Well, if this ain't a kick in the nuts.
https://i.imgur.com/YfNWPcal.jpg

The rear ball support snapped off of the motorcycle frame. It got my heart pumping when it let go. I was leaning the bike away from the sidecar to finish up on the right cylinder when I was suddenly holding the bike up and the sidecar was doing a wheelie. I had 400 lbs resting on my right hip while I called Mrs.C on my cell to come into the garage and give me a hand.

She stood on the sidecar floorboard and brought the sidecar level enough so that I could support everything with jacks and jack stands.

It's probably a good thing this happened in the garage. It's looking like this may have been cracked and the sidecar trusses were keeping it together. That last lean finished it.

There are three options to repair this. A new Ural, a new Ural motorcycle frame or weld it back on. As I've recently dropped almost $70K on the truck and trailer the last couple months, welding it is.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get the bikes' center stand down so I can finish getting the sidecar away from it.

Well doesn't that just suck.......
I've had to do the "phone the wife" from the shop. It's never a good situation.

First thing out of her mouth after the excitement was, "You just got a new truck, you can't get a new motorcycle." That hadn't crossed my mind at the time, though I wanted to say that I have a new truck because you needed a bigger trailer, but I sometimes know when to keep my mouth shut. :lol:

Anyway, plans are afoot to repair the broken ball stud. Clamp, tack, gouge, weld. If that fails, I have located a 2010 frame in Ohio for a not unreasonable fee. If I go that route, that's where the most expensive words in the English language, "While I'm in here..." come into play. New clutch set, trans bearings, headset bearings, etc.

We shall see.

used Triumph and DMC sidecar. just sayin.....

Wisdom. When I see it, I call it out!

No reverse and no 2wd.

and no rusting out, and no major motor rebuilds. ;)

Success, I think.

Tacked.
https://i.imgur.com/OUGDeYQl.jpg

I didn't take pics of the process because that meant repeatedly taking off my gloves.

I tacked, gouged to the center between the tacks, made several passes, let it cool, gouged between the next and last tacks, removing those in the process, filled, repeat. Took about 5 hours, and that was from the time I opened the barn doors, backed the expensive toys out, moved the Ural to the other bay, made sparks and smoke, moved the Ural back, brought the toys back in, and closed the doors. Seth pestered me a few times, too.

Finished. It looks better than in the pic.
https://i.imgur.com/GR13Eyxl.jpg

Nekkid Ural.
https://i.imgur.com/hqu2hXMl.jpg

Hopefully, he says, back together by Thursday. I have a new sidecar shaft boot on order, promised for tomorrow. That tore when the two parted company. I need that before I can pair them back together.

In the meantime, while the tank is off, I'll replace the throttle cables. I think those are original.

when all else fails fix it with vodka...

My preference is a good single malt or dark rum, but point taken.:tup:

The throttle cables were a pain in the butt. At least that's done. Everything else; carbs, exhaust, and fuel tank are back on. Just waiting on the damn boot that now won't be here until Friday.

All back together, save for the new boot. As a plus, no left over parts.:)

I didn't bother firing it up, that's for tomorrow. I will say that my knee has noticed a marked increase in compression when I kicked it over. I used Lubriplate Engine assembly lube when I stuck it together, so it ought to smoke like a 2 stroke tomorrow after Buster gets his walk.

We were mostly successful. Ran about 5 miles to seat the rings. A lot more giddyup. I think it could beat the DeSoto now.

I'll re-torque the heads and readjust the valves in the morning.

Three minutes of your life you won't get back.
https://youtu.be/Ptr1H4x1OmU

Thanks cheesy! I'll be doing the same tomorrow with the RE now that my parts arrived today......but hopefully it will take less kicks....and well....my butt isn't as cute as yours in jeans. ;-p

Hah. I'm just an old bald headed flat ass.

The first 10 were with the key off, just to get some oil moving around. I was getting a bit miffed, though, that it took that many kicks to get it going. I was starting to think it was going to be the engine rebuild my Dad did on his 47 Hudson pickup back in the early sixties. We had to tow that SOB to get it to start the first time. It's back to its usual 1 or 2 kicks now.

So, one step forward, two steps back. At least until today.

I was having all sorts of issues with the right cylinder and thought that I may have effed something up. I did, kinda, but I got that fixed. I brain farted on the fuel screw adjustment on the carbs. It's 1.5 turns out in the summer and 2 in the cold months. Not 2 and 2.5. So I was running pretty rich.

Then the right cylinder started doing nothing at all. Well, it was flooding, so I guess that's something. Anyway, I pulled that carb and yanked the bowl. Float height is supposed to be 15.5mm. Why the hell is this one at 17.5mm?:wtf: I pulled the float and the needle and found a piece of white plastic partially blocking the seat. :ohno: The only thing between the carb and the tank is a fuel filter. I cut the filter open and the plastic on the downstream side of the internal filter is de-laminating. Sunuva...

So, I yanked both fuel filters and shit canned them. The extras of the same brand followed those into the trash. I found a couple of B&S inline filters in my stash and will use these for the time being.

Once I got the crud out of the carb and back together, I put it back on Arpok, kicked the engine over, and got an instant, if smokey, start that settled down into a smooth idle. Both exhaust pipes were burny to the touch. Yay?

Got the carbs balanced again and we are back to a one kick start again. Thanks to the aftermarket and oval pushrod tube seals I have, I have a good(bad)oil leak that I'm dealing with and have almost got that fixed.

So all I have left to do is the front hub to replace.

https://i.imgur.com/DC0zA6sl.jpg

Hauled a case of Christmas cheer to my favorite bicycle shop with the rusty sleigh today. Got a project 3 speed bicycle in return.

I've been pretty pleased with how Arpok has been running. One kick and away we go.

There have been a couple electrical issues caused mainly by being 16 years old along with being ridden hard and put away wet. And those are all on aftermarket add-ons. The heated grips will be getting weatherproof plugs in the spring. I just went through a frozen right hand with a cooked left due to a corroded and broken pin connector. Replaced the trip reset button and harness to the GPS speedo. The button is a throw away item and I have a bag of those. I had a second harness, the one I removed needs a new pin and it's a tiny little turd. That's a job for a day when it's too cold to ride. The left CHT cable needs a few seconds of love with a solder gun, that will happen sometime today.

I'm still waiting on the new hub and the bushings for the front caliper reaction arm. The spare bearing nut I had took care of the slop in the hub, for now. I may shim the bushings.

All the fun of owning an old Ural.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
https://i.imgur.com/QALlfBtl.jpg

"All the fun of owning an old Ural."
One step above a Brit bike!? ;-)

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and family, as well cheesy!

:lmao: Thanks, 2LZ.

Your bike is a dream compared to that #@%*@%$& Triumph Tiger Cub my brother had.

Tomorrow will be two months since I ordered the replacement hub. About a month since i ordered the reaction arm bushings. I went for an hour ride on Christmas day and had the bearings come loose in the hub again.

The bearings are a slip fit, press in by hand. Mine have spun so many times that the gap was .025"/.6mm. I figure if I take the wheel apart to have the hub sleeved now, I'll probably break a spoke. And those will be on back order. So I got the correct size stock and shimmed the puppies. I did a test fit that took some thinking on my part. Once I got them in place, it took a slide hammer to get them back out. That made me happy. I cut new shims and put it all back together.

I also shimmed the reaction arm bushings. There's still some slop in there, but it's been reduced by half.

New Years Day Freeze Your Ass Ride coming up on Monday.

Nice fix! I know that waiting on parts thing, now that I have to order some items straight from the UK. Takes a while.

Thanks, 2LZ.

Just like Chinariders, ya gotta do what ya gotta do if you can't get parts and ya wanna ride.:tup:

I've been researching bikes lately, particularly sport touring bikes as I want to downsize the goldwing a bit. I was looking at the Moto Guzzi Norge. nice looking bike and the right size. the more I researched, I found that with MG bikes, getting parts and service can be quite problematic. I decided to stick with something more mainstream. Like perhaps a ural. :D

:lmao:

Have you ever started a project and, several hours into it, you start to think, "WTF was I thinking?".

Behold, a model of the original Ural, the M72.
https://i.imgur.com/y9QqnkDl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YqB7xr9l.jpg

It's a 1/35 scale kit out of Russia and A LOT smaller than I expected. The frame and front fork took several hours because I'd drop a tiny part on the floor and spend ten minutes looking for it. Remembering that I had the 'octopus' in the other garage helped greatly. The frame pieces turned out to be molded somewhat bent.(Thanks, Ivan) So, it was glue one section. Let it set, then glue another section, then let it set. Ad infinitum.

The engine was about a dozen pieces and sits nicely on the quarter. My sausage fingers apparently do not like working with tiny pieces. Such that, I'm having flashbacks of being 8 years old with strings of model cement and ooky finger prints on a model of a 1964 Dodge. If I recall, the glue smelled better, too.:hehe:

What sucks is that I also have a 1/35 BMW R75, which replaced the BMW R71, that became the Ural M72. Why? Because I'm an idiot.

Oh....no way.

well its is a kit...some nutters do that sort of thing from scratch...

Not that. I just can't see/finger the tiny stuff anymore. I'd be one-eyeing it, with multiple magnifiers in tow.....then probably fling the tiny part across the room because my tweezers are jittery. I'll stick with wrenches. ;-)

You were looking over my shoulder?

I don't need to throw the offending part, it just shoots out from the tweezers.

In an effort not to be one of those retired guys that die in his easy chair, I rejoined a bicycle and ski club that I belonged to in the 80's. Because it's kind of crappy weather for old coots to ride in, they get together on Tuesday mornings for a 3 to 5 mile walk.

Being a bit more goofy than your typical coot, I rode the Ural to the start. This older gent walked up to me as I was taking off my helmet and asks, in an Eastern European accent, "Is that an Ooral?" Then he introduced himself as Gene, an old Russian guy who's been in the US for 40 years. Then out of the blue, he asks if I'm Mike. Someone let out my secret that I planned to show up.

There were about 9 of us on the walk this morning. Gene and I did the 5 mile route together and BS'd the entire walk. Turns out, Gene was in the Russian Army and spent three years north of the Arctic Circle While he was stationed there, his vehicle was an old Ural motorcycle. I probably learned more about the Russian Army from him in an hour, than I've ever known.

BTW, not only do my quads ache, so do my biceps.

Stay away from Gene ! Being sent by the military to the Arctic for 3 years means he is trouble !

Six months since I ordered my new front hub and five months since I ordered the reaction arm bushings. It's bad news, good news, bad news. Bad news, hubs are still on back order. Good news, the bushings are back in stock. Bad news, I ordered two bushings and Redmond only sent one.

Joy.

Things are looking up. Not only was I able to kick start the RPOC today, I did it twice. I rode through the subdivision and was able to go through the gears, up and down, with no ankle pain.:D

As soon as the damn swelling goes down enough so I can wear a boot, I'll be wearing out tires and wasting gas again.

https://i.imgur.com/wslIAWNl.jpg

60 miles today. And other than the destination being a visitation for a former coworkers spouse for the first half of the ride, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The pic is at the local BP station where the DuKane ABATE group set up one of their locations for Motorcycle Awareness Day. I stood next to the road and held a sign that said, "Save A Life, Don't Text And Drive" for a few hours. Met with a couple of local politicians, pet some doggies, and gabbed with some of the county and local cops.

The cops wrote several traffic tickets during today's shindig and I kind of participated in one. Unless it's hands free, texting while driving Illannoy is a big NO NO Illannoy. It's considered a moving violation. One, it's a spendy ticket, and two, three moving violations in a 12 month period is bye bye license for a while.
Anywho, I'm watching this woman sitting in line at the light, texting War And Peace. One of the cops saw it, too. He pulls his squad alongside her car and is staring at her through the passenger window. She's doing a War And Peace re-edit and never looks up. I look at the cop with a shit eating grin on my face and he returns it. Traffic starts to move and he pulls in behind her. Makes with the lights after the intersection and pulls her over at McDonald's. That stop was a good half hour. The cop came over later to where I was standing and we were talking about the stop. She got the moving violation and two equipment violations. I didn't ask what the equipment ones were for but I mentioned she could have had one more for flicking a lit butt out the window but it was pretty windy today, so it blew back into the car.:hehe:

Afterwards, we all met at Knuckleheads, a local watering hole. DuKane ABATE picked up the tab for the brats and snacks. Drinks were out of pocket. I had my first beer in 6 months. I've been in this town for almost 5 years and never thought once about stopping into the place. Kind of a combination Old Mans/Biker Bar. It reminded me of the Stateline Tap where Mrs.C's Dad had his home away from home. Knowing that, I know Mrs. C won't ever set foot in it.

Arpok and I stopped at the annual Memorial Day Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast that's held at the Elburn American Legion.
https://i.imgur.com/KoHFa1ll.jpg

The old Jeep is also a fixture out front every Memorial Day. I'm not sure if it's a CJ-2A or 3A. Cool old rig.

It is a CJ-2A. The 2A has a split wind shield 3A has one peice wind shield.

Thanks for the info.

New petcock installed yesterday afternoon. It's not a vacuum style, so I have to remember to open and close it. That's the tough part.

I didn't see any crud on the reserve side filter of the vacuum petcock. Actually, it was very clean, so the problem is internal. It's the same unit used on a lot of large Japanese bikes, so a repair kit shouldn't be too hard to chase down.

Note to self:Make and place sticker next to speedo that says, 'Gas Off?' Probably, 'Gas On', too.