Redleg's Rides

Natasha's first time on Pikes Peak

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Sunny weather with forecasted highs in the lower 70s....perfect day for taking Natasha down to Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak!

I had an eye exam appointment at 8:30AM and was done and southbound by 9:45! I took CO 83 aka Parker Road all the way down to Colorado Springs where it becomes the Interquest Parkway and eventually dumps you on the I-25 Super Slab. I kept my speed between 55-60 mph and got used to the cagers passing me. I didn't want to "strain" Natasha you see, Urals are happiest at 55 or below.

Heading South on CO 83, that's Pikes Peak in the distance

I got to the entrance to the Pikes Peak Tollway at 11:30 and paid my $10. The sign read that 16 of the 19 miles of the road were open. Oh well, I probably should have called ahead but as you will see, plenty of good shots to be had anyways.

I checked in with my loving wife before heading up. The road was nice and drive with plenty of snow in evidence along the sides of the road. Only one icy spot, more on that later. Traffic was light, it wasn't too cold, perfect!!!

Once clear of the forest line, the first snowy hairpin turn

It was quite windy, you may notice the snow blowing about on the far slopes

We're well above the timberline now!

A peek at some of the hairpin turns already negotiated on the way up

Another pano shot, looks icy but it was just wet

Not really that much snow up here, the big snow storm we just had in Denver did not make it all the way down here I think.

The left portion of this pano shot shows some of the snow/ice encountered on the road, it was a bit "squiggly" on the pusher tire.

Mile Marker 16, with the Ranger making sure no one goes beyond this point!

Natasha at the bottom of the curve before Mile Marker 16

This is the icy patch when I was heading down, the sun had turned it to mostly slush, no big deal

A view of the low lands, the wind was so strong here I was being pushed towards the edge!

I call this, the Rock Pile

Almost at the end, this is the Crystal Lake Reservoir, that's Pikes Peak on the left

The requisite "touristy" shot

Natasha did great all the way up and down. You had to keep the speeds low due to road conditions and all the twists and turns so it was perfect for her. Today I must have been photographed as I rode by cagers several times, I guess Natasha is rare enough around this here parts! One couple in a car even stopped next to me as I was sitting on Natasha and asked for a picture of us. I can just see the caption: Look at this fool on this weird bike we saw on Pikes Peak!

After checking in with my loving wife one more time at the tollway entrance, I started heading back north. I retraced my route along I-25 while transiting through Colorado Springs. The it was the Interquest Parkway to CO 83 and a smooth ride at 100 kph or 60 mph for you metrically-challenged individuals. Got home around 4:00 PM, perhaps 6 hrs in the saddle and roughly 186 miles or so round trip.

Here's my route, hope you got a chance to ride today!

Friday's Sunrise

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:34:00 +0000

I left the house shortly before 6:30 AM and could see the sky to the east painted in deep reds and shadows with the sunrise illuminating the morning clouds.

I hurried over with Brigitta to The Plains Conservation Center on Quincy Road, hoping to catch these red skies.

Alas, I was too late. Still, I got a couple of shots that with a little retouching thanks to picnik.com, come close to showing you the really nice colors that followed that awesome red painted sky that I missed. At this rate, I'm going to have to leave the house in the dark in order to be able to capture those first rays of light!

The morning clouds to the east blocked the sun from painting the tops of the Rockies

I'll keep trying, maybe I'll be more fortunate next week.

Hope you all had chances to ride this week!

The Tortoise and the Hare

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Today the forecasted high was in the low 70's and following the "rule" I've had to establish what with two mistresses in the garage and all, I rode Brigitta, my R80 Airhead Beemer to work this morning.

Wow, I'd forgotten how fast she is when compared to Natasha....hence the title of this posting.

I'd ridden the R80 this past Sunday but now as I wound my way down my regular work commute roads, I could actually accelerate "with elan" past half-asleep but yet still texting cagers! I could grab that open slot in the next lane with just a small twist of the throttle. I could come to a stop swiftly without exerting much more than a normal pull at the front brake lever. I could take that right hand curve at normal speed instead of slowing way down in order to not "fly the chair".

It's like driving a tractor one day and a Corvette the next....the best of both worlds depending on the weather! "Rapid adjustment of one's riding reflexes is required".

Brigitta and I positively exulted our way through the 12 miles of my commute to my job at DISH Network. Towards the end, I could see and realize the intoxication of speed; unused to it as I was after riding Natasha for so many days under "interesting" conditions at times.

So I dialed it down a bit and quit exhibiting squid-wannabe behavior. At least, I thought it was....I am sure that any real squid out there (of which I saw none) would have thought I was just another old man on an old bike. : )

Lest ye think I think less of Natasha now, not even close! Natasha is my all-weather, all-terrain, pack a ton of gear, I might not get there fast but I'll get there conveyance of choice. Brigitta is my paved road with a small mix of dirt trails fast-mover. This combination should cover all the bases when it comes to my riding year-round!

PS: sorry, no pics of Brigitta, we were enjoying the zooming part too much.

Working from Sunrise to Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:52:00 +0000

Short post, just to show you the light conditions at work on Wednesdy of this week. It was a clear sky dawn for Colorado so not much in the way of colorful clouds or snow-capped mountains. The rising sun did paint the buildings in a nice golden color though:

A full work day, Wednesday, I didn't get to leave till 5:30 PM after having gotten there before 7 AM. A long day but got some stuff done. There was a gorgeous sunset as I was gearing up to go home:

The view from the third floor where I work

The above view was worth riding home in the dark, after having ridden to work in the pre-dawn twilight.

Going LED on Natasha's lights - The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Prior posts detailed how I installed a TLES or Total Loss Electrical System in order to be able to run Natasha, my 1996 Ural Sportsman without her stock alternator which had self-destructed.

A Ural motorcycle uses about 8 amps/hr of electricity while the engine is running, and my 125 amp/hr deep cycle marine battery was estimated to give me about 17 hrs of running time before it ran out of juice and my engine would quit because there was no electricity to run the ignition coil.

As some other Ural owners before have done, I sought to extend that run time by replacing the incandescent bulbs on Natasha with LED bulbs which consume radically less electricity and thereby amperage.

Tonight I finished replacing both brakelights, the right taillight and the sidecar's front driving light with LED bulbs that I got from autolumination.com. You can't, with the Ural's weird wiring for the motorcycle's brake light/taillight, just use LED bulbs from your local auto parts store. Oh no, those wily russkies wired those two lights to be Positive ground, while leaving all the other lights negative ground! Why? I have no idea.

Autolumination was one of two places that had one type of LED bulb wired so that it could be hooked up to positive OR negative ground type 1156 sockets. For any Ural owners reading this, it's their 60 LED SMT Tower bulb for $30. Pricey, yes but it works on the dang Ural motorcycle brake light housing lights and you don't have to cut wires or replace the whole thing with a trailer's brake light housing or whatever!

Source: Autolumination.com

Some further notes for Ural owners, the tug's brake light/taillight bulb are type 1156 or single circuit (positive ground). The brake light/taillight (negative ground) on the sidecar is a type 1157 or dual circuit. I failed to realize this when ordering bulbs and had to do two orders with the ensuing delays.

The picture above is with the incandescent brake lights in the ON position, that's my son Miles helping out by activating the brake lever

The above pictures is the LED brake lights in the ON position, as you can see, just as bright if not a bit brighter than the stock incandescent bulbs!

Here's pictures of the driving light on the front/outboard side of the sidecar. It's purpose is to act as a running light of sorts to alert folks at night that there's something hanging off my right side!

Incandescent bulb above, LED bulb below

I used a type 1156 6W Bayonet LED bulb for the driving light

So now, I've reduced my cruising lights current draw by 12 watts (right taillight and sidecar driving light), that's 1 amp less being used per hour. When I had incandescent bulbs in the brake lights, their current draw was 42 watts when they're on (two 21w bulbs). Now I won't worry about having my brake lights on all the time while stopped since their current draw when lit has gone from 42 watts (3.5 amps) to less than 1/2 watt due to the LED bulbs.

Next, once I find the right relay, I'll replace all the turn signal incandescent bulbs with yellow LED bulbs. The savings there is estimated to be 42 watts per side to less than 1/2 per side. I hope this will get me a few more hours of riding time from the battery.

Sure, turn signals are only on intermittently while riding so the savings there won't be much, but now I'll have the "luxury" of leaving them on while waiting for the light to turn green instead of remembering to turn them off once a car has stopped behind me at the light.

Yeah, this leaves that 6014 Sealed Beam headlight and its 60 watt current draw to deal with. The tentative plan here is bright 15 LED Superbright driving lights (once I figure out how to mount them securely) and if they're bright enough, use them as driving lights during daytime and shutting off the 6024 Halogen lamp with the cutoff switch. If it all works out, that'd be about 5 amps/hr savings! In fact, the guys who run TLES systems, run their rigs without the headlight when off road and get much longer running times from their batteries!

In fact, I am tempted to run my headlight on high beam and its additional 5W cost since I have cut down my wattage by 12W while riding! I will do this on my next charge cycle with the battery. I don't want to change too many variables at once in the middle of a run cycle!

Hey, if you're a Ural owner who was seeking an LED solution and you end up buying this stuff from autolumination.com, tell them you read about their product here please!

Monday Sunrise

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:29:00 +0000

As I rode to work on Monday, dawn was breaking in the eastern skies and the oncoming light from the sun was bathing the front range mountains in a golden yellow light.

I rushed to find a good spot to park Natasha with Mount Evans in the background before I lost that golden light. I almost made it. The shot below was done after the peak lighting effect was past unfortunately.

This having to be at work by 7AM in order to be able to leave around 4PM may have some limited pluses after all.....I'll be looking for more nice sunrise pictures, now that I have a good spot to pose my motorcycle by....it's all about the timing isn't it?

The student becomes the teacher?

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:46:00 +0000

3 years, 7 months and approximately 75K miles ago, I threw my leg over a motorcycle for the first time in my life at the MSF's Basic Rider Course. I was such a newbie when it came to things motorcycle and count myself fortunate to have then met John aka Sanoke when I was trying to figure out what kind of rider I would be.

John took me on a few rides, through open countryside, twisting mountain roads and terrain of all kind. His advice came across as the voice of experience and never steered me wrong. It was John who instilled in my the lust for exploring that dirt trail leading off to parts unknown in the mountains; or to stop and look around for a good scene to photograph. He's got a wonderful eye when it comes to photographs of his motorcycle against some scenic background: LINK.

He was my teacher in the ways of exploration via motorcycle, for which I will always be grateful.

Sunday, it was my turn to become the teacher to a new rider. Bob is a neighborhood friend who recently bought himself a Suzuki C50T Cruiser, 800cc, as a starter motorcycle. This is much the same kind of thinking as I had when my first motorcycle was a Honda Shadow 750 Aero.

source: suzukicycles.com

He's still learning the motorcycle and getting used to riding, fresh out of the Basic Rider course. Our schedules finally matched up and today I took him out for about 100 miles of two lane road riding. I could see his hesitancy at times, like on some of the sharper curves or when gravel appeared on the road. Heck, he's just barely went over 400 miles at the end of today's riding! I've gotta get him out more!

I am happy to report he's going to be an ATGATT rider. He's lacking the riding pants for now but he's looking. Definitely not your usual cruiser rider in terms of safety gear.

I must also say, he rode pretty well. The temperatures were in the 50s, sunny and traffic was not too bad. He paced me at a good safe distance, listened to instructions when stopped at the lights, and I never saw him do anything unsafe. He grew up riding dirt bikes but never street bikes, so this is a whole new world for him. He also understands the all important concept of "riding your own ride".

I took him down towards Castle Rock, by way of Franktown and county roads. We tried the twists on Douglas County 11 south of Castle Rock but there was too much gravel so we turned around. Instead, we headed through Castle Rock to Wolfenberger Road which we twisted our way on to CO 105. Heading north on CO 105, we soon were upon CO 67 which we took wast to Sedalia. From Sedalia it was a short hop back to Castle Rock via US85. Bob basically got a view of Castle Rock from the four points of the compass today!

Note the Hi-Viz Color on Bob's riding jacket

We rode back towards my house from Castle Rock via the Crowfoot Parkway, Parker and the Inspiration Drive back way.

The only downer was all the melting snow on the sides of the roads was causing the roads to be really wet. His nice shiny chrome-laden cruiser got quite dirty while my Brigitta remained relatively clean. I kidded him that it was superior German engineering that kept Brigitta clean.

We talked for a while when we got back, discussed some of the things he'd experienced; and I brought up some stuff I'd learned. I told him he needs to get himself some engine guards, THEN go to school parking lot and practice tight turns and u-turns till he can make a u-turn within two parking spaces. That'll give him confidence in his ability to handle the motorcycle.

He seems eager to go riding with me again so I guess I did OK guiding him around. We'll see how it all develops. Kind of cool in a way, showing someone the ropes, I hope I can help him become a safe and proficient rider....one that rides year round of course!

Playing in the melting snow

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Yesterday was a bright and warm day here in Colorado. The big snow storm was now history and the snow was rapidly melting everywhere. It was mostly gone from the main roads and just clumps and piles remained in the neighborhood streets.

Now, some of the neighborhood streets were more ice/snow packed than others and they were much fun to cruise through on my Ural Natasha as I went about running errands and such.

Some of the roads were wet with melted snow, resulting in lots of road spray which dirtied Natasha from the bath I gave her yesterday. Oh well! At least I got most of the magnesium chloride off her I think.

I went to work to retrieve some stuff and on the way back I stopped at my usual undeveloped cul-de-sac housing development and posed Natasha for pictures. I had intended to get onto the snow-covered grassy areas but it was deep snow with muddy grass underneath. A quick probe with the Ural indicated it would be a bad idea and I quickly backed out.

That's the Rocky Mountains in the background, the big mountain in the center is Mt. Evans. You can ride all the way to the top when its open.

I had more fun riding through the snowy remnants on the neighborhood side streets near my house. People on the sidewalks would stop and watch in amusement as I rode by with a big old grin on my face.

My wife was out in the garage as I returned to the house so I did a couple of quick circles of the cul-de-sac, purposely going through the thicker patches of snow/ice which still remain. Lots of fun!

Why I rode the Ural on Friday..

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:09:00 +0000

Thursday night, after a day of watching blowing snow accumulate outside the office windows during the second day of our first major storm of the season, I got into my car to go home. I'd not ridden my Ural due to worsening road conditions and the fact that I wanted to attend a funeral at Fort Logan. That funeral, scheduled for Thursday, was delayed due to weather till Friday. I had even worn my good suit! OK, my only suit.

I took the E-470 slab home, avoiding most of the side roads I usually use to get home. They were covered in snow and ice and the slab was just wet. Easy choice. I went to tank up before heading home and found my right front tire riding low and almost out of air!

I tried to use the gas station's air pump but it was isolated by an expanse of snow, a good foot or more high, I could not get my car close enough to reach the hose.

I limped on home, in the snowy ruts of the neighborhood streets hoping to get to the garage and my own air compressor. Alas, it was not to be. Soon as Liesl's front end hit the piled up snow past the entrance of the cul-de-sac, she was sucked in and became well and truly stuck!

After several attempts to get moving, I gave up, walked to my garage. I changed into work clothes and fired up the snow blower to clear a path to my driveway:

Poor Liesl, crippled and stuck

Pretty high snow accumulation for October!

I was not a happy camper since this would end up preventing me from taking the Ural out for a spin about the neighborhood!

Soon enough, I had a path cleared, and poor Liesl struggled out of her predicament and we made it up the driveway and into the garage. Not a moment too soon either as this was how her right front wheel looked once parked:

I let things melt off her while I went back out to finish clearing a path clear to the entrance of the cul-de-sac.

Once finished, I cleared off the remaining ice, jacked up the right front quarter of the car and examined the tire. It seemed undamaged, it had just popped off the bead of the wheel. Hoping against hope, I applied air from my compressor and presto the tire inflated and I heard the popping sound as the inner walls of the tire seated into the bead of the wheel.

I checked it this morning before I headed out on Natasha and the tire was still holding pressure! I did not trust it though and besides, had decided to ride Natasha anyways.

I left the house at 6am, and had the roads mostly to myself. The snowy ruts of the neighborhood streets had hardened to rock hard consistency and I bounced along all the way to the E-470 Gartrell on ramp. No pictures, it was just wet riding on the slab, both myself and the rig would end up coated with road spray liberally laced with magnesium chloride!

The last mile to work, after exiting on Peoria Street, was packed and icy snow covered road. I slid a bit onto Belford Avenue but recovered nicely from a frozen wheel rut which wanted to drag my front wheel off towards the left.

I started the ride with temperatures in the low 20s and packed snow/icy roads. I would ride to the funeral with temperatures in the high 30s and melting slushy roads; and commute home in the low 40s and drying roads. Ya gotta love Colorado weather!

For her great performance on snow, I stopped at a car wash and sprayed all the road spray and magnesium chloride from Natasha. Dripping wet, we both rode home to a cul-de-sac where you could see the pavement, I expect most of the snow will be gone by Monday.

Honoring an American Serviceman

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:20:00 +0000

Today I was privileged to witness the burial ceremony of a friend of mine's son. Brian, had recently passed away while serving as a junior NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) in the United States Air Force.

While he did not die while in harm's way, he died while serving this country and for that I gladly honor him. His family is understandably saddened at their loss and our hearts, Martha's and mine, go out to them in this time of grief.

The ceremony, with full military honors, took place a little past Noon today. It was at the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver. The snow covered fields with their seemingly endless rows of white marble headstones provided a sobering and peaceful background as the shots from the honor guard rang out three times. To the Honor Guard and Casket Detail I say, job well done Air Force!

There were four representatives from the Patriot Riders as well, standing the Colors proudly and quietly, my thanks to you as well for your support of a fellow veteran and his family.

The day turned out beautifully warm with the sun out in strength and temperatures feeling like they were in their 50s. I was glad it was so, it seemed fitting to lay this young man to his rest on a beautiful Colorado day. I'm thankful that the Fort Logan people were able to reschedule this ceremony due to the frightfully cold weather we've endured the last two days.

I leave you with the above shots of snowclad fields of our country's best. I think Patton had the right idea when he said: ""It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." I read this on Brian's facebook memorial page below and while I am not saying it is foolish and wrong, for grief and mourning are the family's right. I am saying that Patton was right in that we should celebrate the lives of such who give their all for their country.

Brian James Joiner
Staff Sergeant, United States Air Force
1985 - 2009
Rest in Peace

From Brian's father, my friend Steve:

Staff Sergeant Brian J. Joiner, USAF age 24, was born April 5, 1985 to Judy and Stephen Joiner in New Milford, CT. He moved to Parker, CO in 1991 with his family, where he graduated from Chaparral High School in 2003. He joined the Air Force two weeks after graduating as he was deeply affected by 9/11 to serve his country. He was stationed in England, Afghanistan, Romania and other bases throughout these United States. He was active military, stationed at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, NV where he died on October 21, 2009.

Snow Storm Commute

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:42:00 +0000

We in the Denver Metro Area woke to snow this morning. It had started lightly at around 10 PM last night and is expected to go through till tomorrow evening sometime. Estimates from the weather guessers are coming in from 6-14 inches by tomorrow afternoon.

Well, I finally got the snow I'd been wanting; just another case of beware of what you wish for!

Got all geared up and left the house around 7:20 AM with Miles, my youngest son in the sidecar so I could get him to school.

Off to school and work, not much snow on the ground yet!

After I dropped him off at the school, I slowly made my way out of the neighborhood and onto the main roads. They were wet and slushy mostly, with everyone staying in the channels created in the snow by the previous cars. I had to concentrate on keeping the wheels in these same channels for maximum traction. The snow was falling pretty heavily and the winds were making sure the snowflakes flew about.

All went well, the only point where I felt the pusher wheel slip was moving from a standing stop, there was lots of ice formed at the intersections. I was one of the slower vehicles on the road but not by much, everyone was being very careful due to conditions.

Got to work with no issues, except for the electric gloves I am currently reviewing having failed miserably at keeping my hands warm. I think one of the power cables is bad, must diagnose tonight if possible.

Here's Natasha after spending the day in the parking lot getting snowed on

Fulltime 2WD, backing out past the accumulated snow piled up by the snow plows, no problem!

I left work after spending only seven hours there, wanted to get home before dark and before the wet slushy roads turned icy. I must remember to carry an small ice scraper with me as the mirrors were frozen over and I could not monitor who was behind me.

Natasha was doing just fine on the way home except for the engine running a bit rough about halfway home, I think it was a combination of water condensation in the fuel system and the air filter being wet and probably frozen in spots.

Then, a momentary moment when about 1 mile from the house, the throttle got stuck in the wide open position. I am thinking it was ice forming on the throttle cables or the butterfly levers. Some quick wiggling of the cables and the throttle steadied down. Not a good thing, wide open throttle on snowy roads! Luckily, traffic was light and no one was behind me as I dealt with the issue.

Home safe

So, Natasha did pretty good for our first ride in real snowy conditions! I think I'll cover her air filter intakes somehow the next time I leave her all day in the driving snow. Perhaps instead of covering the sidecar, I cover the bike huh?

Covering the bike should remedy the air filter getting wet/frozen, the control cables getting wet/frozen and finally the mirrors staying dry.

A cheap way to measure your jugs' temperatures?

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:13:00 +0000

I figure with this title, I will catch Mr Riepe's attention. : )

But seriously, I was cruising the online forums today seeing how folks measure the heat put out by their boxer engine cylinder heads while the engine is running.

The usual solutions were trotted out:

Thermocouple attachments under the spark plugs with wires leading to a meter.
Touchless Infrared Thermometers one points at each jug for a realtime measurement.
A dipstick with a thermometer at the top.

Prices ranged from not too bad ($40-100) to high (>$200). Those who read this blog, know my tendency to go cheap (usually to my regret later). So of course, I kept looking.

Then, on the sovietsteeds.com site, this guy posted a picture of how he'd just used a plain old meat thermometer and rigged it onto his engine's jug. Simplicity itself!

I rode to the local grocery store, picked up two for $5.00 each. (If I'd paid attention, I could have bought three for the price of two). They come apart easily enough, I discard the aluminum/tin frame that came with them and carefully pried the cover off:

A couple of small holes to match the holes in the metal strap and the leftover screw size

I used lock washers to hopefully keep the screws in place in spite of engine vibration

In case you've ever wondered what causes the needle to move with temperature changes

Mounted, looks good there to me, the metal strap I just bent and curved around the tappet cylinders

So there you have it, a bit of metal strapping, some leftover screws/nuts and it even looks like it belongs there on the jugs! We'll see how long they last with the engine vibrations and such but for now.....

If they work out, I might do the same for my R80 Beemer's jugs.

Update: 26OCT09: The thermometers were apparently poorly placed to register heat from the jugs, their needles did not move the entire commute home tonight. Back to the drawing board.

New Farkles for Natasha

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:06:00 +0000

My motorcycles have always had a tachometer, it's good to know at what RPMs your motorcycle engine seems to be happiest at. On my R80, she cruises nice and smooth at 4000 RPM, below 3000 RPM in third gear or above, she's not happy.

I also needed, with the Total Loss Electrical System (TLES) on Natasha, I needed a way to track the hours the engine has been on to establish a baseline/history of how long the deep cycle battery lasts.

Some searching on the Internet, I ended up on Ebay as usual. I searched for hourmeter and found this:

The price was right, $20 and $4 shipping I think. A few days later, it was here and it took me all of ten minutes to mount it to my Ural's handlebar:

The 0.0 is the hourmeter when engine is off

Easy to install, hardest was figuring out a way to ziptie it onto the handlebar securely until I come up with a more permanent solution. The white wire goes to a grounding point on the motorcycle, I used one of the mounting bolts on the dead alternator. The other wire you wrap around the nearest spark plug cable. It "senses" the spark I believe and uses the count to calculate your RPMs.

It works as advertised, I am now learning what she does at idle and at speed. Natasha appears to idle at around 900 RPM, and likes to cruise around 4200 RPM apparently. Only drawback? It's not backlit, so you can't see it at night!

No problem, I rigged a $7 flashlight from Ace Hardware with a flexible neck holding the light, I just aim it at the tach and off I go. When the engine is on, you get Tachometer, when it's off you get hourmeter. Two farkles in one!

Commuting in light snow

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Ah yes, one of the reasons I'd traded my 1150RT away for a Ural Sportsman Sidecar Rig was the rig's inherent stability when weather conditions can make the roadway iffy in terms of traction.

We had light snow starting early before dawn and falling throughout the day. It was light and did not stick to the roadways, just making them wet. It stuck only to grassy areas and vehicles in parking lots for the most part.

Still, I'd put on the fairings and leg protectors last night and away I went into the pre-dawn darkness on my commute to my new job location south of Peoria and E-470.

I got to my work parking lot just before 7AM and as you can see, it was still quite dark but I'd arrived with no issues.

7Am, dawn is not for another 15 minutes or so

I watched the snow fall throughout the morning, just waiting for the official lunch hour to start so I could get out on Natasha and ride around the business park complex. The snow still wasn't sticking to the roads you see so it was just wet riding conditions.

The above was taken through my phone's camera...maybe a couple of inches accumulation, tops!
I am using my small bike cover for the sidecar to prevent it from filling with water. Note the schweinhundt SUV driver next to me, parking in the row for compact cars.....

Lunch hour in the Meridian Business Center

This is the building where I work

As you can see, yeah I guess you could call it a snow storm but it did not amount to much so far....just wet conditions for drivers and yours truly. Still, it was a good test of Natasha's recently repaired engine. She started just fine each time, though I had to use the choke when the engine was cold. No overheating issues today! I think it was a high of 40 degrees!

The ride home was uneventful, just wet. I did have to keep wiping the ice that formed on the windshield but that's it. Had I been on Brigitta, my R80 Beemer, things would have been a bit more tense.

My new Hero: Hubert Kriegel

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:15:00 +0000

I'd never heard of the man till this month's edition of the BMW Motorcycle Owner's Association publication of Owner's News. I am very glad that they did a write up on this guy, nay on this adventurer!

Hubert Kriegel is his name, a sidecar rig rider, in his early 60's, and criss-crossing his way around the world on a ten year adventure! He basically sold everything he had, equipped himself at first with a R100GSPD Tug mated to Ural Sidecar and off he went.

He's now on his fifth year of traveling the world and apparently has switched to using a Ural Sidecar rig; at least while he's in Russia....which is his current location apparently.

I got the following photos from the BMWMOA online version of the magazine article: The Timeless Ride.

As you can see, neither heat nor cold stop this guy from exploring the remote corners of our planet while on his sidecar rig. This guy is my new Hero!

Here's Mr Kriegel's website: The Timeless Ride , there's tons of pictures there, of which I've seen just a small amount during my lunchtime break.

As I mentioned before, the pictures and initial info are from the BMW Motorcycle Owners Association's website: LINK

Natasha on the South Platte River Road

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:51:00 +0000

As a "shakedown" ride after being down for two weeks due to the self-destructing 35amp Russian alternator episode, I rode Natasha out towards the Deckers area, specifically to cruise along the South Platte River.

I headed out the door sometime after 9am, the voltmeter read 12.5 volts and there was 33km on the tripmeter. I took the back roads to the town of Parker, transited it to reach Crowfoot Parkway which eventually got me to Castle Rock's northern limits. I crossed over the I-25 Slab here and got on northbound US85.

The weather was nice and warm, it would get hot later on. The sun was out in force and traffic was not heavy yet. I soon reached Sedalia and turned onto CO67 heading towards Deckers which was about 28 miles away.

The biker bar at Sedalia, no one there at around 10am

CO67 is a nicely paved somewhat twisty road in the canyon areas. I found myself wishing I'd ridden Brigitta, my 1987 r80 motorcycle instead but there was a mission to be accomplished: Seeing if Natasha was good for a long ride.

Eventually, I went past Rampart Range road and was soon on Douglas County 67 which is a two lane packed dirt road with small gravel. Being on three wheels, the gravel was not a major issue at all and I was able to maintain speeds between 25-30 mph. There were some sharp turns in this 9 mile stretch of road which had me standing on the brakes but it was all good.

A view of far off rock formations from Douglas County Road 67

My first view of Scraggy Peak as I approached South Platte River Road

I got to the South Platte River Road, north of Deckers by about 5 miles I believe. I turned north to follow the river as it courses southwards. I watched the fly fishermen up to their thighs in the frigid rushing waters, trying their luck.

Soon the paved road ends and packed dirt and dust became my road surface as I admired the rock formations that decorate the hillsides and the river.

A nice view of Scraggy Peak and the South Platte River

Looking south along the South Platte River

I love these big boulders in the river

The best shot of the day, in my opinion, the sun was hitting this high rock formation just right

Too soon, I came upon the end of the larger rock formations and crossed a small bridge to stop in front of the delapidated husk that once was the South Platte Hotel. It's been "considered for restoration" now since I first saw it back in the Fall of 2006, methinks it'll never get done. Which is a shame as the area was once a bustling stop along the South Platte River when it served as a transportation medium.

The usual shot of the South Platte Hotel

You have to ride slowly as you make your way north on South Platte River Road from this point until you get past a small ranch or two. Why? Because their animals, I've seen cows and horses line and walk on the road at times. Today, I passed within almost touching distance of several horses. I passed them by at a dead crawl.

I've missed the narrow window for fall colors this year, kind of drab looking leftovers is all I could find.

Nearing Foxton Road, what Sanoke calls the Cathedral Spires

I got to Foxton Road and took it northwards to US285. Again, the many twists and turns on this road had me wishing for Brigitta but Natasha did just fine as well....just not as fast or as fun. I am still leery of taking right hand turns too fast. Heck, at times I was going so slow this bicyclist passed me! We did this passing each other thing a couple of times until we both reached US285.

I stayed on US285 North only long enough to take the CO73 Pleasant Park Road exit towards Evergreen. Another nicely twisting road to be enjoyed if you are ever in the neighborhood and a good way to get to the mountains from the SW edge of the Denver Metro Area.

I arrived at Deer Creek Canyon road and followed its own nicely twisting curves all the way back towards the Chatfield Reservoir area. Lots of traffic at this juncture due to cagers taking their kids to the corn maze activity nearby.

Traffic looked like crap going south, the way I normally take on CO 121. So instead I got on eastbound C-470 for just a short sprint to the Santa Fe/US85 exit. Turning south on US85, I soon arrived back at Sedalia. Where there had not been another motorcycle near the flag adorned bar in the first picture, now there were herds of HDs each trying to outdo the other in terms of noisy pipes. I fueled up quicky and got away from the noise.

The rest of the ride was retracing my route through Castlerock with a brief stop at an overlook that belongs to a housing development under construction:

That's Castlerock's namesake in the near background, and Pikes Peak is way off in the distance

After I took the above picture, I had several minutes of "vapor lock" conditions on Natasha. She was quite warm and the day was hot as well. Tried for a few minutes to start her using both the electric starter and the kickstart, no luck.

Pushed her a bit and she almost caught but still nothing. Finally, waited a couple more minutes and successfully kick started her. Must investigate that further. No further incidents and I was hope just before 3PM.

Natasha, in spite of the vapor lock incident, did outstanding! I covered 242km or 145 miles. The voltmeter read 12.0 volts upon my return and I'd watched it go as low as 11.8 at times. The meter being LCD, its kind of hard to see in direct sunlight. So, about 6hrs of riding time on the battery charge so far and 145 miles range. Not too shabby eh? Remember, I am running without an alternator, just using the TLES or Total Loss Electrical System.

Natasha lives once more.....and she gets a farkle

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:32:00 +0000

It was tough, but managed to wait till the stroke of noon before firing up Natasha to see if I'd gotten ride of the squeaking noise caused by a gap between the front engine cover and the engine case.

Success! No squeak and she ran quite smoothly during the whole test ride. Good power and acceleration, in fact, she seems a little peppier now without an alternator robbing some power from the cam shaft timing gear! : )

Looking like surgical scars, you can see where I put high temperature RTV sealant to ensure no further "air gaps"

Yep, kind of messy looking, I'll be trimming and cleaning up the excess soon enough

I took her out for about 18 miles of riding. Now that I am running Natasha on a TLS or Total Loss System in terms of ignition, I am trying to track voltage use on Natasha. I started out with 13.5, ended the riding for the day at 12.5. I was using my low beam headlight.

Natasha ran great! I went to the small hilly area I like to pose my motorcycles by when close to home:

Nice clear sunny day today, you can see Denver's skyline and the mountains

On the way out of the development, I spotted this dirt road leading to the top of a small hill, I couldn't resist. Up we went, Natasha and I, and here she sits on top of the hill.

The photo doesn't really show the slope of the hill

I went by Andre's house for him to listen to the engine, he seemed pleased with the results though he thought one of the valve clearances on the right jug was a bit loose. I'll be checking that in the morning.

Once I got home, I drained the oil I'd put in while working on Natasha this past week. The color of the oil was still almost new looking. However, the metal particles I found when wiping the drain plug and saw in the oil filter cap made me glad I flushed the oil! No big stuff but I'll be flushing the oil about a week from now you can be sure of that.

The sparkly stuff is metal particles, whether left over from the old timing gears or the new ones "breaking in" remains to be seen, I am hoping its the former.

I took apart the oil filter and you can see its a good thing I swapped it out so early after installation.

Once I was done with the oil change on Natasha, I gave Natasha a new farkle as her "welcome back among the living" present. It was a voltmeter I'd bought on Ebay last week to monitor the drain on the TLS battery.

As the connection point, I used the power leads for the alternator warning light which is lit all the time now since the alternator is not hooked up. It's the nearest white connector in the picture above

Above is the indicator before I removed it.

Here's the voltmeter mounted in place of the warning light in the previous picture.

I also rigged the ground wire for the low beam headlight to be grounded at one of the handlebar mounting points. I'll probably eventually rig a fulltime on/off switch so I can turn off the headlight when running low on battery so I can make it to home or somewhere I can plug the battery charger into for a quick charge.

So a great day for all concerned. I managed, with enormous amounts of help and expertise from Andre and online sources, to disassemble a motorcycle way past the point I'd ever done on any motorcycle....replace the timing gears successfully....put everything back together and actually have it work! Andre, if you're reading this, you're the reason this repair job went so well! Thanks!

Putting Natasha back together.....test ride tomorrow afternoon!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, Andre and I had put things back together enough to the point where I could work towards trying to start the engine. Here's the new timing gears, installed by yours truly with a minimum of cursing and damage; and with tons of help from Andre.

The hole on top is where I will put the damaged alternator back in, sans gear, to act as a cover until I either get a rebuilt or some other option pops up.

Closeup of the crankshaft timing gear, yeah, I buggered up the bending of the disk to lock the nut in place. Oh well, it's not pretty but it'll work

The new cam shaft gear, which was pressed onto the cam shaft while it was out by Andre's mechanic friend. Note the new allen headed screws holding the cover behind the gear, almost all the rpoc flathead screws got replaced by allen head steel screws.

Andre had to leave for home before I was ready to try and start the engine and so he missed it when I went to hit the starter and NOTHING happened.

Dammit! There I was, getting close to 11PM by that point, and I could not get the starter to do anything. Very frustrating. Called it a night after posting the issue on the online forums asking for guidance. So close!

Today I went to work, and hurried home after 4PM to start troubleshooting what I believed to be an electrical problem. Andre joined me soon after I got home and together we worked with voltmeters and visually checking connections.

Here's Natasha, sans gas tank(which is a pain to remove when it has gas in it), so we could examine the whole wiring harness.

A closeup of the two relays which control the starter and alternator, we initially thought one of the relays was bad, then perhaps the individual wires leading to them.

The two black thick wires that used to lead to the bolt on the rear of the alternator, now joined together and taped up to complete the circuit for the lights and the starter.

After maybe an hour, we found that by jiggling the wires leading to the two relays, we could hear the relays clicking when the ignition was on! Aha!

We concentrated then on the relays and their connectors, tightening things, cleaning connections and so on. We thought we had narrowed it down to a bad relay but after we put the new one in, more jiggling of wires caused sporadic loss of power to the starter circuit! As an indicator, we knew we had good connections when the battery low indicator light glowed. When it blinked, problems.

Andre then noticed that the small green wire which had been connected to the back end of the alternator, and which the online guys told me could be left disconnected, also kept moving as he shook the relay wire cluster and occasionally grounding out on the engine case! He'd found it!

So in spite of the general wisdom online, you do have to ground the small green wire from the 35amp Russian alternator. Once we secured it, the starter engaged just fine. Heck, we even started the engine! She started just fine and ran very smoothly. We'd hear this weird squeaking noise while it ran though. Took a couple of tries but we finally found it:

Air was escaping at the top right corner of the front engine cover, causing the paper gasket there to vibrate and emit a squeaking noise!

So after Andre left today, I went to the auto parts store, got some high temperature gasket sealant and removed the front engine cover again to apply it. I'd decided not to use it the first time because its use was not mentioned by the source I was using as a guide. My fault. What a pain, specially after the engine ran so smoothly and quietly when compared to before....almost beemer-like!

Still, it had to be done, can't be squeaking can we? :)

I sure hope the gasket sealant does the trick, the gear damaged the case somewhat and I found a couple of hairline cracks near the top. I applied a little JB-Weld since it's not a high stress area of the engine. If it ever gives out though, I'll have to replace the front cover, and that's if I am lucky and the main engine case does not have issues as well! Damn grenade alternator!

So that's why I must wait till tomorrow afternoon, I want to give the sealant a good 18 hours to cure and seal.

Still, she's back together, just have to put the front wheel fender back on tomorrow morning, sort out a few things and she'll be ready for that test ride. Wish me luck.

Total Loss Ignition System installed.

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Took me about an hour or so once I collected all the stuff and tools. Easy.

I bought yesterday a 125 Amp Hour Marine Deep Cycle Battery at Walmart, a pair of battery cables and a plastic storage box; got out of there for less than $120. Not too bad.

Assuming the figure I've read online of a Ural normally using 8 amps/hr, I should have with a fully charged battery about 15 hrs of riding time in terms of range before I have to recharge. Since I plan to run with the headlight on (it's the law here), we'll see what actual ranges come out to.

Cleaned up trunk, ready for install

Here's the marine battery in the plastic box I bought for it, all wired up

A closeup of the exit point of the battery cables to the bike's small battery

View of bike's regular battery, hooked up inline with the marine battery

Here's what you'll see when in traveling mode

Battery box with cover on, note the vents for battery gases

Yeah, it takes up some room in the trunk but the peace of mind I am hoping it'll give me in terms of not having to deal with another failed alternator should make it worth it. The battery weights 68lbs so it's ballast with a useful function!

The box is anchored to the bottom of the sidecar with a couple of steel bolts with locknuts and washers to help spread the load.

Now, to wait for the new timing gears to get here so I can put them on and reassemble the engine parts I took out.

Update: Researching the matter still, but have decided for now to isolate the smaller battery to prevent it from being "deep cycled" along with the large battery. It'll be the onboard "spare" which gets me perhaps 20 Amp/Hrs or maybe 2 hrs of riding time w/ headlight, probably 1 with headlight on.

Shopping for voltmeter to monitor the battery as well. Thinking also of wiring a switch into headlight circuit so I can cut off headlight when running low on juice.

Update: Small Battery isolated. It'll be the onboard spare. Just have to rig up some quick disconnects so I can isolate either battery easily.

Update: A very informative link to an article written by Ed Paynter who has been running a TLES system for over two years and over 35,000 Km! LINK

Readying Natasha for the new Timing Gears

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

I ordered a new set of #5 Timing Gears from Wagner's Cycle yesterday. I spent most of today cleaning up the engine front cover area mainly. Removing the metallic shavings from the damaged gears, cleaning components, draining the oil and disposing of the oil filter. Lots and lots of metal shavings to be found throughout the process!

Went out and bought a deep cycle battery and cables for the upcoming install of the Total Loss Ignition System. Also picked up a three jaw gear puller from Checker Auto Parts.

The clumps of metal shavings that I washed off the timing gears tower.

The magnetic oil drain plug before I cleaned the metal shavings from it

Clean oil drain plug

This is the oil filter cap which holds the oil filter in the cylinder which is part of the front cover, yeah, more clumps of metal shavings mixed in with the oil.

The oil filter cap after I cleaned it up

Timing Gear Tower aka front end of the engine, all cleaned out

Note the damage at top of timing gear tower, hope it holds!

Now for the removal of the crank shaft gear!

The back of the engine front cover, nice and clean, note damaged areas at top hole where the alternator gear spun amuck before it finally sheared off.

The front of the front engine cover, the tubelike portion in the lower half contains the oil filter, the circular disk holds the ignition control module, the cam gear shaft will use the hole in the center.

After lunch, I undertook the removal of the crank shaft gear. The hardest part? Figuring out to how to assemble the gear puller with the right jaws in place. Once I did that, the rest was just grunt work.

I ended up using a 13/16 Socket, placed against the inner ring surrounding the crank gear bolt hole. That inner ring is part of the crank shaft itself.

Almost in its final position, here's the three jaw gear puller in place gripping the gear, the center screw pushing against the 13/16 socket which in turn pushes against the shaft itself.

You have to use a large screwdriver to block the gear puller jaws from allowing rotation by the crank shaft gear as you rotate the puller's screw inwards.

Voila! The gear is off, and you can see the bearings. Note, I had to use a breaker bar with a 17mm socket to turn the screw on the bearing puller's screw.

Natasha is now ready for the new timing gears.

Note: I'll be dropping the oil pan tomorrow to clean that out as well.

I'd like to thank the work of Bill Glaser and his Unofficial Ural Service Manual Website, and the postings of such Ural Gurus as JohnBG. Here's a couple of JohnBG's many informative postings on russianiron.com and sovietsteeds.com which relate directly to the repairs I am doing on Natasha.

Timing Gear Removal

Timing Gear Installation

I'd like to also mention Chris, of affordablebeemerservices.com, he suggested using a torch and Mapp Gas to heat up the crank shaft gear and at the last second hitting the shaft itself with a quick freezing "Freeze Spray from Wurth. The heated up gear should then slide right off. If the puller had not worked as easily as it did, I would have tried this method. In fact, it's probably the method I will try first the next time, if ever, I have to remove the cam shaft gear (the large one in the middle of the timing gear tower).

His method precludes the need to do all the engine disassembly that I did this past week, and when successful you remove the cam gear without removing the cam shaft. Assuming of course all you wanted to do was take the gear off.

Update 11OCT09: Took off and cleaned out the deep oil sump on Natasha. Glad I did and thanks to all who reminded me as well. There was plenty of metal shavings in the pan:

Yes, plenty of metal shavings, they were stuck onto the pan and took some scrubbing to remove

Ready for new oil

Once I put the oil pan back on, I put in new oil for both the engine (2.25L) and the transmission (1.0L) of Castrol 20W50 Motor Oil The old stuff in the gear box looked pretty clean. The stuff that came out of the final drive, came out black. I put in 135ml of 80/90 Gear Oil. So now I've a baseline of clean fluids for Natasha.

Thinking about going with a Total Loss Ignition System

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:20:00 +0000

No, I'm not making another crack about yet another crappy component on Urals!

My previous postings detailed the "issues" the crappy 35amp Russian alternator had caused me when its gear sheared off. This alternator is almost universally reviled in the online Ural forums. However, there's also people who say they've no issues with them. You have to understand, people don't log onto the forums to report all is hunky dory with their rigs, just the ones like me who are experiencing "challenges".

I ordered the new timing gears for my 750cc engine today, they should be here by midweek next week. They're also putting together a rebuilt 35amp alternator but will call before sending it to me to see if I still want it.

Why would they do this? Because after some research and talking with folks who've actually done it, I'm going to try and run the motorcycle without an alternator!

Huh? You say.... or in Mr Riepe's case, WTF?

First, a little background on why there's an alternator in the first place. The alternator is a small generator of sorts which generates electricity as its shaft-mounted magnets spin around within coils of brass wiring. The electricity goes to recharge the bike's battery. The bike's battery powers all the electrical systems on the bike such as the ignition coil which sends spark to the plugs which fire the air/fuel mixture in the valve compression chambers which turn the crank which drives the transmission. Hence, no electricity, no lights and no engine.

OK, so now you know why the alternator is there. Once the battery is dead, you're stuck by the side of the road like I was this past Monday. LINK.

To try and avoid another repetition of the Russian Grenade alternator, and the newer and costlier Denso alternators have had issues with the russian gear adapters too by the way, I am thinking of going with a Total Loss Ignition system.

What the hell does that mean? It involves getting a deep cycle trolling/RV battery with lots of amps and mounting it in a storage box within the sidecar's trunk. You wire it up inline with the bike's regular battery. You cover the hole where the alternator mounts with a cover or in my case with the failed alternator since the gear is gone, otherwise you get oil all over the place!

Chris, of affordablebeemerservices.com, has been running the above setup on his rig

Why a deep cycle battery and not a regular car battery? Deep cycle batteries are designed to be drained of their charge before being charged back up. Car battery's are meant to be topped off steadily from an alternator. Deep cycling or discharging a car battery will eventually kill it.

The deep cycle battery, I am thinking of something in the 110-140 amp range, provides power for lights, ignition and start ups. The Urals draw about 8 amps per hour of riding apparently so a 140 amp battery should give me 17 hrs of power (probably closer to 12-14 since I'll be using the electric starter). That'll get me to the mountains and back with plenty of safety margin and using the headlight. Plug it in at night for 8 hrs and it should be ready in the morning. It'll damn sure last for regular work commuting on those bad weather/cold days as my commute now is less than 30 minutes of riding.

Benefits? The engine is much quieter as reported by Ural riders who've been doing this for years. There's no dreading the replacement alternator failing and taking out the timing gears again. The deep cycle battery will also act as ballast in the sidecar trunk! The 140 amp version from Sportsman Marine weighs 68lbs!

Cons? Heated gear will definitely lower the range. Not sure by how much as it depends on the power draw of the gear. It's something I am going to have to experiment with to see what my particular usage patterns tell me. I'll probably carry the battery charger with me just in case. I may even carry my spare motorcycle battery.

A voltmeter will be a definite must as I have to recharge before I get to below 10.5 volts or so, that's when the ignition will start to sputter and we know what'll happen next, right?

One guy has even rigged a solar power panel on the spare tire of his rig! Charge from the sun as you go!

More on this later, I'll assemble the components this weekend and install them. Then when the timing gears arrive, and I get them put on and the engine re-assembled, with a bit of luck I should be riding Natasha again by next weekend!

Rescued by a Russian

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:37:00 +0000

As I wrote last night, discouraged, I had decided today to have Natasha; my 1996 Ural Sportsman, trailered to Linden Engineering so they could remove the front cover and replace the timing gears and alternator.

We had bad weather today (I still rode to/from work though) with freezing fog and occasional snow that didn't stick to the roads. Linden had arranged for a tow truck company to get my Ural. They called me and asked if they could do it tomorrow since the weather was crap and their truck was undergoing some clutch work. I asked what the cost would be, was told $130.

Being the cheap guy that I am, this cost gave me pause and motivated me to try and remove the dang rpoc screws again tonight. Phil, the previous owner, had mentioned that perhaps an impact driver would do the trick. I mentioned this to Andre, my russian friend from my contract work at DIA for UAL, and he surprised me when he showed up at my house with an impact driver that he picked up at the auto parts store! I had just been expecting Andre to show up with screw extractors, you see. The cost was $14 and I am here to tell you, worth many times that amount!

Here's what an impact driver looks like, this one is from Sears. A wonderful tool, thanks for the tip, Phil!

Yep, the impact driver did the trick, we got the dang rpoc screws out with very little problems. The cover came off easily enough and this is what we saw:

Success! The cover is off!

Check out all the metal shavings at the bottom edge!

We had a heck of a time removing the cam gear and shaft. We thought all we had to do is clear the push rods from applying pressure on the cam gear's lobes. So we removed the rocker arm assemblies and removed the push rods on the left side and extended out the ones on the right as shown below:

This however did not do the trick. There was still something hanging up the cam shaft lobes.

Then, by using the great instructions and photos on Bill Glaser's Unofficial Ural Motorcycle Service Manual website, Andre and I were able to figure out the next steps in order to remove the cam gear. This is the large gear in the picture above. Had I been smart, I would have looked at the link beforehand and done it in the order shown, saved us a bunch of time!

We ended up having to, in order: (note, I am probably not using the right names, refer to the pictures)

Loosen the rocker arm assemblies on both sides of the motorcycle and remove them.
Once the rocker arm assemblies were removed, we removed the push rods on the left and extended them on the right. (See above picture)
Remove the left side exhaust pipe from the left jug, which freed up the jug. You need the special pin wrench from the Ural toolkit to do this. Once loose, just tap the u-shaped exhaust pipe with a hammer till it comes off the jug. (Must buy myself a rubber mallet for such jobs)
Pull the left jug enough so that its base cleared the engine case and the tappets were exposed behind the cylinder and cylinder heads (within which the push rods travel).

The left jug, once freed from the exhaust pipe, slid outward easily, note the tappets which were now free to move out of the way of the cam gear's lobes.

This freed up enough space so that when I pulled the bike forward while in gear, the cam gear rotated more freely and I lucked out and stopped the bike in the right position. By this I mean the cam shaft had rotated so that it's lobes were clear of the tappets inside the engine case. I was then able to just pull and it came out easily. We had been beating on it before....when we should have done the above steps beforehand. Now we know. I am very glad I did not have to loosen the right side jug, the sidecar being there makes it a pain in the butt to work on.

Now, I've just got to figure out if the cam gear comes off the shaft or does it come like that in the new set. I am hoping I can take it to a machine shop if it has to be pulled off and pay them to do that properly and easily.

Now to order the replacement timing gears and a rebuilt alternator. I know, I know, I should get the Herzog gears and the Denso alternator, I know! But the damn Densos are on backorder and I am unwilling to wait. I need to get Natasha road-worthy as it looks like an early winter for us. I truly believe if I am zealous about checking the clearance of the gear on the alternator, that it will last longer in spite of being a rebuilt version of the one that failed so thoroughly.

All that remains to be pulled is the crank gear, shown in place above. It's seemingly undamaged but will compare against the new one to make sure.

Here's a closeup view of the tappets (small metal tube within the round openings), the cylinders and cylinder heads mate up to them and the push rods are the actual contact on the tappets.

Here's the removed cam gear and shaft, to the left and right of it are the rocker arm assemblies, the small gear to the right is the oil pump gear that came off the opening on top of the engine, the cover for the oil pump gear is the big round cover at the base and to the right of the end of the cam gear shaft.

Just look at how the alternator's gear wore down the cam gear's teeth!

Another view of the left jug, pulled clear of the engine case, that round opening on top is where the oil pump gear goes into.

Just before I succeeded in pulling the cam gear and shaft out, I was visited by Mike, a fellow Ural owner who'd emailed me from my postings on russianiron.com. He's got a 2005 Ural Troyka and was interested in the work I was doing. I would have been too in his place. So now, I know a local fellow Ural rider, we can compare notes, go riding together and be support for the other in case one of us breaks down. It's all good!

My grateful appreciation to Andre for all his help so far and his steady confidence throughout this trying process. He's told me he'll be here for me as we put it all back together again.

Update:

I'd like to mention a tip from Chris, of affordablebeemerservices.com. He suggested using a torch to heat up the crank shaft gear and at the last second hitting the shaft itself with a quick freezing spray, both available from auto parts stores. The hot gear should then slide right off. It's probably the method I will try first the next time, if ever, I have to remove the cam shaft gear (the large one in the middle of the timing gear tower).

His method precludes the need to do all the engine disassembly that I did this past week, and when successful you remove the cam gear without removing the cam shaft. Assuming of course all you wanted to do was take the gear off.

Natasha is going to the shop

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:23:00 +0000

Well, I gave it the old college try but was in the end defeated by two rpoc screws I could not remove in order to be able to remove the engine's front cover.

My Russian friend Andre and I tried for hours on Monday and did not even budge them. Penetrating oil failed to loosen them, we tried various ways to apply pressure while the other tried turning the screwdriver using pliers....no joy. Heck, the tip of my craftsman screwdriver bent without managing any movement on the screw itself.

Today, I tried screw extractors, all I managed to do is break two drill bits trying to create a hole for the extractor! That's when I decided the motorcycling gods were telling me to let the professionals take it from here. Coincidentally, as I was putting away my tools, Dennis of Linden Engineering called me to ask if I wanted him to come get Natasha and take her to the shop.

He'll be here tomorrow afternoon, after 4 PM so I can get a full day of work in and then meet with him at my home so he can trailer Natasha away. Sigh.

Here's some pics of where I ended up giving up this repair effort. Now, I'll be stimulating the economy in Golden instead.

The view of the engine front cover, the round part with three notches on it is where the Ignition Control Module mounts.

Note the damn RPOC flathead screws, located top right/left of the cover

A view of the engine, from the left side, it should give you an idea of the ackward angles we had to deal with while trying to remove the cover.

A photo from Natasha's previous owner, this is what I would have seen if I'd gotten the damn front over off. That middle gear was worn down from what I could see through the alternator mounting hole so the timing gears will definitely be getting replaced. The smaller gear on top is what got sheared off the alternator.

Hmmm, I just realized, that cotter pin holding the alternator gear, no in evidence when I took the alternator out....hope Linden finds it!

Thanks to all who offered supportive words and comments. I'm going to have Linden replace all the rpoc flathead screws with allen head steel screws so the next time the engine cover has to come off, it'll be doable by me!

Oh, and I am going with putting in OEM Ural Timing Gears and a rebuilt 35 AMP Ural Alternator. Why? The timing gears are $70 vice $230 for the aftermarket Herzog timing gears. The rebuilt alternator is $200 vice the $600 Nippon Denso Alternator which is backordered for the foreseeable future!

In other words, it's cheaper and faster to go with Ural components. Once she's running again, I'll have more options. I wanted the Denso but am unwilling to have no ETA on getting one.

One thing I've learned of all this, one must monitor the noise level coming from the alternator and adjust its position accordingly to prevent excessive wear on the gears. These motorcycles are definitely "interesting" when it comes to keeping them running.

Natasha's Swan Song?

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:17:00 +0000

I had a great adventure with Natasha, my 1996 Ural Sportsman Sidecar Rig, yesterday. LINK

However, that may have been her "Swan Song".

Today, as I rode Natasha to my new job, she started making sounds like "marbles in a blender". I feared the worst but I was already close to the new job location and I for sure did not want to be late on my first day!

I parked her, got ready for work and worried about her the rest of the day. I figured the alternator had finally started to go. They're known to be faulty RPOCs, with some of them apparently breaking apart into pieces and taking the engine along to their doom. Their other nickname is the grenade alternator. That paint a clear picture for you? It was these kinds of thoughts that weighed on my mind.

So, the first day of work is done, I gear up and walk out to a light rain in the parking lot. No big deal I thought. Then the electric started made the dreaded "death rattle" noise when one's battery is not fully charged. Damn.

Several kickstarts later, I got her going. Yay I thought. The rattling noises seemed to have abated a bit as well (this turned out to be not a good sign). I got going in the rain and she seemed to be running OK but noisier than usual. Then I noticed the alternator light was on. Didn't think much of it as I was concentrating on finding my way home in the rain.

Got lost of course, vision was not the best due to visor issues. Finally got turned around and headed in the right direction. I was on Inspiration Drive east of Parker when she started making like she was out of gas. I switched to reserve but still she continued to bog down. I finally coasted to the side of the road where she finally died. The battery, without the alternator charging it, had finally run down. Damn.

Called my loving wife and she quickly brought me my spare motorcycle battery. Of course, it was raining the whole time I was on the side of the road, a few nearby lightning strikes as well to "lighten" my mood.

Once my wife found me, I got the spare battery (which I keep charged), swapped them out and Natasha cranked right up. She was still making the marble in blender noises albeit less loudly now and I raced home in the rain; managing to get her home before the second battery was totally drained as well.

Dried off, got some dinner and finally got some courage to take a look at the alternator. My #2 son was most helpful in handing me tools and such I must say. I had to remove the airbox but finally managed to remove the alternator. It was toast.

This is what it looks like in one piece, note the gear on the left side of the picture

The small geared piece used to be part of the center shaft of the alternator!

Note the sheared off center shaft, and damaged areas surrounding it

Best shot I could get of the ring gear within the engine to which the sheared off gear from the alternator mated and was spun by

A closeup of the sheared off section, that smooth looking dome on top used to be part of the alternator's center shaft!

At this point, I am debating the following courses of action, your thoughts and feedback would be appreciated:

1. Have here trailered (if possible) to Golden, CO where the nearest repair shop that I know is located. Get an estimate. It's going to be at least $600 for a replacement alternator, plus labor, probably more since the ring gear that spun the sheared off gear shaft on the alternator was probably damaged too. This also assumes that the repair shop can find a replacement alternator....they're apparently very hard to come by and backordered everywhere. If I could fell confident the ring gear in the engine is fine, I could order a replacement alternator and put it in myself but how the heck do I do that?

2. Give up on this RPOC and just cut my losses. I must admit, as my wife pointed out, that at least Natasha failed in this manner close to home, not while I was on that mountain trail yesterday! The motorcycling gods were indeed with me then.

3. Sell her off on craigslist as a parts bike. Try and recoup some money and move on.

4. Dismount the motorcycle from the sidecar, sell the motorcycle for parts bike and explore the concept of attaching her to Brigitta, my 1987 R80 though I am loathed to do that. Brigitta is such a sweet, and reliable, motorcyle to run as she is today.

What do you think? I asked my sons, and though they loved riding in the sidecar, they left the choice to me. They're such good boys.

Natasha does the "Oh My God" Road and Empire Pass

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie6) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Natasha and I tried for some mountain roads today. Boy, did we get what we wished for....

I left the house around 08:20 AM and by 10:00 AM I was in the town of Idaho Springs. My route out of the city involved County Line Road east to US85 which I took north to US6. US6 then got me to US40 which I took westbound, paralleling the I-70 Super Slab. Poor Natasha prefers two lane roads such as US40 instead of the super slab. I doubt she could maintain over 55mph going up the steep grades that mark I-70 at this point!

So we sedately, figure about 50 mph, cruised up past the foothills and into the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Traffic was light on US40 and the temperatures were not too cold, mostly sunny and not much wind. Perfect conditions in other words for our first foray together into the mountains.

My standard shot just after getting past the foothills

You can see why they call this spot the "Buffalo Overlook"

Once I was past the Buffalo Overlook, Natasha and I went on a brief "high speed" sprint on I-70 till we got to the Floyd Hill exit. Just a few miles and then back we were on US40, at a more sedate pace. US40 eventually dumps you on US6 which I took westbound back onto I-70 for another brief "high speed" run till I was able to get off at the first Idaho Springs exit. Not too bad, and Natasha did great, although we were passed by everyone while on the slab!

I tanked up in Idaho Springs, and checked in with my loving wife. We then proceeded up the town's main drag and soon turned right onto Virginia Canyon Rd, aka the "Oh My God" road. The road was a bit rough at the start but not bad, just had to learn to stand on the pegs when hitting the washboarded sections!

The first safe place one can park while ascending the Oh My God road

A view of the way the road hugs the side of the mountain

It's about 6 miles to the top of the road, with the last mile being paved of all things. Not sure why its paved since it turns to dirt soon after you start heading down towards Central City.

I turned around instead and headed back down the "Oh My God" road. Gravel and sand is no longer an issue when riding Natasha...now I have to pay attention to where my sidecar's wheel is! No sense getting too close to the edge of the cliff eh? I took things nice and easy since I was still getting a feel for how Natasha rides on dirt. I did turn up the steering damper's pressure on the front wheel so hitting rocks would not wrest my grip from the handlebars. Nice feature.

While heading back down Oh My God road, a small view of the twisting roadway

A view of the distant mountains, already snow-capped

Back down in Idaho Springs, I was getting more comfortable with dirt and so decided to head west out of town and towards the town of Empire. This involved another brief sprint on the I-70 super slab, not for long though and I made it safe to the exit for US40 and Granby/Empire.

My objective was Empire Pass, a rock-strewn and steep pass south of the small town of Empire. This pass has stopped me just by its looks when I was on Maria, my 2004 1150RT and then again when I was riding Brigitta, my 1987 R80 Beemer. Today was the day we'd break that impasse!

You can see Georgetown's lake in the distance, Empire Pass is off to the right and up

This picture does not really convey the rocky conditions and slope one must negotiate

Slowly and a bit nervously, I rode Natasha up the above roadway. Lots of feathering of the clutch and high revving of Natasha's poor engine. Still, we made it past the big rocks and crevices on the road! Woof, I thought the worst was behind as I parked Natasha at the top of the pass:

At the top of Empire Pass, finally!

Looking back north from the top of Empire Pass

I proceeded on, the road was not too bad and I was taking it slow. The road took a turn to the right, away from the cliffside which I thought was where it should really lead. I should have consulted the map at this point. Turns out Old Georgetown Road apparently disappears and I ended up on what I believe is Bard Creek Road.

courtesy: Google Maps

Things got gnarly really fast less than a quarter mile later! The road narrowed, became full of big rocks sticking out of the dirt surface and became full of sloping surfaces.

I continued on, at times feeling like the rig was going to start tilting sideways due to the sloping surface of the road. One time, I slowed too much and the engine died on me. Holding tightly onto both brakes, I caught my breath and gingerly press the starter button and the motorcycling gods smiled on me. The engine caught and I continued onwards. The last stretch made the initial rock-strewn path to Empire Pass seem reasonable!

I tried to stay as much as possible standing on the pegs both to allow me to lean into the slope and use my knees as shock absorbers. It was tough going at times.

Still, Natasha got me through safely and I stopped at a small clearing that was level to catch my breath, let Natasha's engine cool off and steady my nerves.

This was as far as we got

As I was resting and both of us cooled off, I spied a guy coming down from up the pathway on a small dirt bike. His engine appeared to be off and he was just coasting down the path, neat as you please.

He stopped where I was and we chatted for a bit. He had stopped to tell me that it'd be better if I turned around at this point, because things got really bad further on up the mountain! He described it as rock filled roller-coaster conditions where he'd seen 4X4s get stuck before.

He departed on his way down the mountain, I walked up a bit and saw the trail continuing to climb out of sight. I had reached the border of the national forest at this point and decided to turn around.

The return ride down the mountain proved just as nerve-wracking as the way up, only now I had Mr Gravity making things much more "interesting". Lots of standing on the brakes and forcing the front wheel to go where I wanted, not where the sloping surfaces were trying to lead the rig! I think it was harder going down than up and was glad I'd turned around where I did.

Finally, I got to where I had turned right and rested again. Here's the view from the cliffside near where I parked Natasha:

A view towards Georgetown from the south side of Empire Pass

Having caught my breath and no longer feeling like my arms were burning from holding onto the handlebars; we proceeded on through Empire Pass once again. Going back down the pass proved a bit challenging, I felt like I was sliding forward from my seat most of the time!

Again, the motorcycling gods took pity on me and I made it safely back to semi-level ground. Woof!

I made my way back down towards the town of Empire, feeling defeated since at this point I thought I'd not made it to Empire Pass. Turns out, I crossed it twice. : )

I stopped south of Empire across from Minton Park and got this picture of Natasha with what I am sure is part of the Continental Divide in the background:

The view I had while lunching

Ate my pop-tarts lunch and had some water, reveling on being back on relatively level ground once more. I won't be trying Bard Creek Road anytime soon, Empire Pass maybe, but not till I get more off-roads skills and confidence on the rig!

After checking in with the family one more time, I then made my way back east. I retraced my way back to Idaho Springs and slabbed it to where US 6 junctions with I-70. A bit of a death-merge here as you have to be in the left (fast lane) for a bit in order to turn off onto US6. You really cannot take the safe way and stay on I-70 as it climbs steep for several miles and I didn't think Natasha would be able to go faster than say 50 mph!

I got on US6 and shortly afterwards was back on US40 which I managed to take all the way back to Bergen Parkway. I must remember that's how you avoid the super slab along this particular stretch.

I took US40 all the way back to the Denver Metro area with just a brief sprint past the Chief Hosa recreational area. The rest of the ride was retracing my way on US6, taking Kipling Street instead to get south to US285. I took US 285 north further into the metro area and then it was I-25 slabbing briefly to I-225 and from there a sprint to the Parker Road exit.

More sedate city traffic speeds and I was soon home. About two hours is what it takes to get back from Empire, CO to my house. Good to know and not much in terms of having to deal with super slab riding.

Home safe, got a pic of Natasha in the neighbor's driveway next to a nicely colored tree

Natasha did awesome, though I could tell she does not like going much about 55mph for long stretches. There would sometimes be a harmonic sound along with her normal engine noise which I believe was her telling me to either gear down or slow down....not sure. I must get a tachometer for her someday. Then I'll know for sure if I am taxing the engine or not.

A great first foray for the both of us together into the mountains. Good confidence builder for me in terms of trusting her on long runs, and now I've a taste of how she handles on dirt and really bad terrain. I doubt I would have been able to get as far as we did today on that mountain even on a 650GS!