Welcome to Life in the Slow Lane: 2012 Ural Patrol
After weeks of waiting the big orange egg finally hatched and my 2012 Ural Patrol came home on Monday.
I must admit that she’s a little bit of a celebrity around the office. This morning was the first time that I rode the outfit to work. As co-workers started to trickle in several of them swung by my office to congratulate me or say that “it’s so cool!”
[/proud mama]I’m surprised that anyone noticed it in the parking lot 🙂
You are so COOL!! Nice ride Fuzzy!!
How does it handle?
Thanks, Pammy.
How does it handle? Well,… nothing like a motorcycle. It has a personality that from what I’ve read is unique to a sidecar outfit. I think i’m going to need more time to expound on that. There is definitely a learning curve to learning to ride this rig so I’m just taking it easy.
What a lovely Patrol! Congrats on joining the foilheads! I’m not much of a hack monkey anymore, but when my husband got his Ural in ’06, it was helped lead to me getting my scooter. I hope it gives you many hours of delight.
Thanks so much. I’m really excited about just getting to know the bike.
I took a ride in the sidecar while my hubs rode the other night… yea, that’s not for me. I’m too much of a control freak 🙂
The new addition looks wonderful. The orange really stands out!
(Very jealous)
Thanks, Richard 🙂 I hope if you still have the bug you find yourself with your own rig one of these days.
Welcome to the madness! You don’t really have to worry about not being seen on a sidecar. You instead, have to worry about people next to you holding camera phones out the window while driving.
😆 Duly noted!
Thanks, Alex 🙂
I just got my 2012 Gear Up in September. I am loving it. And yes, the Ural Delay Factor is real. They drawa lot of attention and conversations.
Hi Tom 🙂
I don’t doubt the UDF for a minute. I’ve already had a conversation with my daughter about being patient. Looking forward to the adventure 🙂
Sweet looking ride Fuzzy. You were the life of the party before – now people really won’t leave you along.
Instead of a Triumph Delay Factor you’ll have the longer Ural Delay Factor when you stop for breaks or run errands.
Thanks, Brandy 🙂 I can hardly wait to hear what kind of questions I get asked. I’m sure there will be some doozies.
Congrats to the newest member of the family. Orange is the colour to go for the Ural.
Thanks, Sonja- I figured that it’s such a stand out machine, why be shy about it – go for the big guns and get the BRIGHTEST color. i love it. And it matches my favorite handbag 🙂
Congrats! How is it jumping between 2 and 3 wheels?
I haven’t ridden the Tiger since we got this thing home – so, I don’t know!
Fuzzy:
that is a very nice looking Hack. Congrats on many miles of enjoyment. It’s not so bad going slow, I do it all the time
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My YouTube
you’re so cute, Bob 🙂 Thank you.
How’s that thing fit in the garage ;)…….side car burn.
Can we do an Indian Jones reenactment? I’ll be Sean Connery.
Good luck, looks like a blast.
I buttered the sidecar 🙂
Yea, let’s do that! Though you might have to fight Chloe for that spot. She’s wily.
Great color choice! 🙂
Thanks, Dom!
Awesome Ural! I’m quite partial to the bright colors 😉 We got our 2012 Patrol in blue and white back in May and have had a blast with it over the summer. Our dogs love it too 😉 It’s a whole different kind of beast but if you’re prepared for the differences, it can be a super fun ride.
Looking forward to seeing your thoughts after you’ve had it a bit! (And if you’re ever in Mass we should have a Ural get together and trade notes 😉
Thanks, Dachary- I wish my dog wasn’t such a nut, she would never go for a ride. She’s too skittish.
We could be the slowest biker gang in the Northeast! 😆
Fuzzy – my dog is a skittish nut, but he loves the Ural! Your dog might surprise you. My guy wasn’t sure about it at first, but as soon as we took him for a slow ride around the block and he got the idea that it was kinda like an open car, he dug it. Did a couple of slow, short rides (a few blocks) and then started using it to take them to their favorite places – nearby dog parks and lakes where they can play – and they began to associate it with awesome fun times and now they’re addicted! When we grab their harnesses, they start barking and jumping up and down and can’t wait to climb in. They did great on our 18-day, 5,000 mile trip cross-country back in July/August.
I love the idea of the slowest biker gang in the Northeast 😉
Hey there Dachary, nice bit of photo work on your site…We just bought a Patrol 2wd and take delivery this spring and saw your comments on fuzzies blog.
Sounds like you have already put some great miles on it and we wondered how the transition has been?
We traded one 2 wheel cruiser 750 touring and a Vespa for it and are really excited to put it to the test, we love traveling and camping and my wife will now get involved seeing there is now 3 wheels on the ground…
Any imput would be appreciated.
Thanks
Alan and Margaret
Ottawa Ontario Canada
Hey Alan and Margaret:
I don’t want to hijack Fuzzy’s comments with a big long post – feel free to email us if you have any particular questions. I could write at length on this particular topic 😉 Short answer, though: we love the Ural, but it’s a different bike from our two wheelers. We’ve kept those and still love them, too.
I do highly recommend a sidecar training class, if you can get one – we read up on the Yellow Book and on Soviet Steeds before riding, but even knowing how different it was from riding a two wheeler, we weren’t prepared for *how* different it is. A training class gives you a chance to learn and get comfortable on someone else’s bike, before you take it out into traffic 😉
It’s great for camping, though, and if you wanna go slow and just enjoy the sites – that’s where the Ural excels! I’m sure you’ll love it. Have fun reading up over the winter and you’ll be all set when it comes in the spring 🙂
FUZZY!!!!!! OMG – I LOVE IT!!!!!!! I have always wanted one of these or at least a bike with a sidecar rig. My hubby doesn’t get why I want one, but it would make life riding simpler, passenger, storage, etc. love the colour! Enjoy your new baby!
Congrats! Not often you can call SHOTGUN on a motorcycle. 😉
😆
Hey there Fuzzy, looks great! My wife and I just traded our two bikes for a new 2013 Ural Patrol 2WDR with all the trimmings and we are really excited for the coming season. We get it in the spring of next year..
How has the learning curve been? Anything we might learn from your new experience? Anyway your bike looks great keep the rubber on the road…
Alan and Margaret
Hi Alan & Margaret-
Many congrats on your impending bundle of joy. It must be so hard to have to wait. But, i’m sure all that day dreaming will give you many smiles over the winter.
My learning curve – well, I suppose I would just say I’m doing as best I can 🙂 I feel fine moving around on the roads.
I tend to approach things erring on the side of caution. I am in no way a daredevil or very brave. So, I take my turns cautiously, brake in advance of where I would normally on 2 wheels and try to carry a steady speed through the corners and use my body on every turn.
I don’t think that I know enough to impart any advice at all. I’m just learning to fly, myself.
Hey Fuzzy
Just noticed your last comments re: pricing..Up here in Canada they are about the same. For a 2013 Ural Patrol 2WD they started at about $13449 plus options and as you mentioned they are not easy to get a real deal but we were over compensated a bit for our trades and the tax savings made it all work out..
But as you mentioned the servicing dealer is important. We to have been riding for some time and thought we might just slow it down a bit as well. You mentioned they are not fast as we already new but! can you do as they advertise a comfortable 55 to 60 mph on the highway or has that been over sold? It doesn’t change our intentions in any way we expected to slow down and the off road ability makes up for the little lack in speed..which is what we where looking for.
Hi Alan 🙂
Though some of the other commenters would probably be better suited to answer regarding highway speeds, I am inclined to think that 60 is plenty doable. The most I’ve seen was 50 on the clock on non-highway roads ~ without any struggle or effort.
I have not yet been on the highway, myself.
I know it’s not polite to ask, but I have been wondering about one of these for years now – ballpark numbers, what did you pay for it, is it new?
It’s okay, Wayne 🙂 There are no secrets on the internet.
Mine was purchased new. It is a 2012 Patrol 2WD model. I bought it from a well respected dealer in Massachusetts http://www.uralne.com They had a nice selection of inventory and accessories and their staff was terrific. We do have a Ural dealer on long island, but I opted to go 200+ miles out of the way to patronize UralNE instead.
The various new Ural models range in retail price from say $9,000 – $25,000. There was not much wiggle room on pricing, but we did get a little, coming in around 13,X . Though the bikes are largely the same throughout the range, some are much more farkled than others, powder coating and paint brings the price up too.
If you check ADVRider or SovietSteeds there is a market for used bikes, they do pop up. My understanding was that they kind of depreciate around $1,000/yr of their lives until I guess they level off at some point.
Many people flip out and say things like ‘overpriced’ and for them it may be true. But, to each their own.
Even in my short experience so far, I am fully aware that these machines may not be for everyone. They are quirky. They are not fast or smooth. It is an entirely different riding sensation and experience. It’s a backroads rambler. When I first started looking, my friend Catfish (Patrol owner) said it will be a love or hate relationship. I tend to agree with that. I just happen to love it.
Hello I have several machines(harleys)that I ride year round–no ice of course,what I would like if you would keep me informed on your machine,ie:what breaks, if it leaves ya stranded,if your dealer works with ya,also in six months tell me how well ya like it,thanks so much,it’s really neet your rideing,my wife & I have been on the road over 40 years,need to slow down a bit,if ya know what i mean.Thank you & stay safe.
Thanks for helping that little voice that has been saying, “hey, those Ural thingies look cool you should have one, and a dog, yes, definitely a Ural and a Golden Retriever..just for snowy days… 😉 ”
Yeah, thanks a lot :-/
Seriously, congrats, I love the orange and am happy to hear it’s working out for you.
Manual says don’t exceed 65.
Until you “break it in”, say around 10k km….don’t push it hard by going 65+ mph for long periods. These machines are happiest at 55 or less, take the secondary roads, see the sights…smell the flowers, allow an extra hour to get there at “Ural speed” on the long rides….maybe two if you get a lot of UDF. Really, if you have a need to do 65+ a lot, a Ural isn’t going to make you happy.
The idea of doing 65 seems slightly terrifying to me 😆
I’m more than happy bumbling around the backroads.
65 can be quite interesting/terrifying on a sidecar rig if you’re not paying attention.
On my V-Strom sidecar rig, at 85mph, you’re fighting the wind drag on the sidecar…no fun. And yeah, the slightest inputs are quite magnified at over 75 mph.
I am getting the impression you didn’t go through a formal training class for sidecars? If that’s correct, you may want to do a few things.
1. Carry Ballast and decrease it as you log more hours in the rig.
2. Read the books at sidecar.com on the operation of a sidecar rig: a. Hal Kendall’s The Sidecar Manual and Sidecar Operators Manual and finally the manual for sidecar enthusiasts
3. In an empty parking lot, set up cone circles and practice riding around them, clock-wise, faster and faster till the sidecar comes up….then practice reacting to that, being able to steer with the sidecar up….it really helps for when it does happen unintentionally.
4. Did I mention ride with ballast?
5. Understand what it means to “hang a cheek”, specially on the right hand turns.
5. Find snow, do donuts, laugh maniacally, expect your neighbors to think you’re nuts….smile knowingly.
6. Its a Ural, carry tools…acquire a BFH.
7. Yep, a 2500km service interval, easy to do, neglect it and the rig will not be happy. Pay attention and the rig will get you miles of smiles.
Seriously though, have fun, these things are a blast, but training pays off….sounds like you’re already doing the right things, taking it easy, staying on back roads….definitely hang that cheek on the tight right turns!
dom
No, unfortunately I haven’t taken a class. I know I would benefit greatly from that. I wish there was something a little closer to me. I have the book “Driving a Sidecar Outfit” from the Sidecar Safety Program which is helpful and has exercises to work on.
I really appreciate you taking the time to give me some input 🙂
I have the exact same color except mine is a 2011 Patrol. I bought mine july 27th in Spearfish SD. So far I have clocked 4400 KMs on the bike in this short time and its about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on! LOL.
enjoy!
Kenny Wasserburger
Gillette Wyoming
That’s awesome, Kenny 🙂
And you sure have a lovely place to ride it! Lucky dog.
Thanks for taking the time to say hello!
Welcome to the club. I got my 2012 the end of June and am pushing 5K on mime. It has a engine that has to be broken in. The more KM you put on it the better it will perform. Take it fairly easy the first 500km. Get the fluids changed then start riding it like you stole it, Vary your speeds and remember the engine likes higher RPM’s. Check into Soviet Steeds forum. You will need it and they don’t bite.
Too hard.
And the more KM you put on the bigger the smile. Also the more km the better your muscles will get and soon riding the rig and the steering inputs will be natural. And those hard right turns, make friends with it. Learn to fly the chair. There are video’s that will show you how. Those and the video’s and all I have access to and I took a Sat afternoon with a large empty parking lot and mastered right turns and flying the chair. I still respect right turns, but I am not scared of them.
Hi this is not the first time I have seen your blog post, but I must admit that you are doing great job! It is a lovely feeling on getting noticed on your bike, everyone have experienced it. 🙂 Thanks for a great post!