The Ural and Dneprs: risers with a dot

An Ural or Dnepr? Well, no Pebble Beach prices are paid for it yet, but the time that you had two M72s for 500 guilders is over. But things like Urals, Dneprs and Lada's remain heart-conquering classics. Classic sidecars have something endearing in this. And shopping almost always costs extra time. Because there are always people who appeal to you. "Is it a BMW?" "Is it such a Russian thing?" Or; "I used to ride a motorbike".

Ural and your social life

This year alone I was asked by the mother of a son who had a ride in the bakkie as a dream and a friendly wife of a motorcyclist who did not dare do sidecars, plus a young lady who could have been my daughter. The agreements have meanwhile been noted. The one with the young lady in consultation with my love.

Classic sidecars is the ideal way to talk to people. That is a golden tip for the introverts among us. Add to that the fact that you can just throw an 12 pack of toilet paper and a crate of beer in the bin. And taking a bunch of flowers for you Lovingly taking away does not degenerate into embarrassingly offering a bunch of empty flower stalks. So how satisfied are you with your social life?

Russia, Urals and Dneprs

Urals have a roller bearing crankshaft, Dneprs have slide bearings. The nineties were the end days for Dnepr. Production quality reached an all-time low. But a well-assembled Dnepr is a more refined machine than a Ural. He has an halfaautomatic clutch and a handbrake. You can recognize the Urals by the round valve covers. Dneprs are more modern, stylized more angular. The sidecar drive is optional in both cases. Just like a braked sidecar wheel that often is. By the way, don't expect miracles from the brakes.

The 650 cc head valves are good for something from 'in the thirty hp'. And with that you can maintain a cruising speed of such an 80 km / h. The structurally objectionable motorway journeys are therefore not for these satisfied grumbling tricycles. But a ride from 350 km along the Meuse valley to the tip of northern France? No problem. And that you, together with other like-minded people, do other 10 hours on other old stuff about 350 kilometers? That was only because a freshly restored Harley always caused problems.

This Ural

With a Russian past of 25 years, this Ural is my third Russian. He had a difficult past. The previous owner had bought it as a project, but the project had crashed. Lack of time. The kit was exchanged for a moving one and put together.

After a total rebirth you always get teething problems. With that knowledge, I adopted my third Russian in succession. And the Ural got its portion of teething problems. During a trip to Zeeuws Vlaanderen the engine started to run worse. On the way back from 300 + km, the boxer burned four liters of oil. But he did bring his owner home. In spite of the fact that the last twenty kilometers were covered at the slender pace.

Polish cylinders and pistons

Analysis of the misery revealed that there were serious piston problems. Through a decent deal with the seller, a set of Polish cylinders and pistons made of aluminum, an enlarged oil pan and the best wishes came. Then the Ural was plagued by carburation problems. The new K68 carburetors were found to have a production error somewhere. With the old carburetors back on and after adding a 'poor man's turbo' (a thick balance hose between the intake manifolds) the reborn Ural was healthy again.

In the meantime, the first two thousand kilometers have already been completed without any problems.

The lesson of the whole story is that classics are great fun. They don't even have to cost a lot. But it is rotten handy if you can tinker.