bye bye K

[Chaos]

Took a 15 mile farewell ride on the old girl today and dropped her off at my friends house who bought her.  Not sure who's getting the better end of the deal but I got no regrets, it was time.  Known Dave since before I bought the bike, he's a bit of a packrat when it comes to bikes, sidecars, jeeps and cars so he knows what he's getting into.  Still, strange after 50 years with a 2 wheeler, 40 years with a BMW and 37 years with that K not to have any of them now.  Been riding the Ural 95% of the time the last 10 years, really happy with the 2023 one I just traded up to, but mixed feeling and all.  I'll stick around here and add irrelevant comments every once in a while unless I get banned for being disloyal Photos of saying goodbye in driveway and riding home from dealer Sept 1986

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I for one am hoping you keep hanging around.  Yours is a voice of reason in crazy world.

I always liked the camo paint job on that bike.

After 10 years how would you rate Ural dependability?  I have dug the heck out of those WWII clones since I saw the first Dnepr back around 1975.

[Martin]

I'm not looking forward to the day when I give up my K. The Minister for Finance and Recreation has refused my final requested to be interred with Izzy (K75s). Good luck with the Ural, I  too have had a slight occasional urge to buy one.
Regards Martin.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

What does it say about me that the only two bikes other than a Brick that I really want to own are a Ural/Dnepr and a Royal Enfield.

Only problem is that I can't get a working .30cal on the sidecar.  Then I'd have to get a German Shepard and teach him to operate it.

[Martin]

Gryph easily solved, get a .22 and a Chihuahua. Less expense less maintenance. And you can keep them both in the glove box of the Miata.
Regards Martin.

[Chaos]

When I got my 1st Ural in 2012 I kept the K fully expecting the Ural to constantly break down.  It was maintenance intensive but only stranded me once, and that was my fault, pinched a wire to the HES when I installed an aftermarket reverse shifter lever.  The new one is infinitely better, they're outsourced castings, gears, wheels, electronics, pretty much everything but the frame and sheet metal.  And they're made in Kazakhstan now, huge effort by a tiny company to GTF out of Russia after that Ukraine madness. Headquarters are actually in state of Washington.  Pricey, but wtf, money's no good if you don't spend it.  I had the machine gun mount on the old one, once mounted a super soaker water gun on it an my son got a kick out of spraying unsuspecting pedestrians.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

So the new ones don't have the mount anymore?   

[Chaos]

So the new ones don't have the mount anymore?   

Nope, but you can still buy them and prep for the apocalypse

[Laitch]

. . .  prep for the apocalypse

I'm ready.

[milq]

I too sold a bike yesterday but not my K. Had a 1983 R80RT that I've owned since 2018 and ridden about 500 miles, just never could get into it. But yesterday a very happy 81 year old man rode it away! He is from SC and was in Indiana for a family event and spotted the ad somewhere. Came with cash and a borrowed helmet to get it back to his family's place in Indiana, someone will haul it down to him later. Said he had an identical one he purchased new and wanted a restoration project.

His wife was much less enthusiastic about him riding off on a bike he'd only just seen, she asked if I had plans to travel to SC any time soon. I offered to hold it until whoever he was storing it with could come retrieve it (and they could hold the money) but he wasn't having any of that, he wanted to ride. 

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I too sold a bike yesterday but not my K. Had a 1983 R80RT that I've owned since 2018 and ridden about 500 miles, just never could get into it. But yesterday a very happy 81 year old man rode it away! He is from SC and was in Indiana for a family event and spotted the ad somewhere. Came with cash and a borrowed helmet to get it back to his family's place in Indiana, someone will haul it down to him later. Said he had an identical one he purchased new and wanted a restoration project.

His wife was much less enthusiastic about him riding off on a bike he'd only just seen, she asked if I had plans to travel to SC any time soon. I offered to hold it until whoever he was storing it with could come retrieve it (and they could hold the money) but he wasn't having any of that, he wanted to ride.

WTF?  He's only 81.  Why the heck can't he ride?

[milq]

I think she was more concerned with the unknown machine on a 101 F day...but she did say something about a man his age not needing 4 motorcycles or something like that, I tuned it out as I have the same sickness.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I'm thinking I like this guy.  I hope he joins the forum.