Cathedral Valley: Temple of the Moon
Gobs of torque in all gears. Addictive. Smooth power delivery from the R80 Beemer engine.
Her stock engine belly pan is about an inch+ lower than a stock Ural's belly pan, this dictated taking less "technical" paths at times during the riding. Hit the belly pan once, no issues except for a slight scar on one of the fins.
Experienced a dead battery due to the alternator not charging it while riding. Turned out to be a loose ground wire in the connector going to the voltage regulator. Confirmed it is a good thing to carry a small jump starter capable battery, and that she kick starts really easy when the engine is warmed up.
The battery issue led me to find a new issue. Seems that the end of the adjusting screw on the clutch actuator lever had been impacting the battery case, and had slowly been gouging a hole. Yikes! In camp, I'd added some cardboard layers to elevate the new battery. That kludge didn't last long so now I've added a couple of foam pads under the new battery, and now the adjusting screw hits the foam, not the battery. It's something monitor though.
Foam pads to elevate and cushion the new battery
the rubber strap is used to secure the battery.
The Odyssey PC680 battery that came with Fiona was manufactured in 2016 so it "should" be OK, we'll see.
Not great MPG results when off-roading: 18-20. No idea what paved road MPG is as I trailered Fiona to Moab.
The spare gas can mounted on the sidecar rattles! I have to find a way to reduce the noise.
Her worn street tires, at first a source of concern when off-road, did great! The easy power of 2WD on loose, deep sand enabled her street tires to cruise mostly effortlessly. The one time she got really stuck, it was because the 2WD lever disengaged, must figure out a way to keep it in place when using 2WD.
The stock "tractor" seat is "OK", I think a bench style seat is in Fiona's future however. I've ordered a generic set back pad for the pillion's grab handle assembly, as I keep hitting it with my lower back on rough terrain.
The 2014 Ural airbox I got for Fiona worked great, though I found the Ceet tubing to wear think in spots where my legs are, rather easily. I've duct-taped the tubes for now. No significant dust accumulation in spite of a couple of rather dusty rides.
Fiona got her left muffler knocked loose on a rock, a two-into-one exhaust system is definitely a plus when riding the rougher trails in the Moab area.
The occasion never came up to do an informal race against another URAL on the two long hills when riding from the town of Moab back to the campground. I did see she could hold 60 MPH easily in fourth gear on said hills though; and she had more throttle to go.
The post on the spare tire holder, broke off while riding in the Mineral Bottom Road area. Looks like it had been previously welded, but not done well. I used some straps to hold things together for the ride back to camp.
Fiona seems a bit bouncier than Scarlett, I'll have to check out the shocks on her soon. Perhaps get her the more updated shocks.
That's it though, she did great in the Moab area riding! Moab tested and approved I believe.
9 comments:
Sounds like it was a good trip to do a proper shake down to find any issues. And you had fun too.
Yes Trobairitz, yes I did.....thanks for commenting.
Thanks for sharing such a useful information with us …. I like the way you describe the post with us. Many thanks
The whole area around there is beautiful. Although we never left the pavement.....jeez a flat tire is a pretty major mechanical undertaking for me. Nice job !!
Don
automotive buddy, you're welcome. Thanks for commenting.
Don Hamon, thanks to you as well. To copy what I saw on a poster once showing a Ducati motorcycle: URAL, making mechanics out of riders for over 50 years...
What a great trip. Good to discover "issues" and get them fixed before becoming major problems.
Yep, Thomas Osburn, a hole in the battery case would indeed count as a major issue!
Love that first image - well done!
Thank you Motoventures...
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