Motorcycle Math: 1 Ural + 3 Years = 2 Urals

Three years ago, I decided to venture into the waters of Ural ownership. I picked up a used 2005 Gear-Up, figuring I'd ride it enough to learn the (frankly quite obscene) handling quirks, ride it when my daughter wanted to come with, and stay with the two wheeled Buells for the rest of my riding.Anyone who knows Ural owners can probably guess that my plans didn't exactly happen as planned. By the time I'd worked out the handling and gotten comfortable on the bike, I really liked it. It's slow - fine, I live in rural farm country and rarely touch the highway. Handling is interesting - I got used to it. I can ride all winter long in the snow and ice - awesome! I can make (large) grocery runs, haul stuff with me, and have a useful toolkit - excellent. My daughter regularly pesters me to go riding - win!A while back, a truck turned in front of me (when I was on two wheels) and I mostly avoided it, but hit the bumper of the car hanging off the back with my shoulder. I did a writeup for anyone who cares, but the reality is I haven't ridden two wheels much at all since then. The Ural has a far more massive front profile and is goofy looking, which seems to help me be seen. I've also since upgraded to a dayglo yellow helmet (think Goldwing rider).As much as I'd like to pretend I'm going to ride two wheels in the near future, the reality is that it's almost August and the two wheeled bikes are still in the shed from last fall. I can't argue with that.And then there's the kid-factor. We have two of them. My wife rides as well, though hasn't ridden much at all in the past several years (Seattle area, having kids, etc), and we'd like to get out riding more. The older kid (4) loves the Ural - she pesters me to go riding somewhat regularly, and sings more or less at the top of her lungs the entire time she's in there (it's really cute - she narrates the scenery in song). We've tried the younger kid (1) in the sidecar, and he likes it as well.So... anyway, the end result of all of this is two Urals. One 2005 Gear-Up, one 2013 Gear-Up.There's a massive difference mechanically between the two - the 2013 is just a lot more refined. Ural has been making improvements and it shows. The transmission... actually feels like a (crappy) motorcycle transmission, not a tractor transmission (I have a 1939 Ford 9N - so I'm familiar with old tractors, and the 2005 is pretty close). It's got more power, has normal diameter handlebars instead of the really chunky older ones, the brakes feel faintly modern, etc.I'll certainly agree that Urals aren't bikes for everyone. Literally the only time mine has been on the highway was on a trailer when I brought it back from Oregon. I take the back roads and surface streets to get around, which is certainly slower than the highway, but I find all sorts of interesting things and places on the way (some of our roundabouts here are getting very interesting center circle art you'd miss if you took the highway). I can leave my gear in the bike (actually, I can fit two riders worth of gear without trouble in the sidecar). I've got a spare tire - I took a construction screw through my pusher wheel a month ago and it took me 15 minutes to swap the spare on. Yeah, you have to work on them some, but they're easy enough to work on for the most part (I still hate greasing wheel bearings).But after three years? Still loving it - enough to buy another one. They're a great excuse to explore all sorts of silly back roads, I've met plenty of interesting people through Urals, and I'll probably have them for quite a while! via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/ck3c1e/motorcycle_math_1_ural_3_years_2_urals/?utm_source=ifttt