Is this thing on still?

Good News Everyone!!
I'm not dead yet.
Although ya probably couldn't tell from the frequency of updates huh?

Soooooo...where were we?
Let me sum up...wait...there is too much.
I'll just start talking again like nothing happened...don't look at the fish.

Ok...so we finally made it to Wasteland Weekend. There's not a ton of evidence of that in pics but there is a few.
Like so....

A professional type snap from a fella who snaps for a living.

I actually took this one MYSELF.

Looks pretty good by torchlight huh?
Ya should see what Melee looks like by torchlight...it's something for sure.

Mah HEART!! It's STOLEN!!!

Here is me and Melee getting ready to roll outta camp on a cruise...

I'm trying to look all stoic...Melee just looks like we're late.
Hint: We are.

Me and the Crawler not only got to hand out Free Rides, but we also worked for our supper.
A buddy of mine went to be a Vendor and rather than have a stationary booth, she wanted to do a Mobile Merchant Cart.
SO after we built that...we figured out a way to attach it to the homemade trailer hitch me and Melee fabbed...did I forget to mention that?

Stress Testing the Hitch with one of my Road Trailers.

Of course the first time we tried to hook it up was AT Wasteland....it failed. You're shocked right? I know you're shocked....ya shouldn't be.
But guess what? We UnBroke it. And got to work, which again I got like no PICTURES of myself.

Me and Neal working to UnBreak stuff.....

Putt Putt.

SO...overall what did I think of Wasteland Weekend?
It was fun...I have things I missed. The fact that I spend most of my time in the MidWaste with the Milwaukee and Indy Crues, in which there is MUCH Hooning made the 5mph Wasteland Speed Limit feel especially heavy.
Add to that...it IS FAR!!

My trip mileage upon my return...

5MPH!!?? BUT I NEED TO HOON!!!!

The Crawler did have Temper Tantrums...mostly due to the CV Carbs not enjoying the dust...so...much...DUST.
I will be doing another upgrade to the Raceway Flatslide Carbs soon...like parts ordered soon.
Stay tuned.
I'll update more.
Promise.
In the meantime...go eat bugs.

Or eat sand.....whatever just GO RIDE IT!!



Links to Photos.
Cormac Kehoe and his Wasteland Album
Mark Matcho's Wasteland Album
Q Phia's Wasteland Album

Video Evidence!!!!

I'm doing some prep for the Indy Mad Max Run in a couple of weeks, and I want to run some cameras on the Rig. So I gathered some of the cameras I use for SCA Combat footage and tried them out on the Crawler. Some things I learned today...you need stuff around close to show the chair flying.
I do a full turn from 20 sec to 40 sec with the chair up...and you can hardly tell, cause the only reference is the horizon really. And while the shot of the driveshaft is cool...and ya can see the chair wheel lift...I don't think I'll use that angle much.
The next fly at about a minute LOOKS better...but I think it is cause there is more stuff to 'see' the angle against.
The final 'out the back' angle will likely only get used on group rides and such.
I need to dampen all the mount points against vibe better and hope that cuts some of the 'watery' effect.

Here is another angle from today as well...
It is still hard to tell when the chair is up(Hint: it happens around 20 secs)

All in all...should be fun when I am surrounded by Wasteland Fooligans.

Keep your shiny and chrome...RUB RUST ON IT!!!

It has Been a WHILE huh?

So...sorry about that.

Yeah...me and the Ural 650 had...disagreements.
Not that I didn't love him...just we had different intents.

I wanted to GO...he wanted to be broke.

I was determined to get hacking...so I contuined to source parts for the rebuild...but THEN...well then...I found a 2007 Patrol.

And the Crawler (Ver 1.8) kinda got overshadowed.
And I spent too much time doing stuff the recall I even HAD this blog.
Yes...I forgot about you.
I'm sorry.
So Sorry...
Can you forgive me?

So...that Patrol.

It was shiny, blue, chromed.

I had to 'fix' that before I even took good pics.





I also found a crew of Mad Max Mayhem up in Milwaukee...


Mr Max is enthused...


They also let me ride the way I want too.


Anywho...expect more outta me, now that I found a way back into this Blog....

Parts Trickle In...Part II

Well, parts trickle in and little stuff gets done.
I now have the Inboard and Outboard Exhaust hooked up as well as the new Pekar K68 carbs mounted and cables run...


As well as my supercool new Red Star Grips. Represent!!


One of these days the new rockers I ordered will show up, and I can get the valves set...mount the new tank up and get back to adding to the clock.
Today I will be redoing a couple of electrical connections between the bike and sidecar, I am going to add some molex plugs to make it easier the remove the car in the future.

Parts are trickling in...

Well, some stuff is starting to show up!!

So far, I have received
A brand new in the box set of Pekar K68 carbs...the kind used back at the Russian factory.

NOS fuel tank

'New' header pipes
'New' Fishtail Mufflers

Granted both of the last items are manufactured in China for the Chinese copy of the Russian copy of a German sidecar rig...so they kinda-sorta fit.
After a quick check I established the fuel tank mounting tabs line up perfectly, so off to hang from my basement shop ceiling it goes to get a new coat of rattlecan paint. (Chalkboard paint...makes it easy to record start/end odometer readings...directions  yada yada)

The bad news is so far confined to the intake/exhaust side of things.
First I found that my heads didn't line up with the carbs...even using the aftermarket mounting plates where no help. So did I what I often do in these situations.
I screamed.
I cursed.
Maybe I cried a lil bit.

Then I got to thinking..."What would Ivan Do?"
So, since Ivan is a smart guy....I asked Melee(da wife) for help. She and I(mostly she) figured at way to get the carbs lined up and mounted with only having to tap ONE new mounting stud in the head.
Of course....I have no pics of that in process...but here it is all mounted up like it goes there.

Next thing I discovered is that while the headers fit the jugs fine...the frame mounting tabs on them are off by about an inch or so (2.5ish centimeters). So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of...I sawed the tabs off and plan to make do with clamping them to the frame.

Again...no good pics of the mocking up process...but here are a few shots of what I managed to do to the inboard side.

This pic has a bonus shot of the inboard carb!

Hoping to get the last parts...mostly the rocker arms I need to complete the top end rehab...this week.

If I do, Crawler should be back on the road by me and Melee's Spring Break.

Just need the rockers....

and rewire the fender on the sidecar.

and rebuild the throttle housing.

and run new throttle cables that I hope match up to the carbs.

and replace a couple of bodge connections with molex clips.

crap i got a lot to do.

BTW>>If anyone cares to see larger copies of any pics...Melee is hosting them in her Flickr account.

Second World Problems

Well...maybe Second World is a bit harsh.
There are a few things I like a great deal about owning and wrenching on a Ural 650 from the 'Dark Years'.
Everything is pretty straight forward...no complex computer controlled Dyno-tuning chipsets that require me to use the odd skill I have of being able to read machine code/binary.
When all else fails...quite often enough cussing and hitting it with hammer has a [usually] positive result.
For those times it doesn't...replacement parts are surprising available for a nearly 20 year old, no longer manufacture supported machine, based on a 70 year old design.
I mean...have you tried to source parts for a Shovelhead lately?
Parts are easy to find through the wonders of the Interlink.
Some are NOS[New Old Stock: means stuff we found in the warehouse left over from back-in-the-day], some are Breaker parts[meaning someone bought a wreck/non-live bike to part it out],
and some are currently manufactured parts.
Regardless of their pedigree...here is a surprising fact about this Smörgåsbord of Ural 650 parts.
There are all affordable.
I mean...I can get my digits on a full top end for around $300-400US.
This includes:

• Cylinders, 2pc.
• Heads w/valves & springs
• Head Covers
• Pistons
• Ring set
• Wrist pins (2) and Circ-Clips (4)
• Push Rod Tubes and sealing caps
• as well as gaskets for all three mating surfaces at the cover, head and cylinder base.

So...what you ask is the Second World Problem I am referring to?

Shipping.

Most of these parts are in the Ukraine and Russian Federation, with a smattering coming from China.

Shipping cost are at times a bit steep, so it is best to try and get everything ya need from one shop in one big order. The shipping actually gets easier to stomach when you are looking at a pretty good haul.

That's not the worst part though....

Shipping is S L O W.

To be fair, I don't hold this against of the retailers/sellers, and I understand I am ordering parts often from the other side of the globe from me.

Still nothing is worse that thinking you know what parts you need, to fix what you figure is wrong with a rig, laying out the funds....and then waiting 3.5 to 5 weeks for your goodies.

Especially when for the first time in months, the weather forecast calls for 50 degrees (F) and sunny rather than mid-20s and sky-slush this coming weekend.

GRRRRRRRRR!

The reason it has been so quiet.

Well...
Crawler did fine for a while.
I did get me a trailer...you know for 'just in case'.
Didn't really need it though.That was until....we made a roadtrip.

So I traveled from up here around Chicago down to see my folks in Louisiana in early July. I wanted to bring the Crawler to run 'round with my old man and his True Blue Harley Crew, so onto the trailer he went.
Got down there fine...riding around went great, even 'converted' some Blockheads into possibly Foilheads.

On the drive back my ole tired van soiled the sheets and died on the road about two hours out of my folks driveway.So...my trailer got towed back the the ol' Homestead while The Wife, Cub and I made our way home via Amtrak.

A few too many weeks later (around Sept 30th) I was able to procure a new vehicle capable of towing my rig and trailer home....however....The rig had sat for a bit on trailer....out in the weather. In the Louisiana Rain...with the added benefit of Hurricane Issac. Crawlers guts got a lil wet...enough to seize the top end and royally crud up the carbs.
So far I have pulled the jugs, and checked the pistons(surprisingly they look fine)if ya don't count the rings....rusted. 
Cylinder sleeves had some rusting as well...a pass with some scotch-brite and a hone....all looks well.Oil in the pan and tranny are shockingly unwatered down.

The carbs though...oh woe be the carbs.

I can't even get the slide to move on the left side carb after three days of soaking...gawds only know what is in the pilot passages.Sooo...the Mikunis are well and truly dead.
So I picked up some Pekar carbs off of FleaBay. They should have bolted right on, but what was I thinking...no such luck.Out comes the tap and die set to retap the heads...
While digging at that...I found one of the rockers was getting pretty worn, to the point I have basically no adjustment. 
I have spent the last lil bit(the frozen months) scrounging parts and planning.
Hopefully in the next few weeks I am gonna start a total rebuild and update, from cylinders out.
Items to be done.

• Clean and Hone the cylinders.
• Mount new carbs.
• replace fuel tank with an older tool box style.
• redo the exhaust...going to go to dual fishtails.
• possible redo the alternator block plate in something tougher than plywood.
• think about actually mounting the seat...

Update:May 22

Well, the total loss system is working out ok...I have been getting around 200 km per cycle with no worries, usually with over 12 volts still in the cell. Although to date most of those trips have been a collection of small jaunts. No long road trips all at once. However, the weather has finally turned into something I don't need 15 layers of insulation to ride in and the Boy in in daycare now...so that may change.

I did do a 140km (~70 miles) night ride last week, and I learned something very important....the stock headlight sucks.
So...replaced the old 6014 incandescent headlight with a 6024 halogen bulb, and added a PAR52 floodlight to the sidecar.
I still have the headlight and flood on separate circuits, so I can add them and subtract them as needed.
I now have enough light I am sure...but want to keep the amp consumption down if I can so as to not impact my range.

Still now the odd oil leak from the final drive and oil pan now and then...but I am just gonna accept it as me doing my part to keep the blacktop shiny and move on.

Wanna know what really astounds me? The UDF is awesome...but the fact that seems to amaze most folks is not that Crawler is Russian. It's not that he is a sidecar rig, it's not that he is full-time 2WD. It's that it only has kickstart.
Seriously.

A quick observational note...

Ok,
I am sitting at a suburban Starbucks...anyone who knows me, knows how weird that sentence alone is, but my defense is it's a work thing.
However, I am marveling at an odd ill social function.
I consider myself a 'rider'....meaning I not only own motorcycles but ride the damn things every chance I get. Often not to get someplace but just to RIDE it.
As in turn miles on the clock...as in eat bugs...as in get a sore ass and sometimes a weird sunburn.
I am surrounded by guys who are 'living the dream.'
They own motorcycles (several of them $10000+ machines)... And they rode them here to hang out.

At Starbucks.

I am used to the 'bar hopper' riders....the guys who ride from biker bar to biker bar to swagger around and act like outlaws for a ill bit.

But Starbucks?

Really?

In someway, society has failed these people. They can't even get 'being a antisocial badass' right.

Starbucks....wow.
I need to go eat some bugs.

I know it has been a while...

Sorry for that.
Life finds a way......to screw with me.
Not your problem...I know.
I wanted to share a lil vid that I shot this weekend.

Still working it out...

Well, it's winter. It's cold, and snow is coming soon.
This is the time of year when I resign myself to treating any gas left in the tank, hooking up a battery tender and calling it a season.
Not this year...this year I am still riding, or Ural-ing, or whatever.
The first thing I figured out...even though the Crawler ain't fast, it dosn't take much speed to rapidly multiply how fraking cold it is.

A spin around the block results in me not being able to move my mouth and my hands are burning cold.
There are ways around this...get the proper gear. However, I don't want to end up with 2 sets of gear if I can help it, so I as always find a way to make it work.
The first issue I addressed was my numb face.
Normally I wear an open face helmet, but was considering picking up a snowmobile helmet for the winter.
After a bit of thought..I ended up just acquiring a snowmobile helmet breath curtian and figuring out a way to mount it to my current helmet.

If it looks lil like a fighter pilot helmet...that's not all bad is it?
To this I have added my bib snow parts, and a parka.

Throw in a pair of wool sock under my insulated boots, and we have everything kinda handled...except the forepaws.

I know I might get some flak for this...but I HATE wearing full finger winter gloves when I ride. The reason is, every bike I have ever had requires some 'in-flight' adjustments. There is always something to tweek (idle/air mix screws) or wiggle and I hate having "Muppet Hands" with the dexterity of one Dr. Zoidberg. So...I have ordered some handlebar muffs...like so.

Hopefully these paired with some lighter gloves will help.

Post Holi-daze Update..

Well hello boys and girls, wanted to give ya'll a little look at what Crawler and I have been up to.
We have made it back from the G424 meltdown, and are back on the road.

From this....

 

To this....

 I went ahead and removed the stock bench seat, replacing it with a solo seat from a KZ1000 Police bike and building a rear fender rack out of scrap wood in the shop.

For those of you with sharp eyes...the white scribble on the tank is me noting starting odometer readings with a piece of chalk. I painted the tank with chalkboard paint which allows me to make notes and directions right on it...I think it's pretty kewl.

Some more snaps from today...

My "Official Salute" pic.

My "Oh Crap I'm stuck!" recovery system....

Approach with caution...or you'll spook it.

Ready to try my luck...will it start? WILL IT?

 

 

It Lives!!

Sorry for the lack of action shots, I did have my helmet camera on during the ride and might be pushing a little video later tonight....maybe.

Wiring Diagrams...

Just so they are out there in the wild for other folks to use, here are a couple of versions of the diagrams detailing the way Melee and I laid out Crawler.

and here is one without the colors, if you want to use your own, and so it's a lil cheaper to print out.

Also here is a quick video of how it all works....

Resonable person??

As alluded to in a previous post, I wanted to discuss what kind of person thinks it is reasonable to spend time and money on what is an obscure, and many would say obsolete, machine with a questionable pedigree at best.
So, what kind of person puts themselves through the trial of owning a Ural/Dneper sidecar rig?
Well...there are some informal unscientific stats I can throw out there.
Most foil-heads are between the age of 45 and 56.
Most are experienced motorcyclists, with 25+ years of riding experience.
Most either have school-age children or grandchildren at the time of acquiring their rigs.
Most own other bikes, few have a Ural/Dneper as their starter bike.
There doesn't seem to be a 'feeder' brand of bike. Owners of Russian bikes come from both the Harley and Metric camps, however there are enough owners of British and/or Beemers to cause a statistically significant anomaly.

Few would classify themselves as introverts, and those that do go through a pretty massive paradigm shift due to the UDF (Ural Delay Factor) which forces them into a minor celebrity status at random times.
Most foil-heads also enjoy working on their machines nearly as much as riding them, and take a strange sense of pride in the 'creative problem-solving' and WWID moments necessary to have a happy rig.
Roughly 15-25% enter into the relationship with skewed expectations( 75MPH+ Interstate travel, high performance handling/braking, gas-n-go low maintenance) and discard the rigs in disgust. The remainder are prepared to ride the rigs in the Soviet Style and find they have another problem...they begin to neglect any other bikes they own.

Spark of life...

Well,
Crawler has been re-wired...again.
This time without the G424 Alternator or the Voltage Regulator. Melee and I decided to use the bus box system that we employed on the Dingo re-wire. It's a damn nice way to do it as it allows us to separate each system out. This time we where actually able to use correctly colored wire, so the harness is not just a mass of red/green/black wire going everywhere.

He will be using a total loss system with a deep-cycle battery as the power sink.
Right now I am doing a lot of amp/hour math and comparing it to the available budget (HAHAHA!!!) for a battery. I did some quick very short range testing using the motorcycle battery and all systems are go.

I was able to get rid of one thing I hate on motorcycles...ignition keys. Crawler, like Dingo, is now on a series of toggle switches.

I'll hopefully have a quick start/ride video up soon.

Finding a path to power...

Ok...so a lil update for ya'll.
As I mentioned last time, Crawler is having a laugh at my expense.
I have confirmed that the G424 Alternator is in-op, it had to happen sooner or later I guess. Least it could have done was give a little fair warning....Like so...

If only it had been that forthcoming....sigh.

 

So I did what any reasonable person would do ( ...well...a REASONABLE person might not have bought a used Ural... but that is a blog entry of it's own.)
I put on my WWID hat and got to scheming.

I ripped that sucker off, tossed it into the basement and cobbled together some plywood, tin sheeting, and gasket paper to block the now gaping hole above the timing gear.

It ain't pretty...but it'll hold.   I think.

WHY?

3 words.... Total Loss System.
3 more words....No More Bomb.

What is a Total Loss System?

Well it goes like this: The rig needs more than 10.5 volts at 8 Amp/Hours to run.
That means on average, with the stock lighting and coil/ignition module both engaged the system draws around 8 amps of power. The G424...when it worked...put out a whopping 11 amps. Meaning that the rig was draining 93% or so of the alternator output...leaving little more than a maintenance or 'float' charge for the battery. Basically enough to put back what it takes to kick start the bike....barely.
A standard motorcycle battery has a rating of 10 or 12 Amp/Hours good for about 1.5 hours of run time without an alternator. Which translates into about 50 miles ...sucks huh? Yes it does...see last entry.

However, for about the price of a good motorcycle battery you can acquire a Deep Cycle Battery with a 115 Amp/Hour rating good for about 14 hours of demand . Which translates into about a 500 mile range on paper. In real world estimates...I can expect 250 miles before I drain the battery low enough to damage the cells. More than enough for commuting and scooting around with The Boy. The downside is a deep cycle battery is BIG. Around 14 inches long, 10 inches high and weighing 35 lbs. big. Luckily I have a little bit of extras space.

As I mentioned last time...cost and time are a factor in the decision.
Here's a lil visual aid.

•  Replace 424 Alternator with another 424.
• Cost: ~$300
• Shipping time from Ukraine- 4 to 6 weeks
• Likely to fail again.
•  Replace 424 Alternator with Denso unit
• Cost ~$500
• Shipping time from Germany- 2 to 4 weeks.
• Cat's meow...outlast the engine most likely.
• Replace 424 Alternator with Total Loss System
• Cost~ $80
• Shipping time- NADA
• Limited range(but within projected use profile)

As you can see, while Total Loss is less than perfect, it suits my needs for now and is a damn sight easier on my wallet than any other option. Additionally it smacks of one of the things I love...creative problem solving.  I am redoing the complete wiring loom [second time], fabricating a solo seat mount and rear fender cargo rack(not to mention the super sexy plug pictured above) mostly with crap that was in my basement leftover from other projects or found/scrounged supplies.

Yeah, so it's a 'Rat Bike' solution.  Maybe it's even a lil hillbilly.

But it's good practice for the Apocalypse. 

Fixed it so it could break....

Well...remember how I said I had killed all the electrical gremlins?
Looks like Crawler is having a laugh on my behalf.
One of the things that is a known risk of going south on these rigs are most versions of the Alternator.
Well....the different versions of the Alternators all fail in different ways.
The 14.3771 alternator, commonly known as the RPOC (...figure it out yourself. :) ) is infamous for failing and eating the gear tower...basically grenadeing the engine altogether.
There is also the G424 alternator, which isn't known for doing that, but IS known for a fairly high failure rate. As in about 92% of them fail. This is the alternator I have on Crawler.
And it looks like I didn't beat the curve.

I went for a bit of a ride, and all was going good...ticking right along.
Hell the powerplant even sounded less like a sewing machine failing down a flight of stairs...which should have been my first warning, or payed more attention to the Alternator fault light.
Seems the G424 gave up on me....so I wasn't charging but sucking power from the battery.
I was completely unaware of this...until I got under 10.5 volts of power in the battery...then suckage.
I will admit to spending a bit of time on the side of the road thinking I was having a fuel delivery problem still, the symptoms are very similar.
Hard starting...rough running....backfires.
After eleminating fuel as the issue...I check the plugs spark.
WEAK pale spark...
Hmmm...coil going bad maybe?
I dig a little further (Thankfully traffic is light on side streets and the weather is a sunny 40F) and realize I don't have enough volts to work the flashers...and my horn sounds like a sick baby lamb.
So I unhook everything not required to run...yes, I cut out all the lights...ALL of them.
I got it kinda running...and limped most of the way home before the battery was too flat to even fire the coil.
I hoofed the couple of blocks back to the house and was debating what to do next....go charge the battery?
replace it? steal the battery out of Dingo and walk back with it?
Then I see my neighbor has a really nice trailer hooked to his truck with a bunch of cabinets in it. I pop over and discuss some quid pro quo.
I help him unload, he runs down the block and we drag Crawler home.
First thing I do is recharge the battery....and check my wiring again looking for mistakes, shorts and connection issues. All looks good.
When the battery shows green I try and start him up...catches in about 4 kicks.
Runs great...nice and solid sounding idle...quick throttle response..
Do some checks with the multi-meter, and sure enough...no alternator output at any RPM.
System shows 12 volts and falling.

So now I got a choice to make.

Get a deep-cycle battery and go total loss electrical. Cost:~$ 100 but limits range to ~250 miles.
Replace the G424 with one just like it...and try to beat the curve on the failure rate again. Cost: ~$300
Get a Nippon-Denso alternator (Which are reported as awesome and failure free....mostly) Cost:~$600

What to do....

We go to Wally-World

Well, I got the big issues sorted out with the Crawler.

Took Melee (The Wife) for her first sidecar trip to the Mecca of town...AKA... Wal-mart.

When we got back...took The Boy for his first jaunt down the block in the hack. No video, But I got some pics from Grandma as we rolled out.

Air temp was a balmy 31 degrees F (that 0 C) but he did fine. At first he wanted nothing to do with it...then I got the bike started and he was interested. He seemed to get what was happening as soon as we started moving. Now if only I could convince him his helmet is cool....

Tools in the trunk.

Ok...other than the 'special' tools I think I am in a good place with my tool kit.

Contents are.

• Wrenches 9-18mm
• Crescent Wrenches- Large and small
• Vice Grips- Large
• Edison Screwdrivers- Long shank and stubby
• Phillips screwdrivers- Long shank and stubby
• Slip Joint pliers
• Needle nose pliers
• Socket Set/ 4-17mm with Racket and Driver.
• (6) 12 inch zip-ties
• Diagonal cutters
• Razor Knife
• roll of RED electrical tape (it's red so I can find my field repairs when I get back to the shop)
• Spark plug wrench and gapper (still need to get another set of plugs.)
• Flashlights- handheld and head mounted.
• 1 qt Oil- Engine/Transmission
• 5 oz 90wt Gear oil
• Small can WD40
• Hammer
  *not pictured is the stock air pump in the boot.*

The black fluffy thing is the most imporant item...
My "What would Ivan do?" thinking cap.


Items still to add.
Exhaust wrench
Shock wrench
Wheel bearing wrench
Tire tools and tubes
Duct Tape