Monday, December 21, 2009

Commuting, Maintenance, and Books - December 21

Ural In Snow 20091220The Ural has been running great since it's first service just over one week ago. The ride today was pretty normal for Minnesota winter: 16F in the morning and 22F on the way home.

 

 

The bikes before winterizingI finally finished winterizing the rest of the bikes in the garage this weekend. It was good to finally finish the process. I just needed to put some marine stabil in the tanks and let them run for a bit to get it into the carbs and injectors. It also reminded me how much work I have to do.

 

The WR250R needs new handle bars (they are really bent), new levers (bent), and new handguards (bent!). I guess I need to quit crashing in the forest, but then my friends wouldn’t get as much entertainment.

The SV650 needs a carb sync and the valves checked out. I was nervous about doing both, but after watching the Ural service videos, it doesn't seem that tough. I also want to replace the turn signals and brake lights on the SV. The previous owner put tiny little turns signals on. They look good, but no one can see them during the day. I should also flush all the radiators and change all the plugs to get the bikes ready for an early spring ride.

Since I purchased the Ural, I have been reading "Driving a Sidecar Outfit" by David Hough. It has helped me understand some of the unique sidecar dynamics. I think riding a sidecar is much more work than a regular bike, even a dirt bike.

There are some excerpts from the book on CycleSideCar.com. David also wrote one of my favorite motorcycle books: Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well.

5 comments:

  1. David Hough's books are good stuff, his Proficient Motorcycling was one of the first books I read to become a better motorcyclist.

    Did you check out Ken Hall's pdf books on sidecaring at http://sidecar.com/links3.asp ?

    Redleg's Rides

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  2. whoops, I mean Hal Kendall....my mistake.

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  3. Proficient Motorcycling was my first moto book too. I've read it twice along with More Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies.

    Thanks for the link. I hadn't heard of him, but I will check them out.

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  4. Chris:

    I had lunch (group setting) with David Hough last year at the Soundrider.com motorcycle rally in Stevenson, WA . He gave a talk on cornering traction and dynamics. He is an elequent speaker. I also saw him at the Seattle M/C show a couple of weeks ago, I have a photo of him on my blog post. He also rides a Hack

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin

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  5. Bob,

    You're lucky, I would love to meet him and get some of his books signed. I think I own all of them now.

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