Douk's Story

[Gummiente]

Had the Harley out for a ride in the rain yesterday, so today was Douk's turn to get "washed". Motored off towards Hanover to get some more food for next week's trucking adventure, but had to wheel around at the junction of Grey 4 & 3 to investigate a gaggle of dirt bikes parked on the shoulder of Grey 3 northbound. One of them had a flat front tire and they were just starting the process of removing the wheel so they could pull the tube. I offered my assistance, but these boys were well prepared and equipped right down to tire irons and a 12V air compressor, so I wasn't of any help. As we talked I discovered they were part of the rally staff for the upcoming dirt bike fest just north of Durham in June (see the Traveling Tourist - Ontario forum for full details) and they were on their way home from a weekend of scouring trails and roads for the planned group rides. They were keen on having Urals and Dneprs attend their rally and extended a warm and sincere invite to all CURD members. They seemed like a pretty decent bunch, so hopefully my schedule will allow me to attend.

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I continued on, did my shopping, came home, brought the groceries in and then headed out for a beer run. The long way, of course, down Alan Park Road and looping back to Hanover with a stop at the LCBO for a few Baltika 3's. Still loving the total loss electrical system - haven't had an issue with it yet!

[Gummiente]

After several off-road adventures, including a couple of totally bitchin' runs with Heavy Iron, Gunner and Captain Canuck, my tired old Doukhbor was coated with a thick film of dust and dried mud. Because the CURDurham rally is fast approaching, I decided to do some much needed maintenance on him, starting with a wash job. Oh. My. GAWD. The driveway was was covered in mud by the time I was done and once Douk had dried off in the sun I could see all the rusted areas, scratches, scrapes and scars all over the bodywork, engine and wheels. He looks in very rough shape, so much that I was actually ashamed to take a photo. So tomorrow will be spent with a wire brush, some scouring pads and a couple cans of flat black paint doing touch-ups in an attempt to get him looking half decent for the rally.

I'll also have to do some much needed minor maintenance tasks, too, like oiling cables and linkage pivot points, synching the carbs, replacing the spark plugs, etc, etc. I was dismayed to find evidence of an oil leak that had been sealed in by all the mud up until today's wash, it appears to be coming from the underside of the left cylinder head at the base so chances are one of the studs needs re-torquing. Not a good sign at the 50k+ mark, I'm hoping this doesn't turn out to be another heli-coil repair job.

[Gummiente]

With the rally drawing closer, it was high time I got to work on Douk to try and freshen up his appearance so as to look half decent for the event. So this morning, in between bouts of coughing and a few time outs to rest, as well as an interlude spent mowing the front and back lawns, I grabbed a paint scraper, sandpaper, Scotch-Brite pads and other assorted bodywork tools and set about removing as much of the unsightly rust and chipped/scratched body parts before letting loose with the flat black Tremclad rattle cans. I was fighting a headache the whole time - I picked up some kind of a virus or flu bug while down in South Carolina on Thursday and it's starting to wear me down now - and the paint fumes and hot sun really didn't help.

The front end was jacked up first and the wheel removed for a rim scrubbing with some metal polish, then the rust and loose paint was brushed/sanded/scraped off the frame and front bodywork. Thanks to the judicious application of anti-seize compound on fasteners such as the axle pinch bolts, removal of parts was a breeze despite all the corrosion. Took me a couple hours to finish, then once the paint was dry everything was bolted back on. Then the rear was jacked up, the pusher removed and I started on the back end. It looks good enough now that I'm not ashamed to take a picture, so here's a shot of the work done so far...

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Tomorrow's project (I have two days off, maybe more if I'm not feeling better soon) will be to remove the battery box and tidy up the right rear side of the bike. By the time I'm done, Douk will look great... from a distance of about a metre. Any closer than that and the scars and evidence of the past five year's worth of winter and summer trail riding abuse will be easy to spot. Some day Douk will have to be stripped to the frame and repainted or powdercoated properly.

[Gummiente]

No working on the bike today - still not feeling well.

[markhas]

Hope this ain't some kinda international disease.

Get well and ride.

[Gummiente]

Finally managed to get Douk all back together again yesterday, despite being sick all week, and celebrated by taking Hector out for his first ride since last Fall. Took him to his favourite swimming spot where he had a great time splashing about and chasing sticks, he was one happy puppy!

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[Gummiente]

Went out to scout the group ride routes for the CURDurham rally this morning and somewhere along the way Douk rolled past the 50,000km mark.

[berger]

Went out to scout the group ride routes for the CURDurham rally this morning and somewhere along the way Douk rolled past the 50,000km mark.

Hey Mike.

If you have the time and inclination, could you create a video of how Douk sounds without the alt? I am just curious....

[Gummiente]

Hey Mike.

If you have the time and inclination, could you create a video of how Douk sounds without the alt? I am just curious....

Sorry, Derek, just noticed your post now... not sure how the hell I missed it. Anyway, a video with sound is not gonna happen until I get a new camera or solve a software issue. Of the two that I own, one makes videos in a format that my computer recognises (Windows Media Player) but it does not have sound recording capability. The other camera records with sound, but I can't get it to upload to the computer because it uses Quicktime and, even though I have it installed on my hard drive, it does not recognise it. But as you're coming to CURDurham, I'll take you out for a spin and you can hear it for yourself.

[berger]

Hey Mike.

If you have the time and inclination, could you create a video of how Douk sounds without the alt? I am just curious....

Sorry, Derek, just noticed your post now... not sure how the hell I missed it. Anyway, a video with sound is not gonna happen until I get a new camera or solve a software issue. Of the two that I own, one makes videos in a format that my computer recognises (Windows Media Player) but it does not have sound recording capability. The other camera records with sound, but I can't get it to upload to the computer because it uses Quicktime and, even though I have it installed on my hard drive, it does not recognise it. But as you're coming to CURDurham, I'll take you out for a spin and you can hear it for yourself.

No worries Mike...forgot I posted it! Still interested though. As you said in the CURD thread....11 days until I hear it for myself. I must say, Shelley gave up her M2 license because she wasn't into riding her own bike, but I have been told without a doubt that we do not miss a CURD or Ural bike rally ever, so I will see you July 16...

Berger (Derek)

[Gummiente]

Douk sure doesn't get much exercise now that I'm a trucker. He's still wearing a coat of mud and dust from CURDurham, so I'll spend some time with the garden hose and wash bucket today in prep for the next project. I've decided to remove the deep sump and go back to the stock oil pan; I've bottomed out on it too many times on my trail rides and I'm worried that some day I'll do more damage than just cracking a couple of the cooling fins on the bottom. Once the stock pan is in place I'll start looking for a bash plate to install under it for some extra protection.

[Gummiente]

And the stock sump is now back in place, just have to let the gasket sealant set overnight and then I can put the oil in tomorrow. The deep sump didn't show quite as much damage as I'd thought, but there was definite evidence of bottoming out what with a cracked cooling fin and grind marks on the bottoms of all the fins. Berger has graciously consented to sell me the bash plate he bought for his Ural (but had to remove when he installed his new exhaust), so once that is in place I'll feel a bit more at ease smashing through the bush while chasing Heavy Iron down a trail.

[Heavy Iron]

I feel much better now that after I've split my sump open, you'll be able to tow me back to civilization. I need to start thinking about a skid-plate because I've already lost a few big chunks out of my sump fins this year and Chris and I just found another nasty trail last Sunday that we needed to retreat from until we have someone else to go in with us.

Mike, Dean?? I'll bring the tow rope again

[Gummiente]

Chris and I just found another nasty trail last Sunday that we needed to retreat from until we have someone else to go in with us.

Mike, Dean?? I'll bring the tow rope again

I'm in.

[Gummiente]

Berger's old bash plate arrived in the mail on Friday, looks to be a simple installation. I was going to do it today, but I think I'll go for a ride in the rain instead. Or maybe I should investigate the source of that unusual ticking noise I heard yesterday while out on a ride up to Owen Sound.

[Gummiente]

Ok, figured out what the unusual noise is... the external plastic breather elbow of the crankcase vent had snapped off flush with the engine casing. No prob, took a few short seconds to remove the broken piece by wedging a flat tip screwdriver into the innner diameter and then unscrewing it. Now I'm off to Home Hardware and/or CDN Tire to source a replacement fitting, although just by looking at the threads I'm thinking this is some sort of Metric Russian pipe thread pitch.

[Gummiente]

Finally got aorund to fixing the breather elbow today. The OEM fitting is, of course, a Metric compression thread which is pretty much unobtainable anywhere in Canada, so I had to go the WWID route. Bought a 1/2" PB (Polybutylene, the grey coloured plastic) threaded elbow plumbing fitting at the Home Hardware and spent 1/2hr modifying it. This involved filing down the larger diameter end of the threads first, then filing a 45 degree chamfer at the start of the threads so as to make it easier to screw into the breather hole on the engine casing. PB is a soft but tough plastic, so all I had to do was screw it in 1/2 turn at a time and back it out, letting the aluminum threads of the hole carve a metric thread into the plastic of the fitting. Used a small triangular file to clean up the "new" threads, then screwed it in and hooked up the rest of my breather system...

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I'm off on another weekly trucking adventure tomorrow, but when I return the next project will be to install the sump bash plate that Derek sold to me.