifetime of different experiences. Hopefully it works out sooner rather than later.

[cheesy]

Quite the morning. Just to give you an idea of the weather at Chez Fromage, I stepped out of the house at six am and my glasses fogged up.

I was out at six am to change out TWO Ural tires. One worn out, one flat. I wasn't sure if I effed up the one that went on me Sunday but I figured I'd replace it anyway with a new tire. Haven't looked at the flatted tube yet but have a very strong suspicion that rust on the rim caused the problem. Anyway, cleaned both rims down to bare metal before mounting the tires. First time in a long time that I did not pinch a tube when mounting a tire, too.

Four hours later, rode the rig to work at the bike shop after I finished. Neither has gone soft yet, so I must have done something right

[Darkrider]

Another possible meaning of RPOC: Retired Pissed Off Cheesy

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Darkrider

Another possible meaning of RPOC: Retired Pissed Off Cheesy

If I were retired, I’d not be pissed off.

[Darkrider]

Originally Posted by cheesy

If I were retired, I’d not be pissed off.

Unless the RPOC grenaded its rear diff again...

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by Darkrider

Unless the RPOC grenaded its rear diff again...

That’s just a shoulder shrugger.

[katoranger]

An RPOC cruised by the house tonight.

[cheesy]

Man, the Ural got quite the workout this past two weeks with the grandkids. At least four tanks of fuel. Last night, Karis and I rode the 35 miles to the Sycamore Speedway in Sycamore, IL so she could see dirt track racing one more time before we take her back home. She has become quite the fan of noise, dirt, and stink. And female drivers.

The rig got its fair share of UDF in the parking lot and we had a very pleasant ride home in the dark, getting back around 11pm.

Other things that happened with it these past two weeks were a hundred mile ride for a car show, picnic, and ice cream with the oldest grandkids. A little yard riding with the two youngest ones. Also did an overnight camping and fishing trip with older ones. I felt the need for a scotch laced coffee after that adventure.

Although, I’ve grown to despise my employer, I’m looking forward to get back to work to get some rest.

[cheesy]

Someone is sneaking up on me.

This is at the Sycamore Steam Show. http://www.threshingbee.org/ There were more bikes there this year than in the last five years combined, including this beauty.

[cheesy]

Becoming quite the little truckster.

[cheesy]

New speedo arrived today. Tach came a couple of weeks ago. Tomorrows' project.

[cheesy]

New Speedo Install Day today. Planned on doing the tach, too, but things were a tad more involved than 'plug n play' with the speedo and didn't get that far.


Why did I pick this speedo over the plethora of other GPS units out there? Two reasons. First, it's designed to use a remote reset button. So no hacking to adapt one. The second, a manual reset trip meter with a memory. The trip meters on the others I looked at would reset to zero when the ignition was turned off. Tough to know when it's time to gas up when you are always starting out at zero. At least the carbed Urals have a reserve petcock. The fuelies, ahem, yer ESS OHH ELL when she starts to sputter.

Installation is pretty straight forward. The unit is similar to a larger VDO gauge as it is held in place with just one large plastic ring. I was pretty pleased that I didn't need to use the Ural riser ring when installing the gauge. That came back to bite me later.

As this is a GPS speedo only, there are only four wires plus the GPS receiver. Red(+), Black(-), White and Green go to either side of the remote button. The GPS receiver has a coax connection. Hooked everything up and it worked.



About getting bit. When I installed the last unit, I cut the Ural riser ring enough so that unit would clear the internal crossbar. I held on to the shorter section of the ring. Good thing, too. When I went to install the headlight, the bucket wouldn't clear the coax connection. So, disconnect the wiring, remove the speedo, fit the ring, and put everything back together.

The unit does work well but I have a few dislikes. It's not as bright as the last unit, so it can be hard to read in bright sun. There is supposed to be a backlight, but damned if I can find it. Contacting the seller about that. The cable for the receiver is pretty short. My original plan was to mount the receiver on the top of the tail light bracket. No soap. Mounted it on top of the headlight nacelle. Dislikes, but not deal breakers.


The receiver is that black thingy on top of the nacelle. The cut up sour cream container is in the early stages of becoming a shade for the speedo. It is in paint now.