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Ural Instead of a Car

3K views 33 replies 22 participants last post by  Dauntae 
#1 ·
I live in northern IL, so we do get snow, but I am seriously considering selling my car and buying an Ural for the winter months. I know I would have to invest in some heated gear and maybe even a full face helm with an electric shield. My wife says that I am crazy, but an Ural is cheaper than a car in all aspects, plus it would stop this persistent stress of not being able to ride.
 
#4 ·
I agree.

It would be like riding a snowmobile to work. You have to spend 15 minutes getting dressed and undressed.

On snowy days there are all those people who can't drive on it. Do you really want to be out there with them? Geneva is hardly a rural area.
 
#8 ·
I'm sure this is one of those things which at the time seem like a viable alternative. In practice however, in the long run I'm sure a person would have to come to the conclusion that it was a real bonehead decision. I remember once wanting to ride a Honda 400 from Dallas to Detroit. At the time it seemed like a wonderful thing to do. Looking back, well that was forty years ago.
 
#18 ·
I'm sure this is one of those things which at the time seem like a viable alternative. In practice however, in the long run I'm sure a person would have to come to the conclusion that it was a real bonehead decision. I remember once wanting to ride a Honda 400 from Dallas to Detroit. At the time it seemed like a wonderful thing to do. Looking back, well that was forty years ago.
What's wrong with riding a 400 that far? I rode between Chicago and California twice in one year on Honda cb450 twin. Would I do the same ride now a 450, not a chance in hell.
 
#9 ·
Have to agree with the others so far.. In practice, riding a bike in snow is likely going to wear you down ... As far as the safety of riding a trike in the snow, I think safety on the road comes from exposure to impact and many accidents in snow occur when inattentive cage-pilots apply the brakes late in the game and rear-end somebody..

If you have traction and are attentive then you can usually avoid such things..

I know you are attentive. But do you have enough traction to avoid such a thing?
 
#10 ·
If you need dependable transportation -- for things like going to work -- the Ural is not a very good choice. But if you are not worried about keeping your job it might be OK. Think of the stress relief when you don't have to go to work at all.:mrgreen:
 
#12 ·
I was in high school in the 1960's and lived in So. Calif. so it only got down to 40 degrees most of the time but I had an old Cushman motor scooter I rode to school. The first class was typing. I remember the stiff fingers trying to move. I now live in Wash. state so I know colder temps. You are very daring to ride in your area on two wheels at freezing and try to function at work.
 
#15 ·
I love my Vaquero which is basically a Voyager without a tour pack, the Vulcan forum is lacking(which is why I am still here) but the bike is great. The 2 biggest complaints about the bike are heat and the gear indicator. Heat can be addressed by either buying or making heat shields and the gear indicator is more of a nuisance than an actual problem(it sometimes tells you that you are in a different gear than what you are actually in).
 
#16 ·
Thanks for your fast response,
I currently ride a 750 shadow aero.
I am considering a 2014 or 15 and i think the heat issues have been solved and hopefully the gear indicator as well.
Do you consider the vaquero a long distance cruiser and or long distance touring bike?
Is your seat factory or aftermarket? How many miles have you put on the bike? reliability? maintenance issues?
Sorry for so many questions.
 
#33 ·
The heat issue has been addressed on the Voyager, but the heat shields still help. Right now my seat is stock, but I am planning on having it refoamed(the company that is going to do it is even going to put in a recess for my tailbone). I have just over 10k on mine, that is with just 8 months of riding. Did the first service at 1000 miles and the second at 7500. The were just shy of $200 and the next one will be more because at 15k you have to flush some of the fluids. Other than that the only thing I have had to do is replace the rear tire. With the bags it does make checking the pressure on the rear a little bit of a hassle but when I have to replace the front I am going to have them put an angled valve stem as the brake disc make checking the front worse.

Also, for the heat it's best to ignore the gauge as it looks as though the engine is running hot, but it's not. And coming from a 750, you will have to get use to the extra weight, but luckily you will only notice it at parking lot speeds(I came from a Shadow 600). At speed you will be pleasantly surprise at how well the 1700 handles, no its not sport bike type handling but its also 3 times the weight.
 
#17 ·
I understand the want to ride year round...but snow?
I actually talked to my wife about selling my car and riding the fury year round, just getting some heated gear...BUT! it doesn't snow that much in MD and the time it does snow, we can share the vehicle. She doesn't work to far from me so I could easily drop her off and pick her up...Other than that, if I had to deal with actual snow on the roads all the time...I'd say no.
 
#22 · (Edited)
With me it was 1971-72 that i rode both the Honda Step-Through Scooter and later the CB100 (if memory serves me right) to school. Illegally no less, no license yet. It was 2+ miles away and it was better to ride. i was 14-15yo.

The bikes were so light and you sat low enough where you could use your legs/feet
like ski's in the snow/ice.

BTW, I lived in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, Elmhurst to be exact.
Geneva was 3 towns over about 8 miles away.

At my age i would never ride in Snow or where there is a likelyhood of Ice Patches, Especially with a 500lb+ Bike.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Any Russian Ural biker would make fun of you guys. ... just say'in. These things are made in Siberia aren't they? I am guessing they are ridden on snow more often than not. Granted, there isn't much traffic in downtown Siberian Coldashellville. :) I'll bet you you'll never have problems starting it in cold weather...LOL. I've seen a few on the roads around here and they are really awesome. They are designed for the toughest environment on earth and to traverse it.

 
#31 ·
I took a course where the instuctor had one, his was two wheel without a sidecar and three with. He would load up his wife and three kids and dog and throw a picnic lunch in the trunk and go to the beach. They leak oil worse than a Harley and the seats are both springers. Surely fun to tinker and a novelty but not reliable. I wouldn't mind having one but not being mechanically inclined we would not be a good fit.

Dingo.
 
#34 ·
I'll have to see if I can find the article of the Ural, But a new one is almost the same as the original in the 1930's. It was actually started as a BMW made for the military before Russia and Germany went to war with each other. Germany developed a better design and sold the rights to it to Russia and after the war started for them the Russians moved the production of them to the Ural mountains (Thus the name of the bikes) so it was out of reach for the most part and protected being built into the mountain so not to be bombed by the Germans. It was used basically like the US used the willies jeep and years later they started producing them again to sell to the public and is STILL using the same designs. From the reading I've dome about them they have gotten more reliable in recent years bringing the quality of there manufacturing up but are still FAR from the quality of the bikes we all like to ride, There top speed from what I read is someplace around 50-60 so any highway riding would be a real bad idea and keep in mind, you'll be riding on 1930's technology. Maybe they have done some updating and who knows maybe fuel injection for all I know but still a very old design.

Dauntae
 
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