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whilst recovering from a busted knee, I resorted to 3 wheels for a winter trip. For £800 I aquired a very rough transalp outfit. Although it was rough around the edges, I have never ridden something with so much grin factor. It worked well in snow, and on tarmac was reliably "flexible" on its standard 21" flexible front wheel.
It is some kind of Jawa chair, and the bike has been bodged to fit it, but being honda based was 100% reliable, the obvious issues like a whacking great slab of copper under the reg/rec to stop the extra lighting cooking the regulator. http://www.scarabis.com/Photos/AndyNorway08/1220188.jpg There is a German lad I went snowdrift bashing with, who has a monster africa twin based outfit that would go round the world with passengers, fuel consumption was lousy tho. will try to find a pic. |
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Hubert Kriegel on Thetimelessride RTW |
I have a 2007 Patrol (the non-camo 2wd version), which I bought new in the USA. I have been unkind to it over the years, using it as my only transport in the winter (We get a lot of snow), and driving all over the country on it the rest of the year. It has 67,000km on it, and was one of three bike I was using when there wasn't snow on the ground.
The bike would go 70mph, but wasn't happy about it and the MPG was awful. 60mph was better, but strong headwinds and hills would still give it trouble. It seemed as though I always needed gas too, and always had enough to refill the tank with me. There wasn't a year that went by when something major didn't fail. (I did saw I was unkind to it, doing several 1,000 mile days and similar foolishness). For a while I was planning on bringing it on my trip, but I am going by myself and just didn't need the space. A smaller bike was cheaper to operate, which meant I could travel longer. That said, I have a friend, single mother, with two kids. They have a CB550 with a Friendship sidecar, and travel around in that very happily. She wanted a Ural but the price scared her off (they are all over $12,000USD now). She wanted that big trunk, the friendship only has a little one. If you don't mind devoting some time every day to maintenance (I really mean every day, looking for loose stuff, checking for leaks. I'm not talking about hours here) then a Ural will do just fine. They really are built like a tank. Oh, and I no longer know how often I have been stuck and needed 2wd to get out. But it's true that 90% of the time you don't need it. When you do, though, it's a lifesaver. |
If you are going on a RTW trip, have you considered the possibility of purchasing a motorbike in another country and using it from there onwards. my 650gs was around 8000 euro new in the UK (spain cheaper ?), and if you went for a second hand version you would be looking at a lot less. Drive the vehicle from the country you purchased to Norway, work on it within the temporary import period and leave on your RTW Trip.
In the UK you just have to sworn the bike once a year to say it is off the road (LEFT COUNTRY) and you have to pay no yearly tax. You end up with a UK plated bike to go round the world. but it has saved you 15,000+ euro. (Must be enough spare cash there to stay somewhere for a long enough to get an address.) Room Share. Sell bike at end of trip (even for scrap to just remove ownership) Just some thoughts. that may save a lot of cash for you. Quote:
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Good thoughts, but there are two Ural/sidecar specific issues IMHO:
1. A UK chair must be on the left. If the majority of the RTW will be Europe/Russia/Canada/USA/S America/bits of Africa where French style rules are the norm, a chair on the right is a real bonus. The old trick of watching your passengers face as you pull out to overtake gets boring after the first five countries :innocent: 2. Urals need a good dealer and a careful run in period. In the UK David Angel/F2 or Mick Cross/MPC will sell you a Ural with the best chance of going RTW with minimal pain. There are various Lovejoy type characters who'll sell you one that won't make it to the ferry back to Norway and others part way along the scale of incompetance. Buying in a right handed country you'd need to find the good dealer and work out how to deal with the first 600 Km at under 50 kph. Nearly new, correctly run in Urals are rare, there will be a waiting list for the dealers demo bike. This is more like buying a splitscreen VW campervan or Ted Simon era Triumph than an F800, more preparation required before the authorities send you on your way. Andy |
No RTW experience whatsoever, but have had a Ural for a little over a year and have done over 10K km on it. Mostly street, but a little dirt and snow thrown in for good measure.
Others have mentioned most of the strong points as well as shortcomings of a Ural outfit, so I will not belabor them. I will report that my 2010 Gear Up, purchased new in October of 2010 has been totally completely reliable, giving me no trouble at all. I do the maintenance at the recommended intervals; the only change to this is that I change the oil filter every time I change the oil. Probably not necessary at all, but it makes me feel good, so I do it. Funny thing...since I acquired the Ural, my other bikes have mostly sat idle. The darn things are downright infectious! |
15,000km on a Retro
Great thing about the Ural's is that you can load them up and you can fix them anywhere! Don't expect to be heading anywhere fast! I did 21 countries this summer with few problems. Few videos here.... 3 Wheels North
Good Luck :thumbup1: |
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