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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

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Photo of Lois Pryce, UK
and schoolkids in Algeria



 
 
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Old 23 Mar 2011
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: West Yorkshire UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wheelie View Post
I've spent my share of time crawling this forum and advrider.com but i am non the wiser still. Advrider.com I had to give up completely as there was just too much nonsense noise to cut through deriving from all the pouting, bashing, trolling, the touchy-feely posters that had their feelings hurt from a previous post discussing Urals, etc. It just made me frustrated having to sift through all the crap. I like it better here at horizonsunlimited.com
+1 Too many Ural guys going round telling you their 45 HP, push rod 1940's technology bike will cruise four up at 70 MPH, 10 hours a day, never breaks down etc. basically because that's what they want to believe. They are colloquially known as foil heads and tend to flame anyone who points out a KLR with a home made chair does the same for longer but doesn't have such nice paint. Palica and Windmill (who I'm sure will be along shortly) will tell you how it is in real life.

There is a French guy who switched from an airhead outfit to a 750 Ural who does have a blog and has been all over the place. I'm afraid the name escapes me. There was a Dutch couple who went RTW on one but again my only recollection is that their list of breakdowns didn't convince me and the fact that they did all the tough bits as a 3x1 after a drive shaft failure really made me think I don't need 3x2 or reverse gear but do want more than 50 HP.

I had a 650 Ural and it was utter, utter, complete, ****y ****. I had a Ural chair fitted to my Bonneville and nothing the UK's premier Ural dealer said to me convinced me that taking a Ural 750 was any better than taking the same amount of cash and fitting a chair to another bike. My Bonneville/Ural cost less, was faster, more efficient and had 6000 mile oil changes. My BMW K outfit does all this and covers more ground again.

However, what I think we need to establish is:

What is your back ground in terms of technology and three wheel experience?
How much have you got to spend? (no need to be specific, lets say A) €700 gets you a 650 Ural or a CB500 with a chair meant for a Jawa, B) €10000 new Ural, newest airhead, 3 year old Bonneville outfit or C) €50000 a 3x2 Duodrive R1200GS ).
When do you need to be ready to go?
Why do you think a Ural might be right for you?

If you like camoflage, hate changing tubes in tyres, can't see yourself pushing an outfit backwards etc. I can see big ticks in Ural boxes. If you're a KTM/GS sort of guy, or someone who can weld your own fitting for a bike of your choice, I think we can suggest alternatives. You can read about the Bonneville here https://sites.google.com/site/threewheelbonnie/Home and there are links to the Brick outfit and other stuff which might be alternatives for you.

Andy
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