My Fourth Ural Sidecar Rig

Today I bought my fourth URAL Sidecar Rig, a used one, from a gentleman in Kingman, Arizona.

She's a 1999 URAL Patrol with a key difference from my other rigs.  She has a 1984 BMW R80 (800 cc) engine crafted together with a BMW /2 Clutch and mated to the stock URAL transmission to retain 2WD and Reverse gear.

The engine transplant/conversion was done by SovietSteeds member: BURAL, aka Richard Winter.  He's done several of these conversions for other Ural owners over the years and now I have one of his babies.

It all started with a phone call between myself and Richard, seeking information on what I need to find/source and finances to budget for someday replacing Scarlett's engine with a BMW engine.  The idea at the time was that once the warranty was over, and if/when her engine blew up, I'd put a Beemer engine in its place.

Turns out, there's a lot more to it and it would have run an estimated $4K to mate Brigitta's R80 engine to Scarlett's frame.

However, Richard mentioned that he knew of one of the owners of one of his converted rigs, a Bud P. who lived in Kingman, AZ.  Apparently, he might be willing to sell his as he wasn't riding it enough.

Long story short, I called Bud and after several calls between all concerned;  I agreed to purchase Bud's rig.  The rig had been sidelined by a damaged clutch disk, then he got hurt in an unrelated incident so he hadn't been able to replace the clutch disk.

I drove down to Las Vegas on Friday, overnighted with friends there and this morning met with Bud P. at his home in Kingman, AZ.

 Bud P. and his former rig

 1999 URAL Patrol with a '84 BMW R80 Engine

 I'll be re-installing the stock air tubes and air box

Pre-1976 /7 Flywheel (heavier) which will be mated to a /6 Clutch Pack
except for the clutch disk which is from a /2 with the coarse splines

 Not sure I'll keep the Red Star

odometer reading at time of sale.

I was with Bud P. for about 90 minutes as he described items on the rig, gave me some parts he had, and generally we chatted about stuff related to the rig.  I left his home at Noon and spent the rest of the day driving Martha's X5 with the rig on the trailer in tow to Albuquerque, NM where I will spend the night.  This will leave me about 7 hours of driving tomorrow before I get home via the I-25 slab.

Hopefully not much to do to get this rig operational.  The clutch pack replacement should be pretty straightforward and Richard Winter has promised tech support via phone.  All the fluids have be drained and replaced with fresh oils.  I'll drain the gas tank and put fresh gas in and re-connect some of the wires that go to the auxiliary lights.  

As its a '99 Patrol, I'll be replacing any fasteners with "lacking" metallurgy with modern equivalents, using Nylocs where appropriate, etc.  The pillion tractor seat is "toast", not sure I'll replace it, instead perhaps installing a cargo rack from a Chiang-Jang rig?

So, why do all this?  It's in the hopes of having a spare sidecar rig with a reliable engine even though the rest is pretty old in terms of components.  The BMW R80 engine has a great reputation for reliability and the rest of the URAL components, I can deal with easier than the Ural engine.

Perhaps, I'll try sourcing a more modern gearbox with Herzog manufactured gears but I think the one that comes with this rig will be fine for now.

We'll see if the above assumptions and hopes prove out, I'll definitely learn/relearn a lot of things along the way I am sure!  In my opinion, the major weakness of these URAL rigs was the engine and its associated "Russian grenade" alternator which tended to take out the associated timing gears when the alternator "grenaded".  This happened with my '96 URAL Sportsman, Natasha.

More power/torque from the R80 engine but you still have to "drive it like a URAL" since the final drive wasn't designed to handle the power/torque the BMW engine can generate.  Drive it over 55-60 MPH for long periods of time and I'll be buying a new final drive!  

As my goal is a reliable engine, not racing the rig, I think it's quite a realistic goal.

Update: some corrections/notes after I sent pictures of parts to Richard Winter.  Turns out I will need a pressure plate and a pressure ring, as the ones I got from Bud are either damaged or wrong one.  Richard is going to see if he's got the parts, used but in good condition, if not, it'll be a trip to the BMW dealer for /6 clutch components.

Revisiting the Rainbow Bridge and Last Chance

Back in February of 2009, I rode Maria, my 2004 BMW R1150RT motorcycle out into the eastern plains of Colorado to check out the Rainbow Bridge in the town of Fort Morgan and then the interestingly named town of Last Chance to the south of Fort Morgan.

The previous post from 2009 is here for comparison: LINK

I'd read on wikipedia, as part of the pre-riding, that there'd been a big fire in the area of Last Chance and this ride was to see what remained, morbid curiosity you might say.

Brigitta, my '87 BMW R80 Beemer and I motored out of the neighborhood shortly before 9:00AM and after a sumptuous breakfast by Martha, my loving wife.

Near the small town of Roggen, just before getting on US76 eastbound.

We retraced the route we took back in 2009, using Quincy Road to get to Watkins Rd to get to Roggen via CO52 and from there run along US76 until we got to Fort Morgan.  This time, I knew the right exit (#80) to use to get to the bridge, unlike the first time over seven years ago.

Leaving Fort Morgan, headed south until the junction with US34 where we turned east towards the town of Brush.  It is here that one then takes the turn south onto CO Hwy 71 to get to Last Chance.

Copied from the 2009 posting (the link no longer works):
A small cross-roads community established in 1925 at the intersection of what is now US 36 and Highway 71. In 1925, no matter which way you were traveling, if you passed up Last Chance you had a long distance to travel to find another place to get gas for your Model T. Last Chance never had an official post office but residents remember individual mail boxes in the general store.

I've always found some of the more quirkily or interestingly named towns here in Colorado a worthy destination.  Not much remains in Last Chance though but I did find that it appears to have survived untouched from the big fire in 2012!

 You can see the Dairy King hasn't changed much since 2009

Source: Ebay 

 The remnants of the motel are aged a bit but you can still 

recognize the basic buildings.

 Marker in Last Chance for the Texas - Montana Cattle Trail

This trail was a part of the history of the nearby town of Brush to the north.

Not much remains at the road junction of CO 71 and US36

Brigitta and I then motored away from Last Chance, heading west of US36 which eventually took us to the town of Strasburg who's claim to fame is that its where, at Comanche Crossing:

Source: Wikipedia: Excerpt: Despite Promontory Summit historically marking the site where the first transcontinental railroad was officially completed, a direct coast-to-coast rail journey on this route was not achieved until 1873. On the West Coast the Mossdale Bridge, which spanned the San Joaquin River near Lathrop, California, was completed in September 1869, connecting Sacramento to the network.  To the East, passengers had to cross the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska by boat until the Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge was built in 1873. In the meantime, the first uninterrupted coast-to-coast railroad was completed in August 1870 at Strasburg, Colorado with the completion of the Denver extension of the Kansas Pacific Railway.

There, a little bit of history for you, didn't hurt much did it?  :)

From Strasburg it was straight riding on US36 back to Watkins where we took Watkins Road back to Quincy road as we watched storm clouds rolling in over the front range mountains.  There's rain in the forecast for the front range, with 5-10 inches of snow forecast for the "high country".  Yes, with the legalization of pot here in Colorado, the high country has double meanings now.  Sigh.

Brigitta and I got home shortly before 2:30 PM, she performed beautifully as always, covering the 240 miles of today's riding without a hiccup or complaint.

March's First Sunset

Winter is nearing its end, with Spring rolling in in less than three weeks.  Sigh.

Scarlett is in the shop with clutch issues.  Sigh, I trailered her there this morning.  Hoping to get her back before the next snow fall.

Enter Brigitta, my '87 R80 Airhead Beemer to my riding rescue!

The clouds were looking promising around 5:00 PM so I rode out on Brigitta to a spot near where I usually pose Scarlett for sunset shots.  Lately, it's been crowded with cagers also seeking to see the sunset so I picked this other spot instead.

80 pictures taken, narrowed down to these nine, I hope you like one or more:

Last Sunday in February Uraling

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in the great state of Colorado.  Temperatures would range from the mid-40s to the high 50s under almost impossibly clear sunny skies.

Scarlett and I met up with Dan K and Tim L at the gas station near Morrison before 9:00 AM, the plan was to ride to the Tarryall Reservoir and introduce both Dan and Tim to the area as neither had ridden this road before.

Dan K and his

CSC RX3 Cyclone from China

Dan showed up on two wheels, he's really loving this inexpensive 250cc motorcycle and plans to ride in with a guided group tour in Baja next week.  I am looking forward to the stories and pictures from that trip!

Tim showed up on his trusty green 2011 URAL Patrol sidecar rig and after some chatting and UDF, we got underway around 9:15 or so.  We took US 285 down towards Jefferson and the only thing of note to report on this leg of the ride was that Scarlett didn't seem to have the oomph to stay with Tim's rig on the uphill portions of US285.  Some discussion upon arrival at Jefferson and I may have to revisit the use of the present EFI mapping or perhaps switch to a more free-flowing muffler.

 In Jefferson, CO where the road to Tarryall starts.

Dan then got a pic of Tim and I by our rigs

photo courtesy of Tim L.

Tim and Dan preceded me as we wound our way down the scenic road that is Tarryall Road.  Lots of interesting rock formations, livestock in the form of horses and cattle, a winding river sometimes covered in white snow/ice; it made for pleasing scenery as we tooled along.

We soon arrived at the Tarryall Reservoir and proceeded to back our two URAL rigs down a narrow pier/spit that protruded onto the water.  I apparently need more practice backing up the rig as there were a couple of times I came very close to the edge!

 photo courtesy of Tim L.

photo courtesy of Tim L., taken by Dan K.

We left the reservoir area and soon after Tim picked a great spot to shot the scenery that was behind us, nicely illuminated by the bright sun that would sometimes cause us lighting issues with pictures later in the day.

 Rigs are pointed north alongside Tarryall Road

photo courtesy of Tim L.

Tarryall Road ends at a junction with US24 which we took towards the town of Woodland Park, but first there was a brief stop for pictures of the below mountain scene.

 Near the junction of Tarryall road and US24

photo courtesy of Tim L.

We fueled up in Woodland Park and Tim's rig took almost one gallon less than Scarlett did to fill up!  Sad.  Really must look into either going EFI mapping OR1.01 or a more free-flowing muffler.

Tim had never ridden along State Highway 67 so we twisted and turned our way through this lovely curvy road to the small community of Deckers.   Lots of "Motorcycles use extreme caution" signs due to the sharp curves!

We parked at the diner in Deckers and had us a leisurely lunch while we chatted of future plans and travels under a warm sun and cool breeze.  Lunch over, there was some more UDF to be dealt with by Tim and I about our rigs while Dan patiently waited astride his RX3 Cyclone.  

We continued on state highway 67, following the South Platte River, heading for the community of Foxton.  This was new ground for Tim as well and both he and Dan were subjected to stops by me to point out some historical stuff along with scenic spots for pics.  Surprisingly, I didn't take any pictures along this often shot route.  Here's the last time I was through here on my own:  LINK.

Tim was inspired to do climb up nearby rocks next to one of my usual stops to take this shot though:

Dan K and I along the South Platte River Road

The late afternoon lighting from the still bright sun precluded pictures at the usual spots further long this scenic roadway.  We soon came upon the junction with Foxton Road, a sometimes steep and very curvy road that ascends away from the river and eventually puts you near Conifer, CO on US285.  Quite the lovely road for some curve practice on your motorcycle by the way.

We said our goodbyes here before we all got on US 285.  Dan K would split off soon after we started taking CO 73 towards Evergreen and eventually home near Black Hawk, CO.  Tim would split off at the Morrison exit and take CO93 back towards Golden and eventually Longmont.

I stayed on US285 as it became Hampden.  As I was negotiating the heavy afternoon traffic near the junction with Broadway Boulevard; I felt the clutch go slack while going from first to second gear from a stoplight.  I couldn't shift and all kinds of bad sound noises were coming from the clutch pack area.

I stopped and looked, it felt like the same symptoms from my ride near Montezuma where the cable developed sudden slack.  I tried the same remedy of adjusting the cable and it got me a bit further down the road but still had to keep adjusting it.  Shifting gears involved quite the effort and it was definitely not smooth or quiet.  Still, while in gear, she ran smooth.   Scarlett and I limped home and some more adjustment got her to the point where I think I can get her loaded on the trailer.

More on the repairs later once I coordinate with Randy of Unique Rides.

All in all day though, a great day of riding with a couple of good riding companions!  The mechanical failures will be dealt with, and everyone got home safe.