Howdy All,
Well I finally got my Ural Gear-Up, here it is being delivered to my house right out of the truck,
I have been riding it a lot on the back roads and on the forest service roads in my area just to get the break-in miles on it so I can play with it at the Idaho City Adv-Rider, rally coming up soon.
Here I am over lookin one of the many valleys in the western Cascades,
Here's a shot of one of the gnarly trails I was on, this is only a few miles from my house, sure surprised a few quads and dirt bikes while I as playing in this stuff,
It wasn't long before I had racked up the 500 kilometers needed to have the first service done. Here is Tony, working on my bike at "Raceway" the dealer in Salem Oregon where I bought the bike.
My friend and long time riding partner Don, has had his Gear-Up, for about five months, here we are "Ural-a-ling" together.
Another photo of the Gear-Up's,
We rode up to the top of one of the local mountains, elevation around 4,200 feet, climbed up the fire tower and took some photos. Here's the fire tower,
Here's Don, posing with the warning sign.
Some shots of the country taken from the fire tower, this is Mt. White Horse.
This is the Skagit River Valley.
Peeking out from the clouds, this is Mt. Baker.
This is a great shot of the Cascade Mountain Range.
The Gear-Up's from the top of the tower.
Those who know me, know that I do NOT like high places or edges. Riding one of my bikes on the nasty forest service roads that go along the side of cliffs and often times have sever drops off of the side has always given me the creeps. On the bike I could always hug the side of the trail or road way from the edge, while driving the Gear-Up, I am half of the time positioned on the side of the long drop, this is something I am still not comfortable with and don't know if I ever will be.
I have driven the Gear-Up, in what I consider some pretty darn nasty places, this rig is capable of going places and doing things that I as a driver may not have the courage to master, like all of my other machines, "I" am the limiting factor as to what can be done, not the machine.
As I gain experience I will push the envelope and demand more of the rig, I honestly don't think I will find it lacking. I am having so damned much FUN with this thing my face actually hurts from the constant smiling. You can't go anywhere with this rig without being stopped and asked a thousand questions. Many have mistakenly praised me for having done such a wonderful job of restoring an old bike, they can't believe it when I tell them it's brand new.
I will be taking the rig to the Idaho City Rally, there I want to drive it on some of the tamer trails and roads with the wife in the hack. After the ICR, I will travel a few hundred miles north in Idaho and attend a Diesel Truck Rally where I will put some miles on the Gear-Up while riding with my friends who ride quads.
I will continue to evaluate the rig and report my feelings on it, right now I can say that I am very happy with it, the fit, finish and over all quality are much better then I expected and I think the rig is well worth the price.
I would add this, "IF" you live in the NorthWestern part of the country and are thinking of buying one of these machines, I "HIGHLY" recommend that you talk to Jim, at Raceway, in Salem Oregon. He gave me a deal and treated me and Don like family when we had the service work done on the machines, let us park my truck-camper-trailer, in his lot and took us out to eat twice during our stay. Jim, runs his shop like an old school bike shop, in fact it is an old school bike shop where relationships are part of the deal and trust is earned not expected. I thank Jim for the bike and his crew, Hadley and Tony for working on it and showing me how to maintain it properly. Oh, Jim's wife Karen is a sweetheart who will have you smiling in no time.
OK, I have bored you folks enough for a while, I'll post more on how the rig works out as I put more time in the saddle.
