Prologue

This blog is a journal of my ride on my new Ural Tourist sidecar motorcycle from my home in 29 Palms, CA, to my son Robert’s home in Mebane, NC in the fall of 2010.

With apologies to the RAM bicycle Race Across America, I am calling this trip The U-RAM (The Ural Ride Across America).

Distances are per Google Maps.

More pictures: Here

Day 1

Wednesday, 09/22/2010
29 Palms, CA to Kingman, AZ
186 Miles

Because of the remnants of a tropical storm coming from Mexico up through Arizona and New Mexico today I decided to penetrate no farther into Arizona than Kingman which is 50 freeway miles on I-40 from the California border and at the western edge of the Arizona high country. After taking a morning nap, loading the Ural and shutting down the house I got on the road at 1:30 PM.

The first stop was at Amboy on Historic Route 66, about 50 miles from 29 Palms. After many years the gas station and mini-mart are open again which is a boon for bikers with small tanks who are trying to make it from 29 Palms to Needles. Since I have a full two-gallon can on board I did not take on gasoline but elected to hold out for Needles, some 60 miles away even though that would be close to the limit of the Ural’s fuel supply.

I was too cheap to buy a Coke at Amboy and I did not want to stand in front of their store and drink my own so I went up 66 about 10 miles to Cadiz where I stopped and had one (I am carrying a small ice chest which holds 3 Cokes, a bottle of diluted and frozen Gatorade, and 2 sandwiches).

After the break, I motored on up to I-40 and got on. The traffic was light. It was a beautiful warm but not too hot day and I had had a tailwind much of the way, which is a pleasure on a bike. I was wearing my almost new evaporative cooling vest, which is one of the better investments in motorcycle gear I have made in a long time.

After soaking it for a few minutes and wringing it out the vest keeps one delightfully cool under a heavy jacket even on 100+ degree-days. Because I ride in a full touring suit most of the time (I have relaxed my rules a bit around town because of the stability and increased visibility of the Ural) this thing is a real find. I learned of it from a biker I was chatting with at a pass in Northern California on a hot day this past August. Between it and my electric vest I feel I have most (reasonable) climate conditions pretty well covered. If it is too hot or too cold to be handled by one of these vests I better stay home or park somewhere.

Even though I have had the Ural only 2 ½ weeks I am very fond of it already. It has some indefinable quality about it that no motorcycle I have owned before has had. It has a definite character and personality unlike the cookie cutter nearly perfect Japanese bikes I have always had in the past. It feels like a part of my life and not just some inanimate object I ride around on.

Yes, this is getting a bit “airy fairy”, a touch demented, but I suspect other Ural owners know what I am talking about.

Cheers

Day 2

Thursday, 09/23/2010
Kingman, AZ to Socorro, NM
475 Miles

I left Kingman on I-40 about 10:00 AM after getting gas and fooling with the rear brake light switch (again) and started the long climb to Flagstaff 150 miles east at about 7,000 feet. Kingman is at 3300.

I finally discovered that the dreaded brake light problem was due to my 225 pounds of lard causing the right foot peg to slip down when I stood on it to mount and dismount. This kept the brake pedal from coming up far enough to shut off the switch. Too simple.

I started with the cooling vest on but shed it after about 20 miles. It was a beautiful early fall day with a cloudless sky and some breezes and as I climbed it got cooler. I crossed the Arizona Divide at 7300 feet after a gas stop in Williams and started gradually descending to the afternoon’s low point at Holbrook, AZ.

I took a lunch/snack break at the rest stop near the meteor crater exit on I40 where I dug out my 20mm BFW and tightened up the foot pegs.

I left I-40 at Holbrook, AZ, got gas and started SE for Springerville. The remote and sparsely populated area of Arizona is very beautiful. I stopped at St. John for photos and pushed on into Springerville where I topped off the tank for the 150 mile run on US-60 up over the Continental Divide and down into Socorro, NM.

About 20 miles in I stopped at a picnic area for a short break. The sun was getting low and it was starting to cool down considerably and I knew I would cross the CD at nearly 8,000 feet so I put on my electric vest and hooked it up. This turned out to be one of my better decisions of the day as I stayed toasty and was able to really enjoy the ride up over the mountains and down into Socorro even though I did 2 or 3 hours in the dark. I picked up a couple of gallons of fuel at Quemado, NM, on the way up.

A long day.

Day 3

Friday, 09/24/2010
Socorro, NM, to Sweetwater, TX
437 Miles (plus 50 mile detour)

I left Socorro on I-25 southbound about 9:30 and promptly missed the exit for US-380 east. I went about 25 miles south before I was sure I had messed up. Unfortunately I had forgotten to pack my Road Atlas so I was navigating exclusively by GPS which often leaves something to be desired especially in the “Big Picture” department.

After I got turned around I came back to the north on NM 1 which parallels the freeway. About 5 miles before I got to US 380 I came to a nice parking lot for the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Preserve. I pulled in there to do the 1,500-KM service on the Ural.

It was a very pleasant morning even though there was a breeze blowing. I had watched a Youtube video of a mechanic doing a fluid change on the Ural so I did not have much trouble changing the oil and filter. The problem I did have was that there was no o-ring/sleeve/seal on the oil filter post and since I had not looked carefully at the pictures of it on-line I thought it was an O-ring and that I might have lost it in the drain pan. After spending a fair amount of time fishing in the old oil and pouring it through a small aperture funnel into Gatorade bottles I gave up and put the new filter in with no rubber o-ring/sleeve/seal (I had no other choice). I called a new friend from a Ural Forum and he told me it was OK to run without the seal so off I went.

The bottom line is that I did not get onto US-380 until 11:30 and still had most of the day’s ride to do. This may have been a blessing in disguise because it caused me to be too late for some very heavy rain in West Texas. As it was I rode the last 100 miles in the dark and the last 40-50 in moderate rain.

I had a nice ride across central New Mexico under ominous looking thunder clouds. I entered Texas near Plains and turned southeast for Sweetwater at Post in the dark and soon enough rode into the rain.

Day 4

Day 4
Saturday, 09/25/2010
Sweetwater, TX
0 Miles

Rain! It rained until about 2 PM. I was already committed to spending another night in Sweetwater so I just rested and enjoyed the afternoon.

Day 5

Sunday, 09/26/2010
Sweetwater, TX to Shreveport, LA
410 Miles

In spite of the forecast, when I got up in the morning it was cloudy and looked like it could rain. It did not.

I got moving on I-20 about 9:30 and within an hour or two was out of the clouds. The traffic was much heavier in the Dallas/Fort Worth area than I expected on Sunday. I think I hit the after church rush.

I had lunch east of Dallas and had an easy and pleasant ride into Shreveport.

Day 6

Monday, 09/27/2010
Shreveport, LA to Tuscaloosa, AL
400 Miles

Another relatively easy day of grinding out the miles on the Interstate. Good weather and light traffic.

Day 7

Tuesday, 09/28/2010
Tuscaloosa, AL to Newport, TN
361 Miles

As soon as I got on the Interstate in the morning I realized I had not fueled up. I got off at the next exit and noticed on the moderately steep downhill off ramp I had almost no front brake. The gas station had no brake fluid so I went to the next exit and got a can at the truck stop there with the idea in mind of running up to the rest stop a few miles on and checking the fluid level.

When I took the lid off the reservoir there was no fluid to be seen. I filled the reservoir, which did not help. I decided to push on. I went through Birmingham giving plenty of room between me and the cars around me and got onto I-59 going NE. The plan was to take I-59 to Cleveland, TN, then US 74 from Cleveland to Asheville, NC.

By the time I got to the rest stop 20 miles beyond Birmingham I had no front brake at all. I tried doing an impromptu mini-bleed to no avail.

I switched to I-24 and then I-75 at Chattanooga, TN, then stopped for lunch at Cleveland at about 3:30. It was 183 miles to Asheville on US 74. I decided I did not want to take on a twisty 2 lane highway with no front brake especially when I would have to do some part of it in the dark. Instead I stayed on I-75 to I-40 and rode through Knoxville, TN, to Newport.

This was a fine fall day. The mountains of Northern Alabama were beautiful. I had put the liner in my jacket before I left the motel in the morning and was comfortable all day and into the evening.

The sad part of the day was that when I got to the motel in Newport I realized my electric vest was gone. I thought I might need it so instead of stowing it in its plastic case under one of my duffel bags I put it on top of the ice chest and under the tonneau cover. I think I noticed that it was not on board somewhere on I-59 but it really did not register. I was preoccupied with the brake issue.

The possibilities are that it got sucked out of the car (does not seem likely), I left it out at a rest stop and it fell off somewhere (more likely but not too, I am pretty anal about keeping things where they belong) or that when I went in to use the rest room at a rest stop somebody pilfered it (possible).

So far I have not been successful in calling the rest areas I visited to see if they might have it in lost and found but I am still trying. In Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama every rest stop has a security guard or guards on duty which must say something about the potential for larceny.

Day 8

Wednesday, 09/29/2010
Newport, TN to Mebane, NC
269 Miles

The last day!

I got a good start and made it to Asheville about 11:30. I called my son from the rest area nearby and he looked on-line and told me to expect heavy rain starting around Winston-Salem. I got lucky. I only encountered a few sprinkles until I hit the solid stuff at Burlington about 10 miles from my destination. I got in about 3:00 PM.

Epilog

Friday, October 1, 2010

Epilogue

I have been here 2 days and am feeling rested and I have finally stopped vibrating.

When I went out yesterday morning (Thursday) to go to the store to get supplies to try to bleed the front brake and to do the 5,000-KM service, the rear tire was flat. I put the spare on the back and did my shopping.

I purchased a device called a “Brake Buddy” which is a small plastic bottle and some tubing which is designed to enable one person bleeding of auto brakes. I had no luck bleeding the brake, but I did take the tube out of the flat tire and find the nail hole. I could feel a nail or staple inside the tire but could not find it on the outside and could not pull it through from the inside.

This morning I used the syringe I purchased yesterday to measure gear oil for the final drive and the tubing from the Brake Buddy to force brake fluid into the system from the bleed valve. That worked. The 64-dollar question now is where did the original fluid go? There are no signs of leaks. We will see how it holds up. I also got the sharp item out of the tire and patched the tube and changed the lube in all three stations. Tomorrow I will close up the spare and check the air filter and spokes and go over the rest of the fasteners and bearings and all will be well.

My current plan is to buy a new tire and tube (or 3) and bungee the tire to the spare for the trip home, just in case. Some of the places between here and California are pretty far from a Ural tire store and my “spare” is pretty thin.