Tuesday, September 22, 2009

First work commute with Natasha

Rainy, windy and cold. That was the forecast for yesterday, Monday, and my first commuting ride on Natasha, my 1996 Ural Sportsman Sidecar Rig.

It was in the high 40s I think as I opened the garage door to prepare to get underway. I tried, briefly to put the "batwing" fairing back on but it's not very easy to do single-handed. (Not that much easier with the help of my son but it was a "bonding" moment, hopefully he didn't hear me cursing under my breath).

So I rode into work without the fairing, leg protectors or handguards. Brrrrr. Lots of wind hits you when your ride Natasha without all that stuff on. I sure missed the heated grips on Maria or even Brigitta, my hands were quite cold by the time I got to the airport for work!

Still, the backroads to the airport were nice and empty mostly, got there with no issues and backed Natasha onto a couple of motorcycle parking spots. I was worried the other riders would mind me taking up two spaces but there was only one other motorcycle out in the lot today!

After work, I rode home under windy and gray skies, it had rained heavily again and the roads were wet. Still, Natasha did just fine. I did have to use the chokes on her carburetors to start her at the work parking lot though, but that went well too.


So, that was my first commuting ride, true to her planned for purpose by me, the weather was crap and she did just great. Now to get that fairing back on!

4 comments:

1weekender said...

I bet the next picture of Natasha has the batwing on her.

Phil

redlegsrides said...

oh yeah, you'd win that bet! It's now on. Worked great for today's ride to work.

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Charlie6 (Dom):

Did you pull the fairing for the maintenance listed in the previous episode, or do you just like the more traditional naked appearance of the classic Beemer-type look?

I would think popping that baby on and off would be a good sized chore for a couple of guys. Removing the "Sprint" fairing from my first K75 was a 2-hour job.

What are wind gusts like hitting the hack rig. Do they add to the adventure, or is it easy to cope with.

Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad

redlegsrides said...

Jack, I do like the naked classic look.

The fairing is a pita to put on and u have to re-aim the headlight.

You definitely feel crosswind but its just a strong pushing sensation, I've definitely got more profile now!