[wwalkersd]

Good stuff! Now this is _real_ motorcycle touring. So, how did the wife and sprout like the trip?

 

[35259]

As neat as it is to wax ( And read about ) poetic about taking a archaic, oil-flinging, valve-cover launching trike on a trip, replacing parts as you go is a bit much for me. A little 'character' is fine, but towing a Ural parts warehouse behind me is not what I had in mind. If my refridgerator-reliable bike has no character, then so be it. Also, dragging the 13 year old would cave in the whole prospect. Kudos to this guy for a great trip and story.

 

[Steven_Verschoor]

Wow, what a neat moto tour. I can't turn a wrench, so I would've been hitching home, but you seem to have done just fine.



The kid didn't wear a helmet? Oh well, he's young. If he gets his head knocked off it will grow back, right?



Glad you and your family had a safe and pleasnt trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rider_md]

very readable. i enjoyed it thoroughly.



thanks for sharing.



another reminder of why i shelled out 11 something bucks instead of going to the burrito hut.

 

[32324]

I always see Urals with sidecars. How does it work as a solo? I recently rode a friends 1961 BMW R50 (22hp) and it wasn't bad - very relaxed compared to riding my Aprilia RS250.

 

[piinob]

Great Story!! I could get addicted to this web-site. It is really good to hear from people who know that you don't have to have 100 high tech horsepower to tour.

 

[3655]

An enjoyable read.

 

[DCH3HASHER]

Great story - thank you. I did almost the exact same route in late June, and highly recommend the Inn at Little Switzerland for breakfast. Nothing beats the Blueridge Pkwy from Cherokee to Ashville. Past that, it gets somewhat more congested - and with more speed patrol.

 

[longride]

Nice writeup on a great ride. Enjoyable read all the way.

 

[ducatirdr]

This is a great example of the internet at work. More reader submitted stories with a free membership for the year would be a great idea. I love these stories from the road. even more so when the winter rolls in and virtual tours on-line get me through the unridable months.



Please God if you're reading MO today, not another winter like last year. I didn't see my bike for 6 months. Had the worse case of seasonal affective disorder. Ended up spending a couple thou for a trip to Daytona for a fix.... Ahhh Daytonaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

 

[nokneedragin]

Brings back alot of memories, the Blueridge, and sundry hidden roads off of it, is the best ride in the US. Yes Ive done the PC, and a good hunk of the Rockies. There is just a feel to the Appalachians that is missing from the West coast roads.

Great write up, don't think I will be buying a Ural any time soon.

 

[33129]

First of all, she is your wife and YOU should have insisted that the kid come along. You make it sound like he is some sort of unwanted baggage. The kid will sense that and plot mean things against you. Second, and more to the point, why not buy a good used bike and attach an after-market sidecar? The inconvenience the Ural put you through was also experienced by your loved ones. I'm sure they had a ball putting up with all the yelling that resulted. The possiblity of being stranded in the North Carolina mountains was, no doubt, appealing to them too. Hows about a nice used Guzzi/Watsonian combo? Or older ST1100/Calfornia Sidecar? Just a thought to make the motoring a little happier. As a car magazine once wrote about a Yugo, "If you have to buy new, save longer and buy something else."

 

[navion_pa2]

If I remember correctly, the Ural side rig is

set to drive the side car wheel, in effect you

end up with two driving wheels on this set up.



A guy ran a Ural in the 2001 IBR, and did nothing but repair it all across the country.

Best story was using a drill bit for a pushrod

somewhere in WY.



David

 

[seruzawa]

I gotta hand it to ya Vlad... ya got balls! I'm not sure I'd have the guts to try touring on a Russian motorcycle. I've already gotten my own lifetime quota of roadside wrenching riding Britbikes. But heck ya did it. A far greater accomplishment than any number seamless tours on refrigerators.



A trip like that is one that'll stand out in memory far over any number of fast, smooth problem free sporttours. The people who can't understand just how rewarding a ride like that on an old fashioned motorcycle can be are to be pitied.

 

[mconlon]

Excellent trip report. These are the kinds of stories I'd love to see more of on MO. I've always been curious about bikes like the Ural and Royal Enfield. Now, I think I'll stay away--if I want a bike like that, I'll buy an older bike with more online (and off-) support. For a more modern, more reliable rig, I'd probably opt for a Velorex (cheap) sidecar on any number of fairly newer standart-style bikes, like an 80s Suz GS, or even the new Triumph Bonneville. Anyone tried to hack a new Bonnie yet?

 

[SmokeU]

I was at the most local Triumph dealer(250ish miles away) and caught a wiff of some nasty perfume and started hacking on a new Bonnie. That's the closest I've come to hacking one.

 

[35244]

What a delightful article! Any MOron who is passing through ATL should drop in on the dealer mentioned in the article - Blue Moon, Norcross (NE 'burb). You won't be disappointed.

 

[36219]

This story works for me. These are my roads of choice too. Next time I would suggest you skip Hwy 19 and go up GA 60 ( an excelent Rd) to Suches GA and stop in at TWO (Two Wheels only). It is a step up from the Blue Ridge Cycle Campground. I have tried em both and this place is like home. twowheelsonly.com

 

[3793]

I love riding as much as anyone and have 3 bikes to keep me busy in warm weather. But int the winter nothing beats skiing. There are no radar guns and I can pretty much go as fast as I want considering what my middle-aged body can handle. Now the only time of year I hate is the time after winter hits but before the snow falls, and the spring mud season when it is impossible to get a motorcycle from my backyard sheds to the road.

 

[ogre23]

I just adore the way those bikes look. Now, if I could buy just a set of plans for one, and then build my own (using somewhat more modern BMW parts) so that it would be, oh, wired correctly, and somewhat reliable, that'd be great.



-Kawazuki



Then again, mostly it boils down to "I want one of everything cool, and two of some of them."