Northernduck

I bought new powder coated rims and spokes from Henriksson.ee. Can't remember what it cost but I do remember he was bringing them into Estonia from the UK. Excellent finish, not a scratch to this day. One of the four rims had a bit of an irregular surface where the seams are welded but honestly still very good quality. The original rims were so corroded bending was out of the question. Scary. ND

Do you have a picture? ND

Making your own harness is good fun but also forces you to understand each of the circuits, following on from previous comments I’d suggest drawing each circuit on paper, computer or whatever first so you have a work plan and record and something you can communicate to others if you get stuck. It’s not that difficult once you get stuck in and you’ll finish with a better product than the original with effort. ND

Went for the first long ride this year, made up some new ignition wires which were dodgy before and finally have the regulator adjusted, sitting around 14v. Running very well, still have tweaking to do as ever. 200km in the sun, nice change after riding it in the rain and snow. Had a bad plug too, never happened to me before so running mismatched plugs until I can get another. Oh well. Best wishes. ND.

Still have the wobble up to 30km/hr. The rig tracks perfectly straight at 50-60 km/h. Haven’t rechecked alignment yet but it can’t be that far off the mark. Went for 50 km in light snow today, had power steering here and there!!

Adjusted toe in, mounted the tub, seats etc and took it for a ride. Slow speed wobble....not a tank slapper but difficult to manage until 30 km/h then it disappears. Stopped in parking lot to check head bearings and mounting bolts, everything seems ok. limped back home and looking at threads it seems it can be a number of things but some bit of wobble is normal and can be dealt with by getting the steering damper properly adjusted. Checked tire pressures, nipped up excessive slack in the sidecar wheel bearing and went for a 30 km ride, playing with damper. Seems a bit better but I’m also dealing with learning how to handle a rig, I’ve never ridden a sidecar before today. Arms are burning.... It could still be improper sidecar alignment or maybe it’s as good as it gets. I’ll ride some more and recheck alignment.

Why are all my photos rotated? agghhh

Finally turned my attention back to finishing the sidecar, starting with new rubber bushes and axle for the swing arm. I had some difficulty checking the toe-in but as far as I can see there isn’t the 10mm specified in the manual. I’m relying on lumber for straight edges..... I’m tempted to road test it first because any adjustment will involve a torch and swear fest to free up the adjustable ball mount at the rear. If ok I’ll start working on the tub, interior etc.

I use P45ts although the candlepower is pretty poor, they are only a few bucks. I recently tested an H4, note with a little work you can use an H4 in a P45t headlamp holder by swapping the wider base off the P45t to the H4 bulb. The connector is the same as we know. ND

Got it. Cheers guys.

Thanks SB, in that case I’ll add it to my toolbox. Still learning....

Why are Dnepr speedometers inaccurate? They are gear driven at both ends, secondary shaft in the gearbox meshed to a gear in the speedometer via the cable. Unless the tire diameter is considerably different than the design ratio I can’t see why they wouldn’t be accurate. But any system relies on an assumed tire diameter, I don’t understand. I’m running the stock speedo, can’t say hand on heart it gives me the correct speed but I’m running stock tire dimensions as well. ND.

Great to hear Rod. Lapping in a petcock valve body was a new approach to an old problem. ND.

I haven’t tried that Rod but your approach seems good, let us know if it works. ND

Definitely. I found the same, whatever they used to chop the standpipe to length left the fuel entrance burred, partially blocked. ND

Petcock internals. The brand new standpipe was bent and needed to be straightened before drilling out!

Confirmed, it's M14 x 1.5. I replaced the original (seized) with another original and haven't had any problems but I modified it a little bit first. They have (or should have) ample fuel tolerant grease in them or they are not going to last. Too much grease and it can impede fuel flow, mine suffered this. I also struggled to find an off the shelf crush washer to seal it in a manner that the petcock was orientated in the right direction when tightened correctly so I eventually made one out of aluminum on the lathe to the correct thickness. Further mods include drilling out the orifices to a larger diameter, again for better fuel flow, including the standpipe that is supposed to prevent debris from entering. On that note, there was originally a smaller annular shield around the standpipe at the base that is designed to stop debris coming in when running on reserve, I had some problem with this (I think it was in poor shape or loose or something) and removed it. So I avoid using reserve as much as possible. If you google Ernie Frank and Dnepr/Ural etc you should come across a downloadable PDF where he reviews all models of Ural/Dnepr petcocks which may be of assistance. ND.

Should be M14 x 1.5. If nobody else confirms, I’ll check tomorrow when I’m home. ND

Speaking of brakes, I was so disappointed when after all my efforts to set the front brake shoes perfectly, and then cleaning up the drum surfaces and shoes with 120 grit sandpaper for bite then rubbing alcohol for cleanliness the stopping power was still dismal. As if I had greased the damn things. I spent a lot of time on this. But now only a 100 km later I have very good brakes! It’s as if it just took a while for the surfaces to perfectly mate and I can actually dive the front forks now. I’ve read that feathering in pads and drum shoes is an art or maybe voodoo magic, there must be some truth to this. ND.

Appreciated Nick. I don’t have the heart to pull it off again for such a minor leak, I’ll try some grease when I need to change the oil in the spring. I also have some minor seepage past the seal on the little rod that actuates the clutch release lever from within the gearbox. I’ll try a different o ring. Happy New Year to everyone. ND.

I took apart one carb today because the idle mixture screw position made no difference so I suspected the idle jet was blocked even though I cleaned them recently and I’m running fuel filters. I could see a pinprick of light through the jet but after using the jet cleaning rod I noticed it was in fact partially blocked. Now the bike started easier than before and I adjusted the carbs to idle properly. Rode 45km and everything working very well, it settles down to a nice even idle. Exception...my new gasket didn’t stop the slow oil leak. Do you need to use sealant with cork?

I discovered today that what I said above is totally incorrect. Apologies. My K65ts have rubber-like tips on the needles, I don’t why I believed otherwise. I didn’t see separate washers though. I did notice that they deform a small bit where they contact the seat but it doesn’t seem like dissolving due to ethanol which they certainly have been in contact with. In any case they do not leak. Still can’t figure out why all my pictures get rotated when I upload....ND

Did just that, washed it with soapy water and put it on the motorcycle stand for some tlc. I finally got around to installing a quality cork oil pan gasket, it’s been leaking here for a couple of years and although it doesn’t really harm anything there is a build up of oily road grime I’d like to stop. This is of course in the delusional interest of owning a Dnepr that doesn’t leak. I’m still trying... sorry for rotated photos, not sure how to prevent this. ND.

Did 50 km today, cold and freezing temperatures. The roads are salted here so the Dnepr came back covered in salt and not good for corrosion.... Russian iron rusts in a blink. Good news is the new regulator controls voltage around 14v and the charging system is working.

Installed the new regulator and tested voltage, everything seems good. Charging kicks in with revs as it should, although the voltage fluctuates between 14 and 15v, maybe a bit high. I’ll take it for a ride today to see if it settles into a happy spot, it’s mechanical after all. The low voltage light is working as well for the first time. Just have to get the neutral light working and then electrics will be complete. Except the low beam stopped working, might need a new P45T. Such is Dnepr world, you get close to repairing everything but something else creeps into the mix...