Other than the aforesaid Panigale, in the header, I have a love of the under-dog. My other bikes include three Urals, a 750 Solo, a 750 Outfit (UK handed) and a 750 Wolf (factory cruiser). These are somewhat crude but immensely strong and reliable. They need very little more than a wash followed by a light misting of WD40 over everything. No discs means no oil on them and no chain means no maintenance. In fact the only thing you need to do is to ensure you change the oil often enough... cheapest recycled autocentre car multigrade is fine for the noisy bit and EP80 from the same source is fine for the gearbox and final-drive. Strangely, it shares something in common with most Ducati's, a dry multi-plate clutch ! I know they are slow (80mph is pretty much it) and have been the brunt of much ill informed humour, but there is something earthy and real about these sons of the plough... plus they are actually proper fun to ride too. Oops, I lied a bit, the Wolf has discs both ends, but to make up, the Outfit can swop all it's wheels with one another, including the spare.... plus it comes with a proper reverse gear, so there ! Obviously with such pedigree in my fleet, I felt I should have something I could do track-days on and maybe a bit of amateur racing, too. Therefore I bought one of the last Triumph 675 Daytona's, just before the latest one came out. The trouble is that it is such a cracking little gem of a bike, I can't bring myself to put it on the track and kill it ! It lives with the rest, to be used in turns, as mood, weather, time and opportunity allow... parked in my unit.
Yep, I'm all for an underdog I've ridden a few combos, including a Ural, and they're great fun, requiring much more thought and much more input than a solo. I like the fact you can scare yourself shitless without ever breaking the law. My Beamish Suzuki outfit did about 50mph flat out, but remains by far the scariest bike I've ever ridden... And of all the bikes I've owned - and there have been hundreds - my favourite is still my MZ 250, just cos it was so much fun to ride.
l have a '72 ural sat outside my kitchen window ,not ridden for a decade kinda garden art l bet it would fire upmwith a bit of a fettle regards Steve B
a chap who was in our local trail riding club rode a ural & sidecar to mongolia and back on a 7 week trip and is all documented online if you google it, or ill get the details for you, in the 80s, rode a few vespas and lambrettas with sidecars, interesting stuff!
