Even though the service interval for tightening the spokes was 5,000km and I only had 3,500km the day of departure I should have checked all the spokes prior to leaving, and prior to riding the gravel roads. With motorcycle spokes it's a process, tighten ride a short distance and repeat several times.
I should have removed the axles (3x) and greased them. The issue with the rear axle appears to be a bearing issue, this possibly could have been discovered/prevented by removing and heavily greasing the day prior to trip.
A better method of getting gas from the Jerry Can to the tank is needed, I am going to try and find a funnel that can be attached for better solo operation.
Rags, rags, rags never have to many but you can defiantly have to few, especially if your no where near a sink to wash up after working on the bike.
Though I prefer to do 99% of the work on my bikes, it would not have been a bad idea to pay for a tune up by a Ural mechanic pre departure.
Food, we ate out far to often. Planning and buying inexpensive meals would have saved a lit of money, not to mention would have been healthier. Cliff bars and V8 make a great cheep lunch. Alec found out why I dislike jetboils and live by my desert storm surplus stove. Jetboils rely on butane, this is great if two things coincide. The temperature must be above 60 degrees F, the rapid decompression will freeze the fuel canister thus lowering the pressure to an unusable lever. Two, a ready supply of butane cartridges. My stove runs on ANY fuel ( yes olive oil and bacon grease have been used) and temperature has little to no effect.
Everyone needs there own emergency gear, first aid, flat repair, spare food, maps.
The Ural was great on gravel, but my pace on the tarmac was to slow for heavy handed modern bikes. I have my tiger for speed, but with the Ural I enjoy the journey at a slower pace. I think I would feel better with duel sport bikes under 800cc, KLR's and Dakars top out at 80mph.
Though we did the trip in September, it was a little cold. The advantage was the lack of bugs, almost none to speak of. With the temperature dropping to freezing at night it made for slow mornings. The comfort would have been a little higher riding in the rain at 55 degrees as compared to the 40-45 degrees we had.
The trip was great, I met a lot of great people and was able to see things that were indescribable. I plan on doing it again. My next big trip will be to move one or two of my bikes to Texas for the winter. I return home in a week, keep an eye out for some foliage ride posts and pictures. I think a few rides under 500 miles will be good for me.
BRGDS
-Noah Blanchard
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