Burbank to Bodega or Bust by Ural

Yesterday, I kicked off the first phase of my trip to take my new to me 06 GearUp with 545 original klicks from Wrightwood up to Triquest in San Jose for a thorough service from Ski. From Triquest, I will pick up my wife at Oakland airport on Thursday and we will make our way up to Bodega Bay to stay with friends and attend a niece's wedding in Occidental on Saturday. Then we will take the next 3 days cruising Hwy 1 on our way back home to southern California.

The reason I am a bit nervous about this trip is the fact that the Ural has been sitting so long before I acquired it. In Urals, things like seals begin to dry up and rubber cracks, etc when they are not used. I have put about 1200 additional Ks on it since I've owned it and so far so good. I've changed the fluids, adjusted the valves, torqued the heads, fixed some electrical problems, and installed all new intake parts from the new 49 state air cleaner to compliance fittings and replaced the plugged idle jets with new ones and installed allen head SS screws on the carbs.

This past weekend, Mr COB stopped by SCAL on his way home from the Brass Monkey and we had an informal tech session over at J-Dub's house. COB found and corrected a serious alignment issue with J-Dub's 10 GearUp and helped me make some modifications to my carb cable plates, balance the carbs and adjust the clutch. A quick ride around the block and my GearUp was deemed ready for the trip to San Jose. Thanks, Mr COB, J-Dub and cpres... I have my fingers crossed that I will make it to San Jose.... but I broke down and bought a cell phone.. just in case.

My 06 GearUp...






Yesterday, I left Wrightwood for Burbank CA, to spend the evening with family celebrating birthdays... my wife and kids all have birthdays that fall within the first 2 weeks of March. Given that it took me longer to pack than I thought, I wound up taking the 210 interstate route from Wrightwood to Burbank. Not to bad a ride, since most of it was down hill.. I found a friendly trucker to pace all the way in.. I do wish this Ural did have a bit more power, however.

This morning, I leave from Burbank and plan to take the 5 north to the 33 to Coalinga, west on 198, then north on the 25 into Hollister CA and on the San Jose.

I'll post more along the way, if I can find wireless and time.

Randy from MojaveSidecar

When you passby San Francisco (have to from Ski to Bodega!) stop for a beer or coffee?!

Yes do let us know if you r up for a SF stop over.

Sent from my Venue Pro using Board Express

Hi Prmurat

My route north to Bodega is through east bay and over Richmond bridge since I have to pick up my wife on the way from Oakland airport. Maybe on the way south on Monday... assuming the Ural makes it there.... its making a new funny noise that I will have Ski check out today. I had to push it pretty hard yesterday... into 50 mph headwinds/sandstorms on the 5.,, it was the worst headwinds I've ever ridden in.

This hotel has horrible connectivity and I havent figured out how to get the pictures off my new fangled 4s iphone.
I will try to update this ride report when I've got more time and better connectivity.

Randy from MojaveSidecar

It was a pleasure having Randy and Karen over the weekend. They left Bodega Bay Monday morning before the storm and appear to be having a fun adventure following 101 back south.

I'm looking forward to hearing more, hopefully with pictures. We will probably be following the same path on our Gobi next month.

Hi All

We are currently in Solvang, completeling the last leg home. Ride report with pics to follow once we get home and figure out this new fangled iphone camera technology. We had issues with our equipment, but so far, so good with the GearUp itself ... in spite of the constant head winds that limited us to 3rd gear for most of the ride...ugh.

Randy and Karen from MojaveSidecar

Any luck with the pictures?

Back home today.... dealing with the issues that happen when one goes away for 10 days... I plan to tackle the itunes issue tomorrow...

hth

Randy from MojaveSidecar

It was my pleasure to get the informal tech day going, I had a great time. Looking forward to this glad you guys had a good time. I think you will find those of us who love the third wheel to be a friendly bunch of guys and gals.

Hi ALL

I finally had some time to sit down and fiddle with the new iPhone camera and my computers. The itunes stuff is still a bit baffling on my Win 7 developers laptop .... I'm brand new to Win7, itunes, iphones etc but have to use it for my new job.

But I am very happy to report that the iPhone 4s seems to interface exactly the same as my Cannon Powershot (which we dropped and had to tape back together) with my Ubuntu systems. In the future, I will be carrying my old Asus PCEEE 1015 netbook running Ubuntu with me on future trips so I can stay a bit more current with these reports.

Day 1, I left Glendale at 9AM, heading north on I-5 to the Roxford off-ramp for my first gas stop.


My plan was to take back roads, San Fernando, to the Old Road, to the Ridge Route then up over the Grapevine....
However, I missed a turn somewhere... and ran into a dead end in a residential area on the Old Road.

I turned to the trusty gps in the iPhone only to discover that I could not see the display in direct sunlight.:eek1

I backtracked a bit and found my way to the Ridge Route somewhere near Castaic.

This was the first time I have ever ridden the ridge route and it was a blast but time consuming. By the time I reached Templin Hwy, I had consumed about 3 hours of the day, a rate that would put me in San Jose way late. So, I jumped on I-5 north and headed up into the mist.

Going up hill on the Gear-Up, you quickly become friends with the Big Rig truckers... you get to wave at them as they pass you going up hill.... and they usually wave back with a thumbs up. Did not see one that used another popular digit. At this point, I only had 1500 klicks on the O6... so I figure the engine is still a little tight.

Going down the grapevine, was not a problem and I was able to pass every big rig in sight......
but I guess they have a 35mph speed limit there.

I figured it would have been smooth sailing once I reached the Valley floor but was I ever in for a big surprise...
The worst head winds I have even seen on I-5 ... waves of dust/sand not blowing across the road....
but straight at me... I had the poor Ural's throttle pegged in 3rd gear doing 50mph on I-5 ...
not a comfortable feeling in low visibility conditions when everybody else is doing 75.

After a while I pull to the side of the road to figure an alternate non I-5 route... this pic does not do justice to all the crap that was blowing...


I stop for gas at Taft Hwy 119 .... again the pic does not show how bad things were blowing, except for the palms in the background...


I head west on Taft Hwy to Tupman Rd, past the Elk Preserve eventually finding Buttonwillow and H58. Head west on 58 to Lokhern to H33, where I stopped to take a break and a pic...... still pretty windy.


Still pretty a pretty good head wind as clicking on the following pic shows... being new to the iPhone... I guess I had it in video versus camera mode.



By this time, I was getting worried... I still had a lot of ground to cover and it was getting cold... and I had all my gear on except for one sweater. So no more sight seeing .. or pics... I headed up the 33 to Coalinga... gassed, put on the rest of my layers and headed west on 198. Was planning to take 25 north to Hollister but it was getting later and colder so I 198-ed it to the 101north.

There was still a headwind on 101, so I spent most of the time in 3rd gear... finally arriving at the Ramada Inn near Triquest at 7PM.....



I checked in cold and shivering, ordered a pizza, popped the tops of a couple of Tecate's that I keep in the URAL's generous trunk for emergencies and called it a night....

End of Day 1. about 350 miles and 9 hours

Lets just say .... because of the nervous excitement and concern about trying to get the work done on my Ural in time to meet a friend for dinner in Oakland... that I did not realize until the following day that I did not take a single pic while my Gear-Up was being worked on at Triquest. That being said......

I arrived at Triquest about 9am and was greeted by Ski, who gave me a quick tour of the shop, showed me where the potty was, how to make coffee etc. and then we loaded the Gear-Up on his custom made motorcycle lift. The plan was to perform a 10K service even though the bike only had 1900 klicks on it because it was sitting so long.... the 06 only had 535 original Ks on it where I acquired it last October.

SInce the engine was hot, we deferred the engine related procedures for a 10K service until the afternoon and instead started in on the other service items.... wheel bearings, steering head bearings etc.

Fluids were drained and refilled... they looked good, new oil filter installed and my new K&N air cleaner installed in a 49 state airbox cleaned. Note... you do not need to oil a new K&N air filter out of the box... they are pre-oiled.

I was shocked to discover that my pusher tire was almost worn to the threads at 1900K,,, so a new rear tire/tube would be installed.

We serviced all wheel bearings including the spare... two bearings needed replacement.

Inspection of the front wheel bearings showed that the spacers were set up improperly and the front rubber was badly cracked, so a new tube/tire was installed on the front.... sidecar/spare rubber OK.

A new battery was installed just in case since the original was 6yo.

Clutch etc adjusted... Final Drive removed, splines greased... shafts indexed

New gas lines installed... petcock cleaned.... redundant fuel filters removed.

Ural factory skid plate installed... Raceway forward/reverse shifter kit installed.

Stripped headlight mounting bolt fixed..

By mid afternoon we get to the engine work since the engine was now cold....

Valves adjusted...

Compression checked.... uh oh...:huh 140ish right, 110 left... bummer.

Leakdown test performed .. scope indicates leaking rings and possible leaking exhaust valves...


Decisions, Decisions,,,, what to do.... I was still hoping to get out the door to Oakland but this was clearly a setback...

I decide to go ahead and pull the left side head and cylinder for inspection.... discover that there is a slightly leaking exhaust valve and the rings appear to have seized in an unseated position,

SKi uses a new ring to test the ring gaps on the piston and discovers they are tight. He saves the piston by using a cutting tool to resize the ring gaps.... we hone the cylinder... reinstall the piston with new rings, cut a new set for the exhaust valve, lap a new valve to the seat and reinstall everything... compression is improved.

We then finish the tune up, and check the sidecar alignment and pronounce everything completed ....
at midnight, :eek1 Ski actually stayed until midnight to finish the job since he knew I needed to be in Oakland the following day to pick up my wife....

I have never experienced such outstanding service/support from anybody like this before. I now have a Ural dealer for life.

It was close to 1AM when I rode the bike back to the Ramada Inn stopping at Jack in the Box for a midnight snack on the way,

End of Day 2 ... 4 miles...

It wasn't until this morning that I realized I hadn't taken a single picture of any of the work that Triquest preformed on my Gear-Up. Since I didn't have to be at Oakland airport until 2pm, I could sleep in a little and then head back over to Ski's for some coffee and pictures. Ski, OTOH, had another 8AM service client so he was at the shop early...


Arriving at Triquest about 10AM...



Sales display area...


Service Counter,,,


Service Area....


Ski and his 8am client from Fresno I believe...


A Gear-Up I tried to buy..... long story



Again, Dealing with Ski and Triquest was the most positive experiences I have ever had dealing with any kind of motor vehicle shop. period. Well worth the trip from the Los Angeles area to have my Ural serviced in San Jose. I would recommend that anybody in the Southwest Area of the country consider Triquest for any of their Ural needs. Ski has offered first class phone support as well when ordering parts for my bike from SCAL.

Oops.... time flew by.... need to get some lunch, gas and make it to the Oakland Airport to pick up my incoming monkey.

The plan for the rest of this afternoon was to pick my wife up at the Oakland Airport and then make our way north to Bodega Bay where we planned to spend the evening with Ivan Rider and his wife Mrs Ivan Rider,

Departing Triquest about noon, I picked my way through San Jose towards I-880 north. A flick of the petcock to reserve about half way to Oakland meant it was time for gas and lunch. A tankful of premium for the Ural and a foot long Pastrami from Subway for me and we were rolling north on 880 again.

With no headwinds, the Gear-Up had no trouble keeping up with the 55-60 mph traffic in 4th. However because of the new exhaust valve and rings on the left side, I did not want to push things too hard... I did vary the speeds while closing in on Oakland Airport... arriving at the appointed time of 2PM.

I must say that arriving at the airport to pickup a passenger was an eye-opening UDF experience. I could hear arriving passengers comment things like "In all my years of flying, I have never seen anyone pick someone up in a sidecar",

Karen was exiting the terminal just as I pulled up so I pulled to the curb south of terminal 2. I anticipated I was about to have the dreaded "move along, no parking at the terminal" experience from the terminal police with the yellow vest .... but UDF changed all that. The officer was very friendly and fascinated by the bike. "Take as much time as you need", he said, "sure go ahead and use the rest room, take your time" , "I'd be happy to take pictures of your and your wife".
And so he did.

The officer and the Gear-Up


The pics the officer took....




We wanted to get a pic of Karen and I with the officer but our camera battery crapped out.

UDF is cool.

Our route out of Oakland took us north on Doolittle Hwy, through Alameda Island, through Richmond over the Richmond Bridge, to San Rafael. 101 north to Petaluma. where we stopped for gas batteries and a monkey check.

The Ural performed adequately on 101 to Petaluma... we just became part of a big rig caravan in the right lane. As folks before have said... anybody can drive a big bike fast, but very few can drive a slow bike fast.... and I'm not quite sure I'm one of them yet. But I do find it "entertaining" to have to plan my moves in the URAL so far ahead... things like prevailing winds, slopes and neighboring traffic are a significant part of the calculation. I also felt the impact of Karen's additional 200+ lbs of luggage etc in the chair and the weight and air resistance of the luggage on the rack.

Karen managed to squeeze two more pics out of the camera on the way to Petaluma....

The tunnel connecting Alameda Island to Oakland..


and the Richmond Bridge..




Karen was not a happy monkey at this point.... she was cold and we did not bundle her up well enough at the airport.
Plus it was cold even for me and I had most of my gear on.

We decide to press on quickly since it was getting late and colder. We bundle Karen up with more clothing and head out towards the setting sun on the Bodega Rd/Hwy to Bodega Bay, shooting to arrive about dinner time.

55 mph at wide open third gear, done that, great support from Triquest, done that, finger in way of camera on phone, done that. Looks like a good read coming our way. Urals are great fun and as you have now experienced easy to tune and repair.

We made it...

We pull into Ivan Rider's (Dennis and Becky's) place on the coast above Bodega Bay about 6PM. What a beautiful setting... this property has been in Ivan Rider's family since the early 1930's.

Some pics.......

Ivan Rider's main cabin, shot from the beach ...


A storage shed and the guest cabin above, shot from the beach.... now officially called the "Uralinn" long story... where we stayed.


Beach views north and south from the main cabin deck.



Shots of the UralInn taken street side... Unloading our gear.



We decide to go into town for dinner for the best fish and chips in Bodega Bay...
Randy and Dennis.


Becky and Karen


The fish and chips were fantastic. After dinner, we returned to Ivan Rider's cabin and swapped stories about Bodega Bay, Urals, the sea et al as the 30's wood fire stove bathed us in toasty comfort. We retired to the UralInn as the moon was reflecting off the sea and to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore.

Absolutely Wonderful...

6 hours on the road... about 120 miles

I'm happy to see this ride report going again. It sure looks like you found a great dealership for service and some very nice fellow Uralists in Bodega Bay.

Today is the day Karen needed to be in Santa Rosa to help my sister with her niece's wedding flowers and rehearsal dinner.
I had a different objective in mind.. to ride the back roads between Bodega Bay and Santa Rosa... roads with amazing scenery and views that a Ural was designed for.. and it turns out that the day did not disappoint.

We rose about 9 to a generous bacon and egg breakfast prepared by Becky and featuring her famous "chocolate gravy" poured over biscuits. humm,,

After breakfast we said our "see you on Sunday"'s and packed up the Gear-Up for the ride over the hill on Coleman Valley Rd to Occidental and then on to Santa Rosa. Dennis was up for a ride and volunteered to lead the way and show us the sights.

Dennis leading the way up Coleman Valley Rd out of Bodega...


One of the many tree lined/covered lane along the way...


One of many of Dennis' rigs.... the Ural PickUp with Lucy the Jack Russell as the navagator... I'll let Dennis talk about the P/U that he hand crafted himself.


The view of Bodega from the top of the hill... nice..


More tree covered lanes...


Turkeys and cows in the background of one of the many rustic farms we passed on the way to Occidental..


We finally/sadly reached my sister's house in Santa Rosa... where Dennis and I had about a 30min UDF session with my family and friends. But it was time for the girls to get to work on the flowers while the men went in the house to talk about computers and contemplate our navels.

The output of the flower making activities.


We then rode the Ural over to my niece's condo where we staying and parked the Ural for the next two days... car-pooling to the rehearsal dinner (and wedding/reception the next day Saturday) with my sister who was also staying at the condo.

The rehearsal dinner....


No pics of the wedding itself... however.... a key objective was accomplished... I successfully delivered Karen on time and under budget to the flower making, rehearsal dinner and wedding. And to think she wanted us to drive up in the car.


The final objective now is to get her home comfortably on time by next Wednesday afternoon.


Day 4... about 30 miles and 2 hours on the road...

Howdy Randy,

Thanks for filling in the gaps on your ride north. I have long recommended Ski as "the" dealer in California I am glad he took good care of you, him staying LATE in the shop is his normal way of doing business when helping someone who is on the road and on a long trip.

I suggest getting some "Gerbing" heated jacket liners for yourself and Karen, some heated grips and handlebar muffs will also take the chill out of riding when its nasty outside. Take care and just keep riding that Ural the experience will only get better as you learn how to drive the darn thing.

Great report, I have also been to Ivan Riders place (Twice). About 8ish years ago I went with my parents on his triumph rocket with sidecar and we camped at Dennis place for a few nights and then this past October on our honeymoon in San Francisco we rented a car and I took my wife out there to see it. Dennis is a great great guy!

Picture of the Beach on Dennis Property in Bodega