Saturday, December 07, 2013

URAL's 2014 Sidecar Specs.

Basically linking to a blog posting on URAL's website on their 2014 models and what is changing....great updates in my opinion though I am ambivalent about the fuel injection.  On the one hand, carburetors can be a pain if you're unsure/confused on what you're doing but at least you can fix it yourself on the side of the road.  On the other hand, fuel-injection renders better performance and ease of use but hard to fix on the side of the road, still the claimed redundancy concept is interesting.

Read on and see what you think.  BTW, I like the Battleship Blue Color....I wonder if they'll take Yoshie as a trade-in?


6 comments:

RichardM said...

Interesting. I wonder what brake disc is on the spare since it appears that they still aren't interchangeable. All three are different. But much better fuel mileage and a higher max cruising speed.

I'd get one if they weren't $16K.

redlegsrides said...

Hi RichardM, yep a bit pricey but lots of upgrades. As to the wheels, the spare and pusher are interchangeable but you have to move the disc brake rotor...doesn't appear to be a big deal. 70 mph on a URAL, what a concept. On mine, I'd be flogging it to do that.

SonjaM said...

It might be interesting to get one a few years down the road. I like the break upgrade and I don't mind the fuel injection since I'd never plan on wrenching myself anyway. But I find it heavily overpriced (In Germany we pay about the same in Euro.).
And with only 70 mph you would be screwed on the German Autobahn. Even my Vespa goes (by 5 miles) faster than this. ;-)

redlegsrides said...

I didn't know you were such a speed demon SonjaM! ; )

Urals definitely don't belong on the autobahn....even if on one, they'd stay in the rightmost lane all the time, as they have to do in the US highways.

GlennandSun said...

Hi Dom....cold up there in the high country?

Sun and I are planning to examine the 2014 Ural at the open house next week. I have mixed feelings about the upgrade transition, reliability is by far the most important factor in a motorcycle. All of us that have been left sitting on the side of the road with a broken bike or busted engine knows exactly what I mean.

The question in my mind is does the upgrades equal reliability? If they do, the 16K is worth it, if it does not, then the upgrades are farkles and little else. Driving a Ural at 70 MPH is neither relaxing, nor fun.....with the 4 speed gearbox, the engine is straining over 55 MPH. While it may GO 70 MPH, the engine will NOT long last at such high strain, something inside will come apart with that kind of abuse.

The Ural engine and gearing is a 1930's design meant for back roads or no roads driving. I suspect Ural is trying to be all things to all people and may lose some of their identity in the process.

For my part I like the drum brakes, simple carbs and steering damping systems....at 50-55 MPH "Stormin' Norman" and I have become family. On the other hand, Sun is showing interest in a new 2014 Ural for herself....hmmmmm. Is two better than one? I wonder............?

redlegsrides said...

Hi GlennandSun, glad to hear that you're now considering Stormin' Norman part of the family!

I'm with you about the claims of being able to run at 70 mph....

Some folks prefer FI, it does prevent the tinkering one has to do with carburetors as seasons change but the fact you need a computer to diagnose them is something offputing to me. Then again, there's two throttle bodies and supposedly one only is needed to get you home....

thanks for your comments.