Mornin "Gentleman ". Inter web screwed up this morning, wouldn't let me in.
Bought a new propane griddle to use up at the lake. Gonna practice with it at home for a few days. Then take it up to the lake.

 

Morning Pozerz.

Got out for a nice 150 mile (ish) ride yesterday. Was nice to get back out for a bit!

 

I think harbor freight has my bike jack.......ya think I really need one? Anything that can drip I assume I can change without one.

 

be a few days 'fore I get a ride in....toy run coming up....that's always fun.

 

went thru a stretch of road a few years back on my way to the yrc philly terminal....the last bit, a 3 mile road, straight as a ruler, but mired in 36 lights....some just a few hunnert feet apart....and you guessed it; not a one in sync with the other.....took me all of a half hour to muddle thru.......I was just happy it was 2 in the morning, and my *** would be clear of that noise come daybreak.

 

Don't want to sound alarmist, but from what I've read about the newer tc's, I think I'd want to check the wheel bearings, hard to do without a jack. I have the previous model HF yellow jack, and when I pull the front wheel on the 1200, it'll tip sideways and put the rear wheel on the ground, have to pull the rear first. On a bike around 300 lbs heavier... But a lot of forum guys say it works for them on the big twins.

The HF aluminum jack seems sturdier, but I don't think you can get it under from the left side, way it's made you almost can't get it around the kickstand. I like it when I can use it because it has a handle twist release, can inch the bike down; the cheaper one has a foot pedal that just drops it at two fixed speeds, fast and faster.

With my back and knees, the money is well spent for something that lets me sit comfortably changing clutch plates. This HF hi lift jack is my favorite.

 

these bearings need repack or replaced?? front and rear or just front?

 

The Mall of America perimeter road has a bunch of lights close together, and when one turned green, the next turned red (haven't been there in years, though). There's a similar stretch with 4 lights in 4 blocks on the way to my daughter's house. Just kills gas mileage for a cage. Poor as the Ural's mileage is, still about double my van in town. At 55, the van would be about the same.

 

I'll have the wheels in the air before I take ownership, thanks Mike.

 

I've seen a lot of threads about low mileage failures for all late (2007? and later) tc wheel bearings, but obviously most don't. Sounds like quality control issues with the Chinese companies making them. What I've found, even in American bearings, is barely enough grease to put a thin film on the ***** (which is what modern engineers often claim is all that is needed - but not in my experience). I haven't been able to find out what that clear grease (looks like vaseline) is in a lot of Harley bearings - that's what was in my 883 bearings that I'm replacing now (contaminated by plastic spacers between the ***** eroding, too). When I run into the clear stuff in new bearings, I clean it out and use a major name synthetic rated for high loads. It's easy to pop the rubber/plastic seals off with a little screwdriver and look inside. When all looks good inside, rotate smooth by finger, I leave them alone, but most of my used bikes' wheel bearings have not come close to satisfying me. Going to replace a Ural tire & tube soon, wonder what those Russian bearings are going to look like.

With 16K on the bike, I'd guess it's on it's second set of tires, maybe 3rd on the back; I'd sure want to check the wheel bearings on the next tire change.