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A Monkey's Story
by Becky Blosser
Vance hadn't had a motorcycle since the early '70's and had let his motorcycle license lapse. He saw an article in a Popular Science some time in the early '80's about Urals and that some firm was about to start importing. It was love at first sight (from a fairly small b/w picture)! Sadly, that importation deal fell through. Then life got in the way, and there was neither time nor money to pursue motorcycling.
I don't know HOW he found out about CMSI (then Ural America), but he did, and found a local dealer who sold him their '94 demo (in 1998). It was the only major financial decision we did not make together - he did all the negotiation and got the loan on his own. Suffice it to say that I was NOT particularly happy about this at the time...But there is something about these bikes that gets under your skin. Gradually, I was converted - I'm really not exactly sure how. Maybe it was the little kids who are absolutely fascinated, or the people who would ask questions, or because it's just plain fun to ride.
But the journey has been worth it! The local dealer decided to get out of Urals, so CMSI assigned our warranty to Cheek Cycle, in Abbeville, SC (we live in Winchester, VA). At the time we thought, sheesh, what good is a dealer 500+ miles away? But Cheek Cycle helped us through so many issues and problems with that '94 that when we (note, I said WE) decided to trade the '94 for the 2000, Cheek Cycle was the only dealer we considered. When the 750 engines became available, we bought one through them. When that engine self-destructed (due to alternator lockup, which took out the timing gears, which cascaded into catastrophe) on the way to the Spring in the South rally in Mt. Airy, NC in 2002, we found out what a caring community Ural people are. We had offers of help with everything from a place to park the bike till we could come get it to offers to deliver it home for us (300 miles). There was an engine raffle - at least two people there told us that if they won the engine, we could have it, they would wait for theirs. What finally happened was that Jon Cheney picked up the bike at our hotel, towed it to the rally site, and Steve Jackson towed it the rest of the way to Abbeville, where the engine was replaced (still under warranty, thank goodness!).
Sadly, Cheek Cycle is no longer a Ural dealer, but we do count the Cheek brothers and staff as our friends and see them whenever we get to Abbeville.
We have met some of the finest people I have ever known through the Ural. We have been places we never thought we'd go - my total experience with SC had been Myrtle Beach, up to the first Spring in the South (1999, I think) we attended. Now Abbeville has a special place in our hearts. (Cheek Cycle would have delivered the 2000 Tourist, but we CHOSE to go to Abbeville to pick it up ourselves - and had one of the nicest vacations ever!) And our trip to Indiana in July 2002 for Ural Fest was, believe it or not, the first time I had ever been out of the Eastern Time Zone. It was there that we met Terry Crawford (who was introduced to us by Aubrey Cheek), our current dealer and good friend. We've been to South Lyon, MI (where Crawford Sales is) twice now, once for a visit, and once to pick up the 2004 Retro Sidecar. We've done the Ride for Kids (for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) in Columbia, Maryland (check http://www.ride4kids.org/ for one near you) twice and hope to continue doing so.
It's been a real trip - and I've enjoyed most of it. Granted, I would have preferred to miss the breakdown on the way to Mt. Airy - but on the other hand, I discovered true friends when it happened.
So, to make a long story short - I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
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