We’ve finally hit 10,000 km on the Ural, and most of that was done on this trip. So, how I we feel about it after 18 straight days of riding over 5,000 miles from sea level to 12,000+ feet in elevation (and back), in temperatures from 60° to 110°, averaging nearly 10 hours on the road each day? And more importantly, do I think we should take this around the world with us?
To the latter I would answer a qualified yes, but the qualifications are non-trivial. I’ll get into the details below, but the quick summary is that the performance issues we’ve had on the trip must be resolved. The crap gas mileage we had on the trip must be addressed (possibly related to the performance issue), and I believe that the service intervals, as dictated by the owner’s manual and the service coupons for the warranty, is just too damn onerous, and impractical for a RTW journey.
[Dachary’s Note]Kay and I seem to have a slightly different take on the Ural post-trip, so I wanted to write up the most noteworthy differences for y’all. (One of the great things about being a strong couple is that we don’t always have to agree!) So you’ll see my notes interspersed throughout, and I’ve drawn a different conclusion than Kay…[/End Dachary’s Note]
The Heat
The Ural performed spectacularly well in the heat. It never complained, despite our initial heat-related setback when we brought it home. We rode it all day long in >100° heat at highway speeds. Something which pretty much everyone agrees it’s not designed to do. It didn’t complain once.
The Mileage
The mileage is crap. Even our dealer agrees we were getting poor mileage for a Ural. This is a pretty serious issue for us. Getting good mileage on a Ural is only about 30mpg, so getting crap mileage raises serious concerns. It’s about three times as expensive as the BMW, just to run. Never-mind the serious expense of all the oil that will be required for all those extra service intervals. We could literally buy another BMW with the additional money we’ll spend on gas going around the world (even if we do get it up to 30Mpg)… Hell, we could probably buy one and pay for it’s fuel on the trip.
Assuming we only go 35,000 miles when traveling around the world (unlikely it’ll be that low) and assuming gas prices average only $4 per gallon around the world (very unlikely) and assuming we can get the average Mpg up to 30 we’ll spend $4,666 on gas for just the Ural. The BMW would cost us $2,800 in gas. At our current average of about 20Mpg on the Ural it would cost us $7,000 for gas. So, yes, we could buy a used BMW ( mine was $3,800 ) and fuel it around the world for the same price it would cost us to just fuel the Ural.
The poor mileage meant that, even in the US where it feels like gas stations are almost constant, there were times when we altered our route over normal paved roads simply because we’d run out of gas if we didn’t. This is not only unacceptable, it is simply unworkable in foreign countries where going more than a hundred miles between gas stations isn’t that uncommon on the main roads, never-mind the fact that we prefer the back roads. We’ll have to add a significant fuel cell if we want to take this around the world.
**[Dachary’s Note]**I’ll agree with Kay that the mileage issues we’ve experienced with the Ural need to be addressed. On the Americas trip, it wasn’t uncommon for us to run 150+ miles between fill ups because there just aren’t that many gas stations. And in Patagonia, where we ran into fuel shortages, we might be expected to go 200+ miles between tanks. I think it’ll be worse in parts of the RTW, and I don’t see how we can feasibly carry enough spare gas to make the Ural’s range work as long as we’re getting the mileage we’re currently getting.
If we can get it up to 30MPG we stand a chance, although I might be willing to sink time and money into some pretty serious mods if there’s any way we can get up to something approaching 40MPG. It’s not that we’re necessarily that desperate for fuel economy for cost reasons (although Kay is more concerned about that than I am) but that we *need* a better range just because of gas availability.[End Dachary’s Note]
The Torque
The lack of torque was frustrating. It really sucks to slow down to 50Mph on the highway, and annoy all the drivers behind you just because you’ve encountered a minor hill. It really really sucks to be cruising along and suddenly loose 15mph because you’ve encountered a headwind… that lasts for the rest of the day.
[Dachary’s Note]FWIW, when the Ural was running properly, she had enough torque to pull up a hill. I distinctly remember in Minnesota when we were passing through the Twin Cities, I was pulling uphill with power to spare at 65MPH and *passing* people, all the while laughing maniacally because the Ural had power. It was fan-friggin-tastic. So I think the worse of the torque issues are related to the performance inconsistencies we encountered, and I think the Ural is gonna be fine in that department once we get that sorted out.[/End Dachary’s Note]
The Performance Issues
As we’ve noted in the thread, we’ve had some disconcerting performance issues which we still haven’t figured out the cause of. Many suggestions have been made, and many things have been checked, but so-far no-one knows what’s going on.
The short version is that a happy Ural can pull at 65–70 mph on the flat, with no problem. Or, ours can when its’ happy. But when it’s not happy it tops out at 50 for hours: full throttle, no wind, no hills. Then, for no apparent reason, it’ll start going 65 again, maybe for ten minutes, and then back to 50.
This is not because of incline, throttle change, wind change, or any other short term transient riding factor. It’s not altitude. It’s not heat. It’s not the vented gas cap failing to breathe. It’s not the vacuum petcock (looked great when we pulled it apart). It’s not clogged straws on the petcock, and riding with it in prime made no difference. It’s not the spark plugs. It’s not the brakes. It’s not the valves. It’s not the air filter. It’s not related to the amount of time the engine has been running, or how full the gas tank is. It idles fine when it’s running crappy. It idles fine when it’s running well. The carbs are clean. The jets are clean, and no-one has any freaking clue what’s going on. It just rides like crap for a while, and then rides ok. Theres no predicting which state it’ll be in at any given time, or for how many hours it’ll stay that way.
**[Dachary’s Note]**There’s no doubt in my mind that the Ural isn’t running at its full potential. My initial thoughts were that it was some sort of fuel/air mixture problem, but now the ignition/timing sounds like it might be a good candidate, too. Either way, I have faith that it’s something we can sort out, or that if we involve IMWA, it’ll get taken care of. No matter what you think about the Ural and its reliability (or lack thereof, according to some folks) everyone agrees that IMWA is fantastic about resolving issues. I have zero doubt that they’ll make this good for us if we talk to them. But I was hoping to go through the normal troubleshooting process before going to the Big Dogs because it just seems wrong to go running after them for every little problem. That’s what dealers are for. But we’ve stumped several dealers, so at this point it seems like the best course of action is probably going to be to contact IMWA.
There’s still one more thing we need to do as part of the 10,000km service - check the timing. I’ve just this evening discovered that we need a timing light in order to do that, so we’re gonna order one (Amazon, I love you) and we’ll have it for Thursday, which is the next day we’ll have a chance to work on the bike *anyway* and we’ll hopefully check timing then. Maybe that’ll give us some more clues that we can pass along to IMWA to troubleshoot the issue. But even if it turns up nothing, it’s part of the 10,000km service which we’re required to complete, and it’ll be a good learning experience for us, so I’m looking forward to doing it.
But I digress. Yes, our Ural has some weirdness going on that we need to work out. But I’ve been really pleased with its performance otherwise, and I feel confident that we’ll resolve whatever the issue is. It’s given me no reason not to trust it - it’s stood up to some tough conditions and admittedly us asking it to do stuff it’s not built to do (although the weirdness started before that) and frankly, I wouldn’t hesitate to take it around the world.[/End Dachary’s Note]
The Speed
The Ural’s favorite speed seems to be around 55mph, maybe a little less. It can go faster (when we’re not having performance issues), but it likes a pace that’s more sedate than most bikes. Whenever we talked about taking one around the world the guy at the shop kept repeating that it’s maximum speed was only about 65. What he didn’t understand is that it is a very small portion of the world’s roads where you can approach such a speed. On most of them, even the well paved ones, you’ll spend most of your time happily within the Ural’s comfort zone.
But, that’s ok with us. We like a more sedate pace, and hate taking interstates in the US. They make for a very boring, and sleepy ride. The small back roads are so much more interesting to ride and offer way more to look at. We only took the interstates on this last trip because of the limited amount of time we had to cover the miles. Ignoring the performance issues, the speed wasn’t much of a problem in the US. It just kept us in the slow lane.
With regards to the performance issue’s effect on speed. It’s not that we want to go 65 all the time. It’s that we want the bike to have enough power to go 65 when we need it to, and be able to pull up a hill. You really don’t want to be behind us when we hit a hill and its top speed on the flat is only 50. Tractor-trailer trucks pass us. Hell, goats pass us.
The Ergonomics
Overall they’re not bad. Add some bar risers and you can sit in a very upright position, that’ll keep your back happy all day.
The area around the right foot leaves a lot to be desired. It’s like inserting your foot into a shoebox. There’s nowhere to stretch your leg out, and you can barely lift your foot up off the brake lever without hitting the right carburetor.
Standing is also a notable problem. The kick-start lever digs into the back of your calf whenever you stand up. The pegs are round, which sucks for standing on, and it’s really difficult to stand on the right peg without depressing the brake lever somewhat.
Why all this standing? Two reasons:
- you need to stretch your legs when you’ve been on the road for hours.
- That’s how you handle bumpy terrain. If you can’t do it comfortably on pavement you’re going to have a hell of a time doing it off-road.
The stock bench seat was surprisingly comfortable. It could do with a Bead Rider, but I doubt there’s any seat out there that wouldn’t be improved by one.
The Givi windshield we added worked pretty well, but I think Dachary’s still considering the medium sized Ural one. I fear that we’d stop dead in a headwind if we added any more wind resistance. Going without a windshield isn’t an option for me. Way too fatiguing fighting that wind all day.
The Maintenance Schedule
To me, it seems onerous. To Dachary it’s just one of the limitation of owning a Ural. If we only do 200 miles a day it’s still roughly once a week that we have to service the bike. That’s frustrating, and expensive. Good motorcycle oil is not cheap in third world countries, and finding it is not easy. Finding, and buying, three quarts every week, and then disposing of it? Ugh. I’m honestly not convinced it’s reasonably possible.
I’m finding it hard to believe that any of the few people who take these on notable adventures actually adhere to the schedule. Plus, the service windows are really small (only 200Km, or 124 miles). It’s very easy to start a day a hundred kilometers before the maintenance window and finish it a hundred kilometers after it. Are Ural owners expected to simply stop on the side of the road between cities, with a full compliment of service fluids and means for capturing and transporting old oil to the next town without getting it everywhere? Sadly, this is almost exactly what we had to do.
I just don’t understand how this works practically. If you’ve got to go somewhere more than 124 miles away, but you’re approaching the service interval, what are you realistically expected to do? Call them up and say you can’t come because you’d violate your warranty? Bring engine oil, transmission fluid, and gear oil and change it on the side of the road? Or give up and say “Sorry, the Ural isn’t capable of being used as a primary transport vehicle. I’ll have to use [insert other vehicle here] instead.”
A two year unlimited mileage warranty is a wonderful thing, but I don’t see how it’s realistic for anyone to cross a place like Mongolia and adhere to the maintenance schedule without a support vehicle filled with new fluids and a couple drums for catching the old ones.
Now, we hear tale that IMZ-Ural is currently recommending a 5000 km (3,106 mi) service interval for “new” bikes, but until we hear that from an official source I’m not risking our warranty, or the bike’s health. The engine oil is still coming out very dark after 2,500 km, and the final drive fluid is absolutely disgusting. The transmission fluid, I’m happy to report was barely broken down at the 10,000km change. (We changed it last at 5,000km, even though it wasn’t called for - we did all the fluids then.)
3,000 mi is the standard service interval for most bikes, but neither of our BMWs is under warranty, and the things are so damn reliable in that department that we can easily push the service out to 5,000 mi without worry if we need to. Seeing how hard the Ural is on the fluids this far into the break-in I’d be really concerned about pushing it past 3,000 miles. But… 3,000 within the realm of practicality.
[Dachary’s Note]I think Kay is overly sensitive about the maintenance schedule. I maintain that it is what it is, and we knew all about it before we bought the bike. Ural of New England made it clear to us that the maintenance intervals were every 1,500 miles (which is one of the main reasons we took several months to think about it before deciding to go with a Ural) and I was prepared for that. If it’s caught Kay by surprise, I think it’s because he’s been in denial. I think we’re not gonna travel as fast with the dogs as we would otherwise, so it’s not going to be “every 5 days” as it might have been on the last trip. And I don’t mind working on the Ural - I kinda enjoy getting my hands dirty and doing stuff that directly translates to our beast performing well. It’s fun to me. Yes, it’s a limitation, but we’ll find a way to work with it and we’ll deal. But it would be nice if the rumors are true and IMZ *does* have an updated 5,000km maintenance interval instead of the 2,500km maintenance coupons that are in our owner’s manual.[/End Dachary’s Note]
Enjoyment
If you set aside my frustrations at the mileage, the service intervals, and the atypical performance issue we’ve been having… the Ural is quite enjoyable. When everything’s going well I really do enjoy riding it. Yeah, my left shoulder will become rather painful from pulling in the left handlebar all day when the winds are against us… but somehow that’s ok (as long as I can switch out with Dachary the next day).
As much as I bitch about the service intervals I actually like working on the Ural. It gives us both a real sense of satisfaction and it makes us feel that we actually understand how it works, and could fix it if it broke down in the middle of nowhere.
Rust
We’ve found rust in the splines on one of the rear wheels (I forget which), the threads under the bearing’s lock nut on every wheel (including the spare), the steering damper rod, the hole where the seat-peg-thing goes into the bottom of the tub, and the rim of the spare tire. There’s also rust developing on top of the headlight, and the sidecar bumper bar thing.
We also found some really scary looking corrosion on two of the bolts that had come out of the final drive and hold it on to the swing arm.
Some people have been “ahh, that’s just a trivial bit.” If it was a ten year old bike I’d agree. But this is so new that when we bought it it still hadn’t reached the US, and to me that isn’t just wrong it is fucking unacceptable. “It’s a Ural” is not a valid excuse. That’s a valid excuse for quirkiness, or bad gas mileage, not rust. There is no excuse for rust in this many places on a brand new vehicle. Hell, there’s no excuse for rust anywhere on a brand new vehicle.
At the end of the day…
At the end of the day I like the Ural, but I don’t have faith in the Ural. It’s not that I think it’s going to break down and leave us stranded. It’s that I don’t trust it to keep running well. I fear we’ll be stuck traveling across India at 32mph and no-one at IMZ-Ural or on Soviet Steeds will have a clue what’s wrong with it. Also, the fact that we keep finding non-trivial amounts of rust on a brand new vehicle is very disconcerting to me.
I hate to say it, but I think I’d feel a lot better about the Ural if we replaced the engine with one from a BMW Airhead. BMWs have their own problems, but I have faith in their engineering. I don’t think I would be saying that if our first 10,000 km had gone like most owners have, but they didn’t, and we’re not just taking this thing to the store and back. We’re going around the world with no support crew.
**[Dachary’s Note]**For Me? The Ural has passed my initial test, at least - I’m ready to take it around the world whenever we get the finances worked out. If the money magically fell in our laps a month from now, I’d take the Ural as it is (with the performance issue worked out, of course). But we do have a list of mods we’d like to do just to get things better suited to our travel style and to make maintenance on the road easier/help it run at its peak, which I’m looking forward to doing. (Stuff like Power Arc ignition, Modtop air box, Gossie needles, etc.) Plus probably some Denali lights. Maybe the Banshee Horn we bought for it. Oh - and of course the high-mount mufflers. And hand guards. Really? Whole bunch of stuff. But honestly, half the fun of a new bike is kitting it out how you want it ;)
All the rumors about Urals being unreliable and people feeling they’re not suited to long-distance travel? Pah. I don’t see it. Our beast requires more maintenance than our BMWs, but the mechanics are easy to understand and field-repairable. With every maintenance interval we complete ourselves instead of taking it to the dealer, I feel more confident that we’ll be able to fix problems on the road. And the Ural hasn’t given me any reason to worry about it breaking down and stranding us. Even with its “performance issues” it still ran and still got us to the next town - hell, it got us over 5,000 miles from Boston to Colorado and back through Canada. I know some people have issues with them, but we went into the Ural with open eyes and I haven’t felt let down by it. It’s been a lot of fun to ride, and fun to work on, and I love that it enables us to bring the dogs with us.
Now that we’ve had it for a few months and put our 10,000km on, I know a lot more about how it fits with our travel style. I’ve had an opportunity to look at and think about other hacks. Having seen what I’ve seen of other sidecar rigs, and now knowing what I do about the Ural - I’d buy it again. And I’m ready to bring it on our next adventure![/End Dachary’s Note]
