What do you guys think? I don't have any money right now, hoping to work out some sort of trade with him. I know almost nothing about Ural's, just think they're cool and kinda want one. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/3508705544.html
Looks nice But - always a but - expect to do some work. Thing about Urals is they are great for around town but not meant to be used on the interstate on sustained high speed trips. Design is from the 40's can not sustain 65+ mph. Good start if you have something to trade.
I've heard that before, to stay off the highway. I imagine the most I'll be doing is riding some backroads here, messing around in town, grocery shopping, ride to work sometimes. I don't see myself going cross country on it. I still have to see if the guy e-mails me back, and what he might be interested in trading for. Most of what I have in mind is worth either more or less, so I'm not sure how well this would work. Any deal breakers I should look for? I figure if the guys interested just check the normal. Oil leaks, put a voltmeter on the battery, see if anything's loose or worn, tires, brakes. There's snow on the ground so checking the 2wd will be easy enough. I believe this model is full time 2wd with an open rear, where some others have selectable 2wd with a fully locked diff? I'm googling but not finding a whole lot on these things.
Lots of folks do fine with the older 650's when used and maintained on their terms. The Sportsman has an open differential 2wd drive line that was only used a couple of years and there are few sources for parts. It can be damaged by flying the chair, and has the usual issues in certain conditions that any differential drive would have. They are a fairly basic machine, if everything works it should be ok, the ones to avoid will have very low mileage which means it probably has issues that were never sorted. Heres some good sources of information. http://www.sovietsteeds.com/forums/ http://www.russianiron.com/ http://www.cossackownersclub.co.uk/index.html http://www.myural.com/servicemanual.htm http://www.goodkarmaproductions.com/
Thanks. Guess I have some reading to do now. Should I just hold off on one of the ones with the other diff? It's not like I need a ural right now, so I don't mind passing on this one. It would seem like the selectable sidecar drive would be better for pretty much everything.
Can the car driveshaft be eliminated, to make permanent 1wd? Either before it breaks or after (with some 1wd parts)? I keep telling myself that I'd rather have something I can travel at higher speeds on, but then I see another ural with 2 tractor seats and have to have one!
I had a 1wd 650 that looked just like that. It never gave me any issues. I think you'd have to change out the rear to make it 1wd. I think it wouldn't move if you took off the sidecar driveshaft. Personally, I'd change it out to the newer 2wd (which I have now). That seems to be a reasonable price for a bike that looks like it's been well taken care of. Best of luck, Tom
I just brought mine home last weekend and it's an 08. I've been reading about them since around 2003 and as the years went on, it was told to me to try and get an '07 or newer. In 2003 is when they went to the 750cc engine and every year after that there were significant changes made. Check out: www.sovietsteeds.com www.russianiron.com You will get more than you could ever hope to know from those sites, it's where I spend most of my time. If you want an idea as to what you will need to do maintenance wise or what you will need to do to work on the bike, see: www.myural.com All of that said, the bike looks to be in good condition from the pics and the price isn't horrible. If you're working out a trade, that's even better in my opinion. I'm new to Urals myself and I've only got a week under my belt with it. I will say this, I drove it home over 500+ miles 14 hours nonstop last Saturday and it was all freeway. I kept the bike at a steady 55-60mph the whole way, but the newer bikes' top rated speed is 65mph. My bike didn't skip a beat that entire 14 hour trip. I've talked to guys who have had them up to near 80mph, but it's not recommended. Maintenance is easy, I changed out all my fluids today and hope to do some more work on it tomorrow. Good luck either way and make sure to check out those sites I sent you, lots of knowledgeable people on there.
I would,nt sell my 96 tourist for that pricethe only issue i ever had was weak charging system, fixed now if you can get it got..............do it you'll be glad uou did