Projects, Projects, and a Trip

I have been working on too many projects lately. Both the SV60 and the Ural need some attention. The SV650 needs an oil change and the Ural needs one too. I think the Ural also needs a valve adjustment.

I still need to put all these goodies on the WR250R:

New bars, hand guards, top clamp, lower clamp, mirrors, levers, heated grips, pro bleeders, and new grips. My current stock bars, levers, and hand guards are quite bent. They are soft like warm cheese. This new setup from Highway Dirtbikes will be very stout and should resist my attempts to bend them while taking soil samples with the bar ends.

I’m also working on building the above trailer. It’s been slow going as I have been spending most of my time preparing for the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail (T.W.A.T or TWT) ride July9-13.

The TWT is not actually a marked trail, but a GPS route that crosses Wisconsin North-South. The route is about 550 miles and is unpaved. It uses gravel roads, fire roads, and forest service roads. There are also branches that use ATV and single track trails.

A few guys from the local dualsport club and I were going to do the trail. I was originally going to take the WR250R and we were going to camp. Then when we all decided to hotel instead, I thought it would be perfect to take the Ural and bring my wife. We’re both quite excited!

The basic plan is to leave the Twin Cities on the morning of the 9th (Friday) and take a nice scenic ride down to Dubuque, IA. Saturday Morning we head for Galena, IL and the start of the trail. We should make it to Sparta,WI or perhaps even Black River Falls, WI Saturday night. Then we ride to Clam Lake, WI/Grandview, WI by Sunday night. Monday after lunch, we should arrive at the Apostle Islands, WI and the shores of Lake Superior. The main group will head home from here. My wife and I plan to ride to Bayfield, WI and relax until Tuesday lunch and then head back home.

The total route will be five days and about 1050 miles. 300 down, 550 for the trail, and then about 200 home.
This will be a nice trip to wet our appetite for our big River/Mountain trip in August.

Holopaw 2WD Ural Trailer Hitch Install

This post documents installing a Holopaw 2WD Ural Trailer/Tow Hitch on my 2009 Ural Patrol.
 
I had mine custom made to include a class 1 receiver instead of just the ball head, so I could use my bike rack.

The bend is to keep the load as close to the drive tire as possible. They told me if it was straight back it would push and be difficult to ride with the load away from the pusher.

Tools Used:

• jack stand
• 19mm socket and socket wrench 
• chunk of wood
• carpet to lay on
• includes affiliate links to support the blog

1) Put the bike in gear and place a block of wood under a tire to prevent it from rolling. You could also use the parking brake.

2) Line the hitch up with the sidecar frame rail. I found it easier to support the end with a jack stand.
 
The flat plate on the hitch rests against the rear like this. It prevent the hitch from sliding back.

3) Use the 19mm wrench to tighten the nuts onto the U-bolts. I found it easiest to lay under the sidecar.
  
4) Done!
  
Here is the bike rack installed:

With a bike:
    
It sticks out a bit further than I would like, but seems relatively stable. I am seriously considering modifying my bike rack to bring it closer to the hitch. The vertical part of the rack is about 18 inches from the back of the Ural.
A ball mount:
 
The hitch has a tongue weight of 200lbs which is much less than my bike rack and bike. I also had to stiffen up the suspension when loaded up.
The Ural comes ready to tow too! The trailer wiring adapter is under the rear seat. It’s a square 6-pole connector. Towing could affect your warranty, so double check before hand.

Related Posts:

• Sidecar + Trailer = Mulch Hauler
• Holopaw 2WD Ural Trailer Hitch Install
• Ural Battery Removal
• Ural Brake Light Bulb Replacement
• Ural Headlight Replacement
• Ural Tube Replacement
• Troubleshooting an Electrical Short on the Ural

Video: ZARS: A Lap of DCTC

On June 6th, I attended a Zalusky Advanced Riding School (ZARS) in the beginner 1 group. This weekend I will attend another session with ZARS in the beginner 2 group. It will be my third two-wheeled school this year.

This is a short video of me riding around the track on my SV650.

Vimeo Video:

Youtube Video:

WR250R Yamalink Install

This documents installing a Yamalink on my 2008 Yamaha WR250R. The Yamalink combined with the stock lowering adjustment will lower the bike two inches.

Yamalink also has a short install video here.

Tools I used:

• vice grips 
• torque wrench
• socket wrench 
• 10mm, 12mm, 19mm sockets and extensions
• philips screwdriver 
• rubber hammer
• breaker bar
• digital caliper (mm ruler will also work)
• long bar
• scraps of wood
• grease
• includes affiliate links to support the blog

1) Put the bike on a stand, so the rear wheel can be lifted

2) Using the breaker bar and the 19mm socket remove the two nuts on the stock link

3) Slide the rear bolt out the left side of the bike past the chain.

It helps to lift the rear wheel slightly.

The link will drop down like this.

4) Remove the side/kick stand with the 12mm socket by removing the two bolts and two screws.

  

kick stand removed:

5) Remove the chain roller with the 10mm socket

6) Remove the other bolt connecting the link with the 19mm socket and breaker bar.

7) Pull on the stock link to remove it. I found mine to be quite stuck, so I used a small length of pipe to put some pressure on the link and rocked it back and forth until it was removed.

8) Slide the stock sleeve out of the link

and re-insert into the new Yamalink.

The two links side by side. There isn’t much of a visual difference.

9) Insert the new Yamalink. I used the same small pipe again to have enough leverage to put it back in. Make sure to line up the holes exactly, so the bolt fits correctly. The logo should be on the right side.

10) Re-insert the forward bolt. Now is a good time to adjust the stock ride height if desired.

and then the rear bolt. You can see I lowered the bike as much as possible now.

11) Re-attach the kick stand

12) tighten the two 19mm nuts to 58 ft-lbs. I found it necessary to hold the rear bolt with a vice grips while tightening it.

13) Since we lowered the rear of the bike, we need to lower the front as well. Use the 10mm socket to loosen both the lower and upper fork supports.

14) Raise the fork tubes in the clamps. I found mine to be really hard to move. I found sitting on the bike while holding the front brake and bouncing the suspension slide them up a bit. I then used a rubber mallet and small block of wood to tap them back down until they were both even.

Yamalink recommends starting to lower at 10mm and to not go over 18mm. The forums on the internet recommend going to 18mm. I decided to start with 16.46mm and go from there.

15) Torque the front fork bolts to 17 ft-lbs for the upper and 14 ft-lbs for the lower.

16) Make sure to adjust your chain.

17) Go for a ride and take care as the bike will handle differently.

So far, I am quite happy with this modification. The bike feels much lower, and I can easily put both feet down to the balls of my foot  rather than just my big toe on one side like before. I’m also happy I didn’t have to modify the kick stand at all. The suspension also seems to work just as great as it did before on bumps (ie: curbs :) ).

The handling is different. I’m undecided if I like how the steering feels now. I will play with raising and lower the forks to see what works the best.

Overall, I am very happy I purchased the Yamalink. I can’t wait to try it on some tight single track.

 

Related Posts:

• WR250R SpeedoDRD Install
• WR250R Sunstar 12T Front Sprocket Install
• WR250R D606 Tires & Fly HD Tubes Install
• WR250R Fasteners and Battery Tender Cable Install
• WR250R Force Accessories Radiator Guard Install
• WR250R Acerbis Handguard Install
• WR250R Thumpertalk Skidplate Install
• WR250R Yamalink Install