Rpoc

[Bruces]

They might actually encourage it Cheesy ,the more people out using and purchasing something as off beat as a urinal ,it helps solidify it as a good or viable product ,so everybody sells more .With your dealer closing you would already have a customer base to work with , and if you can keep them from souring on the brand because of the lack of a dealership ,you will be doing the other dealers a great service .

[Emerikol]

I second Bruces post. At the very least, it might be worth using the relationships you've built by making a few phone calls to them and get their take on the dealership going out of business, and your thought to open the doors again. That would obviously do two things, first; it would tell you if the relationship is really as strong as you think it is (I've had a lot of people through the years let me think we were better friends than we actually were. Sucks, let me tell you.), and second; it would give you a huge leg up to not make the same mistakes that others have made. Others who are still in business, but perhaps burned a lot of working capital or bridges getting to where they are now. With all that being said, the price of a phone call is well worth the value. Merry Christmas!

[cheesy]

I may be a day late and a dollar short. Randys' Cycles, which now has the local-ish Ural franchise, may have a better business model than BBK had. Randys' has been established a lot longer and has a somewhat better location with ample parking. They were one of the top Victory dealers in the US before Polaris pulled the plug. Checking their website, they carry Zero, CFMoto atvs & utvs, SSR, Bennelli, Ural, along with a couple of trailer brands, trike conversions, and California Sidecars. Not a lot of excess inventory on the floor. I don't have any real experience with them other conversations with the staff at a couple of local events. They seemed pleased that I owned a Ural. Randys' is about 21 miles of nice rural riding away.

BBK was only about 5 miles away in downtown Elgin, IL. Small parking lot and the on street parking could be tough on a moto because they were on the side of a hill. There were WAY too many bikes on the floor. Started off with Honda, then added Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Ural. They took on Suzuki and dropped Ural. They never had more than two Urals in stock because of space limitations. The counter staff was great and would cut me a small discount because I would show up with part numbers. The sales staff was hit or miss. Until just recently, I'd heard nothing bad about the service department. I'm guessing with the shutdown notice just before Christmas, moral went down the crapper.

The above said, I'll give Ski at Tri Quest Cycles in Cali a call after the holidays. If nothing else, I'll get the dirt on what happened at BBK.

[cheesy]

I’m working from home this week, so I took a lunchtime ride on three wheel. I ended up in Elgin so I rode past BBK. The building is empty and the signage is already down. That took no time at all.

[Emerikol]

That means the closing has been in the works for some time... They tried to keep it out of the public realm as long as they could, then just quietly close the doors. Hmmmm. Keep us posted on what you find out.

[cheesy]

They haven't taken down the website yet. www.bbkmotorsport.com

With 259 new bikes/atvs and 27 used in inventory, I'm guessing they were overextended.

[Emerikol]

Quite likely. There's a huge dealership out here in Phoenix. Basically, if it's not a car, they have the brand... They're in a much higher-end part of town, and right next to a small airport, so they turn a lot of business. They're also the only Ural dealer in Phoenix. https://www.goaz.com/ I could seriously spend a few hours wandering through the showroom. If they can get their hands on a 2008-2012 Triumph Daytona 675, they'd get me up there same day to close the deal. That's the next bike, and the missus has already signed off on it.

[cheesy]

http://morriesplacecycle.com/
Don’t know if you’d find a 675 here but quite possibly another drool worthy project.

[Emerikol]

I found this one, also in IL. Free shipping though. https://motorcycles.autotrader.com/m..._675/200652456

Even though this one is a once in a lifetime deal (just under 200 original miles), I'm not sure I want to try to cram [I]another[I] motorcycle in the garage before we move. Space is already super tight as it is, and I would really be pissed if I put a scratch in the shiny new Triumph because I had to play musical motorcycles to get to something. I think I'll just sit tight until we're in the new house and I have my huge garage.

[cheesy]

Trying some performance/driveability mods on Arpok in the coming months. I have a spin on oil filter adapter coming from Russia in a couple weeks. Instead of getting the Russian tissue paper cartridges from Randy or the nicer, and pricey, Hi-Flo cartridges from Amazon, I can use the same filters that are used on Integra engines for about half the pennies per filter and get the at the local TSC. And not have to wipe the hot oil off from my fingertips to my elbow on my right arm. I just need to use up the the three Hi-Flo filters I have on the shelf.

A common issue on carbed models is the idle dropping off when the engine is hot. Strangely, it’s more prevalent in cool, or cold, weather. Unless it’s a failing hall sensor, the fix is phenolic carb insulators. I can get them online for about $20 shipped. But for grins, I bought a 12x12x3/16 sheet of the correct phenolic material for $10. There is a learning curve working with the stuff, but my second attempt produced a usable pair. I’ll install during the spring tune up in March.

Lastly, I’m seriously considering a deep sump upgrade. $110 gets me the deeper pan, oil pump extension tube, and a pan gasket. It adds about a quart more oil to the system.

[Sport Rider]

my C10 has a filter cartridge as well. I can get decent ones locally, but still have the oil all over my hands when it's removed. someone makes an aftermarket SPOF mount, but it's pricy at about $140. I'll live with oil on my hands.

[cheesy]

At that price, yes. You can get a lot of rags for $140.

I got my adapter from Vostok Motorcycles based in the UK for about $50 shipped.

[cheesy]

Lookee, a box from Belarus. What's in it?




It's an oil pan and a couple of gaskets.



And not just any oil pan, but the IMZ Deep Pan for Arpok.




The oil filter adapter and pump extension are already here and in the garage. It's in the single digits outside, so they are staying there for now.


And now for something completely different, some of Mrs. C's trippin' artwork.

[cheesy]

Warm enough to get a pic of the other parts.



L to R:Oil pump extension from Crawford Sales in MI. Spin On oil filter adapter from Vostok-Motorcycles in the UK, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Mann oil filter.

[cheesy]

Rode the Ural to the foot doc this afternoon. It's really nice out so I told Mrs. C I'd take the long way home. Long way home would be US20 through Elgin, where the 55 speed limit is more like a guideline. Ural hit 72 while keeping up with traffic. Redline is 5800 and I was at 5100, so I got off at the next exit and a more sane 60.


We've also had dog sitting duty this week, but try as I might, the grand puppy wants nothing to do with the sidecar.