The Ural K650 (new!)
A new country, a new project, it starts to become a nasty habit. After a week in the hospital I came across this 1962 Ural motorbike. The bikes are still made somewhere in Russia but next to the looks, it is its history what attracted me. The origins of the Ural are linked to developments in the Eastern Front during World War II. The Soviet Union was preparing for possible military action by Nazi Germany and Stalin ordered the Soviet military to prepare in all possible areas, including the ground forces that would be defending the Soviet Union against invading German panzer tanks. Mobility was especially stressed after the Soviet Union had witnessed the effect of the blitzkrieg on Poland. The German BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army’s requirements and five bikes were covertly purchased for Soviet engineers in Moscow to dismantle them, reverse engineered the BMW design in every detail and making molds to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production. The concept, design, looks and engine did not change for 70 years, and apart from some modern electronics, it still looks the same.
The bike is better known with an army look, a sidecar and a machinegun mounted in front of it. However mine comes as a civilian version, without the passenger coach, yet the frame still allows to attach one, that is, in the unlikely event of Maxi having the unexpressed need to sit in it. The idea is to restore it up to its original status. The previous owner had some heavy biker aspiration and mounted Harley Davidson exhausts, HD mirrors and leather straps all over. Three skulls were painted on the fuel tank.
Tuning it will be an issue. There are two cylinders that fire at the same time, nourished by two independent Russian carburetors. If one carb delays for a millisecond, the engine stalls.The bike is complete and the engine runs like an old man with TB. Coughing, sputtering and moaning. No papers however.
I started the first work which consisted mainly out of cleaning the fuel system and valve adjustments after years of non use. Only to discover that all carb gaskets had never been replaced. These things persish with age and immediately crumbled upon the first touch. The alu fuel valve disintegrated with the first touch of my spanner.
In addition to the spanners and the screwdrivers I discovered with the Borgward and the Enfield that the internet is an essential tool in the restoration of these things. One Saturday morning of surfing on the net were sufficient to find a manual for the engine and the carburetors , spare parts suppliers and tuning recommendations. A first order of spares has been placed in Ukraine and the DDR.
One of the fun dimensions of taking on these projects is that you continuously meet with new people. Maxi met with a French Police Officer who was riding the same bike here in Phnom Penh. He had managed to convince his African wife to take place in the sidecar and was driving around in Phnom Penh doing his weekend shopping. We are having an ‘apéro’ on saturday.
Will let you know if my Russian supplier keeps his word and sends me the spares to rebuild the carburetors. Until then ……
January 2012.
An update on my latest project, the 1962 Ural 650; I finished the overhaul of the Pekar carburetors. They barely supported me for the ride home when I bought the bike. Minutes after my arrival the gaskets crumbled and disintegrated. The fuel sprayed out of the buckets, ticklers, and the pipes…obviously the bike had been standing still for a very, very long time…. two weeks of cleaning and understanding the primary and secondary nozzles and the needles, the spares came from the Netherlands, …. You will notice that the idle and the mixture are too high, it rattles all over the place and the drive shaft is out of center, so it wobbles when I accelerate…. discovered also that all oil seals will need replacement, a couple of months to go before I can even think about the color of the painting, or any design… it is doing 115 km/hr….just follow the oil trail, brakes are working.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRx2x4aDRQM&feature=youtu.be
Am now recovering from the stroke and awaiting the spare parts from Minsk…..
