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Advice required: Trip through the Americas with a 200cc Advice required: Trip through the Americas with a 200cc
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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 12 May 2008
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I don't think you are right laserjock

I presume that it is your trip rapport I read then and I must say that your trip seemed ill planned and unlucky as well. If you had done more research you would have brought spare alternators as these are known to break down.
You also spanked the bike alot more than you were supposed to.
The upgraded urals from the states would have served you alot better.

Talk to the locals and find out what breaks and bring spares. Dont ride over the capacity of the bike.

The chinese are not great and many are crap, but a few are actually getting decent.
And if you just plan a little ahead you will be fine.

I the plan is to get as fast as possible from one place to another then by all means save your money and fly instead!
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  #2  
Old 13 May 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
I don't think you are right laserjock

I presume that it is your trip rapport I read then and I must say that your trip seemed ill planned and unlucky as well. If you had done more research you would have brought spare alternators as these are known to break down.
This problem was not as well known in 2004 as it is today.

Remind me which country makes the good alternators again? Now apply this theme to the rest of the bike until you have an asset not a liability.

Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
You also spanked the bike alot more than you were supposed to.
The alternator "hand grenade" problem has nothing to do with the load on the machine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
The upgraded urals from the states would have served you alot better.
Are you suggesting I should have flown a Russian bike from the US to Moscow?

Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
Talk to the locals and find out what breaks and bring spares.
The locals had virtually no knowledge of the 750 Urals in 2004.

Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
The chinese are not great and many are crap, but a few are actually getting decent.
I'm looking forward to watching the Chinese quality improve to rival the Japanese.

I spoke to a number of Chinese dealers in S. America about the quality of the bikes. The general consensus was that you would get a couple months and a couple thousand kilometers of service and then have major headaches.
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  #3  
Old 13 May 2008
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I belive the alternator issue was known back in the 90ties....

The dutch couple who toured from South Africa to europe knew it anyways and they had 3 extras with them or something (-:

The local urals are meant to go some 60-80kmph max and with a light load. If I remember correctly from your story you say that you loaded it heavily and drove it hard.

Maybe the two things dont relate, but you had other problems as well that might have related to weight and speed.

I am not saying that you should have brought an ural from the states, just that it was a bit naive to think that you got a touring ready bike for 3000$ The ones in the states run at 13500$ but the quality has leaped as well. You get what you pay for and if you get a bike that is that cheap you should expect something to break down and prepare accordingly.

Sorry if I sound patronizing or something, that is not my intention. It is just another post in the discussion, not a personal attack.

Happy riding
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Old 13 May 2008
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We are slowly converging on the point I was trying to make to the original poster.

Don't think a "NEW" Chinese bike is going to give you less trouble than a used Japanese bike.

The choice is between a new machine with potentially serious design flaws and questionable construction vs. a well implemented used machine which is suffering from age and use.

The Ural was not my choice but was a very interesting ride while it lasted.
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