Ural 'motor bikes' dont laugh

[chunkolini]

Hoi Hoi
Right then, Chunko has always been into bikes, he also gets bored easily.
For years my sculpturing was a hobby, now it is a job and I love it most of the time. BUT, I needs a hobby thing, something to monkey about with at weekends and evenings. I have always fancied an old bike, but only kind of. too expensive for a real classic.

I have no funds at present, BUT, a mate bought a ural a while back only to realise that he is not a spanner wrangler. It has been seen running but he cant get it started instead he bought a pair of bars and a tombstone rear light............. get my drift.

The deal is we swap a piece of sculpture (around 2-3 days work) for a 'project bike'. A mutual mate reckons it owes him around £700 and is all there and kind of functioning. Sadly no sidecar.

It is curently fitted with a Citroen 2CV carb which kind of makes sense as it is another boxer motor. I am a semi competent mechanic and can be really stubborn. I am after a piece of crap bike that I can abuse in the winter and 'do up' into a kind of cockroach from hell thingy, an evolutionary rat bike I suppose. I figure on using it as a rolling showpiece for my work or something, or maybe a reef project in the local canal?

So Urals, your opinions are welcomed.

Chunko'.

 

[RedOrZed]

You'll be a better mechanic/bodger once you've finished with it

Other than that - they're basically a BMW R-series knock off. they can be kept going almost indefinately if you try. Hopefully yours comes with the reverse gear? Hours of fun on a solo

Have you had a bike with a sidecar before? That's a whole other kettle of elephants I tell ya. Fun in a death-defying way.

 

[pedrobedro]

I bought some car bits from a place in Lincolnshire and there was a Ural import there with the sidecar on the wrong side for UK use. The part that amused and amazed me was the sidecar wheel was driven as well as the bike rear wheel. A friend of mine had a UK registered one and they are ancient, WWII technology Russian transport but if you are not in a hurry to get anywhere or particularly bothered if you don't then what the heck. Here are some pictures of same type bikes, Dnepr Ural etc. and they do look good for a laugh. Trike conversion with a Reliant axle (one in the shed) there's a thought.

 

[busa]

I almost bought a Dnepr outfit last year, very similar to the Ural, but funds got redirected by 'er indoors into PVC windows instead. I had visions of hurtling round the TT course on Mad Sunday complete with silk scarf and pot belly helmet and the dog in the sidecar wearing a leather flying helmet and split windscreen goggles, maybe next year!

 

[kev234]

Urals are brilliant fun. I did a repair on a crashed one a few years ago and it was actually cheaper to replace the engine with a brand new one than buy the various casings it needed !!!
This one was an outfit and what a laugh riding it. It got a lot more attention than the latest hypersport nonsense.
When I fitted the engine (complete with carb) I had to tinker with the carb a little as it comes set up to run on whatever excuse they use as fuel in Russia.
Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Rubber Duck]

If you're stuck for parts or advice try this place http://www.russiantruck.co.uk/

Got some tasty bits of kit there (if I only had the money )

 

[chunkolini]

Impressed by the reactions, it seems that these tragic bikes have a lot of closet admirers, even my **** taking mates like the idea, and they were merciless when I bought the BMW.
Sadly no sidecar, but once I ahve got it semi sorted I have to look into this one.
I have driven an ourtit once, cidered up in the woods, a brakless SR500 I got half ay up a beech tree before stalling it.
As a kid I had a ride in an old Norton Kneeler outfit, that was a real blast.
The enxt stage in the potentially sorry tale is to chase up my mate and get things sorted out.
Cheers all,Chunko'.

 

[Eastblock]

£700 sounds like a fair bit of money for a non-runner. You can get a BMW for that.

All parts are readily available from several good suppliers in Germany. Spares in the UK are a rip-off!!

They are OK bikes if you can wield a spanner. They DO NOT like to be driven fast. It is speed that kills them. Especially if it is an outfit bike used solo as the rear drive is geared for sidecar use. I currently have a Ural M-61 in bits and a M-72 in bits. I have owned Dnpers and KMZs in the past so know a bit about these bikes.

 

[chunkolini]

Eastblock
Good information, re going fast, not a chance, I am looking at pottering about the countryside, doing my 8 mile commute on ****ty country lanes and not caring about the cosmetic ravages this can cause, drop it on the ice, laugh and kick it rather than cry as it would be on the oilhead BMW. Re price my pal definitely paid to much but as an exchange of time and skills for a project. As I said it was running when he bought it, he reckns it woud start up then keep revving until switched off, sounds like a simpleish fix (ha ha ha) if not maybe newish carbs. A chance for me to get my head round fettling carbs and general weirdness. I have always kept runners on the road so my first dodgy job.

They seem to offer exactly what I am after, something to go and hide from the family for a few hours at a time and drink cider whilst bloodying my knuckles.
I am also thinking of making it a mobile showpiece for my business as a sculptor, home made bodywork etc, maybe scales with multiple heads and tentacles or something or other.

Now I must make the deal....

Chunko'.

 

[Angusdog]

<snip>Here are some pictures of same type bikes, Dnepr Ural etc. and they do look good for a laugh.

I believe that the girls in the pic are in a small caravan, towed by a Ural, although there's no caption. That's several different lifestyle choices right there, my friend. Lordy, lordy...

 

[chunkolini]

Hang on, the glamour models are not to realistic, shouldn't it be Ludmilla and Adreyalovski, the olympic shot putters?
Bottom pic, that sidecar looks suspiciously like a boat.

All fired up for a new project

Chunko'.

 

[English Steve]

Go for it Chunko! Had one in the 80's with a sidecar - great fun but a little fragile at times if hurried. Did a 300 mile round trip on it several times in surprising comfort.
Ah, memories