Just placed a deposit on a 1998 Ural Tourist; 1800 miles, red (of course) and mint condition. It's not like I'm looking for anything else to do; what with house, yard, two other bikes, two dogs, and other assorted teathers already firmly attached. Now, I've added to the responsibility pile...at least tools are involved. Let the flogging begin!
I still see the quality of Urals as substancially below the AMF:eek1 Harleys:eek1 of the late 70's. Bearings and driveshaft failures are often mentioned by Ural owners as items needing replacement. You seem to be aware of the shortcomings of the Ural and are proceeding ahead. I wish you the very best and truly hope my opinion of the Urals is unfounded.
Hoopjohn, Yes, I'm entering into this well-educated and eyes open. If I made every decision in life based upon only what was logical and rational, I'd surely end up being bored, lonely, and disappointed. As many have said before, this is a niche product and folks either "get it" or don't. Na vkus i svet, tovarishei nyet... Rgds, -- Prizrak --
My first Ural was a red '97 Tourist. It was a good bike. You'll soon learn about Ural Delay Factor (UDF) from the people asking you questions. You will also find out that a lot of the people with "opinions" about Ural have never had one, been around one and sometimes have never seen one.
At least you'll be starting with a nice clean machine, and it looks like your other bikes are maintenance free so you won't have to work on them too -- have fun!
Best of luck with your new Ural. It looks like it's in a lot better shape than my '98 Tourist when I got it. Check into the Russian Iron forums at http://www.russianiron.com/forums. Theres a wealth of knowledge there along with all of my garage exploits with my '98. I love that "hammer & sickle" red...
Actually, I've been in lurker mode on RussianIron (as well as the IMWA-run site) for some time now...and well aware of your exploits, John! Funny/interesting stuff... between you, Red Menace, Mr. Cob, and a few others, you guys do more to move (and motivate folks to get into) Urals than what little advertisements I see from IMWA. Believe me, I'll be tapping into the Foilhead collective for info soon enough, me thinks...
Welcome to "the foil"! Seriously, my '98 Tourist was in sad shape when I bought it used. If it were not for the folks at russianiron.com I woulda rolled it down the driveway and set it on fire a long time ago!
