OP
OP
elizilla
Guest
I do not currently have a chin curtain. That is probably the next thing I will try. My main beef with chin curtains is that when you carry your helmet into a diner or a motel and set it down on a table, the chin curtain picks up the smell of whatever rag was last used to wipe that table, and whether that rag smelled of cleaning products, motel air freshener, food, or mildew, it's unappealing to have that smell on something that's touching your neck.
The Ural? Reliability on a long trip? Well, I did a trip from Michigan to Maine and back in 2012, and I had to rent a truck to finish the trip home because I was under a time constraint. So, no, the reliability isn't there. The speed isn't there either. But if I were retired and had plenty of time I would totally attempt a trip to Alaska on it. It would be super fun. It's not reliable, but it can be fixed with primitive tools and modest skills. If you have time for the delays, the far more frequent breakdowns are easier to bodge your way through in remote places. The advantage of the modern bike is that it's about a hundred times as reliable, so you are way less likely to have a problem - but if you do have a problem it you need precision tools and/or specialized parts. I also have nothing but praise for the Ural parts supply chain in the USA. If I need something I can get it a lot faster than I can get something for a Honda.
The Ural? Reliability on a long trip? Well, I did a trip from Michigan to Maine and back in 2012, and I had to rent a truck to finish the trip home because I was under a time constraint. So, no, the reliability isn't there. The speed isn't there either. But if I were retired and had plenty of time I would totally attempt a trip to Alaska on it. It would be super fun. It's not reliable, but it can be fixed with primitive tools and modest skills. If you have time for the delays, the far more frequent breakdowns are easier to bodge your way through in remote places. The advantage of the modern bike is that it's about a hundred times as reliable, so you are way less likely to have a problem - but if you do have a problem it you need precision tools and/or specialized parts. I also have nothing but praise for the Ural parts supply chain in the USA. If I need something I can get it a lot faster than I can get something for a Honda.