(Big silly dumb-ass grin) -- it's -2 C and snowing hard
(2" so far) and the Dnepr didn't want to start. So I went
online and got a clue - chokes on, tickle the carbs,
ignition off - kick it over 6 times to prime the motor -
ignition on, kick - FRACK! Sputt... silence.

Repeat the above 5 times -- motor finally coughs into life.
Warm it up while steam rises all about it from various bits
getting hot... then I take it around the RV park, waving
at girls shoveling snow and trying to impress them by
spinning yoowwies and 360's on the slippery roads.

Life sure has its fun moments.

SQ
Vancouver, BC, Canada

On Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:06:42 -0800, sean_q <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>(Big silly dumb-ass grin) -- it's -2 C and snowing hard
>(2" so far) and the Dnepr didn't want to start. So I went
>online and got a clue - chokes on, tickle the carbs,

Chokes *and* ticklers, now there's a belt & braces approach.

--
-Pip

On Nov 25, 6:06*pm, sean_q <no.s...@no.spam> wrote:
> (Big silly dumb-ass grin) -- it's -2 C and snowing hard
> (2" so far) and the Dnepr didn't want to start. So I went
> online and got a clue - chokes on, tickle the carbs,
> ignition off - kick it over 6 times to prime the motor -
> ignition on, kick - FRACK! Sputt... silence.
>
> Repeat the above 5 times -- motor finally coughs into life.

With my Dnepr, it was chokes and ticklers, ignition on, started first
or second kick - but I also gave it a tiny amount of throttle,
slightly more than just taking up slack on the cables, before I kicked
it, then whacked the throttle open as it caught. This was pretty
reliable for me.

Further to my last

> I take it around the RV park, waving at girls shoveling snow

A while after that, when the snow was deeper, I took a test drive
in a quiet neighborhood with no traffic to try various speeds and
maneuvers.

Question is, would my Dnepr, or a 2WD Ural, or for that matter
any other legal "motorcycle" (which includes trikes) be suitable
for Greater Vancouver roads in winter and keep up with the pace
of traffic.

It would have to perform least as well as a cage (and preferably
better); ie. stop, turn, accelerate, climb slippery hills, etc
in all conditions.

Prelim conclusion: Either the bike or my skill level isn't up to it.
Above ~40 kph (24 mph) the bike wouldn't steer in today's conditions
(3" of damp, but not slushy snow). * I'd turn the front wheel and
the bike would just skid instead of turning. Stopping was also
a problem. Sometimes I would have to drift the bike around sideways
and skid to a stop.

Of course the steering response is asymmetrical -- turning right
(towards the sidecar) is easier than turning left. It's easy
to spin a 360 turning right; the bike seems to swing itself
around the chair as if it was square dancing.

I read that the Ural/sidecar combo is popular up north and is used
in winter. However, Arctic snow conditions aren't necessarily
the same has down here by the 49th and the bike's performance here
is what counts (I'm not planning any winter bike tours in the Arctic,
not even Edmonton.)

Anyway I'm planning more testing. Next step is to invite some of
the above mentioned girls to take a ride in the chair (for research
purposes, of course).

* I don't have 25 different words for types of snow like the Innuit do.

SQ

On Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:13:09 -0800, sean_q <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote in <FQDHo.25147$(E-Mail Removed)>:

> Question is, would my Dnepr, or a 2WD Ural, or for that matter
> any other legal "motorcycle" (which includes trikes) be suitable
> for Greater Vancouver roads in winter and keep up with the pace
> of traffic.

Well, I know a Suzuki Katana 650 doesn't do too well, as I
had to take mine down to Vancouver Suzuki one day to have a 2nd-gear
problem fixed. "Had to" as in I was flying to Oz later and they were
to fix the bike while I was away. But, we had several inches of snow
overnight... Somehow I managed to get from West Point Grey down
onto W 4th OK, but then I had problems with traffic. The cars
wouldn't give me enough space in the slushy snow, and the high
compression of the 650 meant that whenever I had to close the
throttle the back wheel would skid. I made it, but bathed in
perspiration by the time I got there.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

In message <FQDHo.25147$(E-Mail Removed)>, sean_q
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>Further to my last
>
>> I take it around the RV park, waving at girls shoveling snow
>
>A while after that, when the snow was deeper, I took a test drive
>in a quiet neighborhood with no traffic to try various speeds and
>maneuvers.
>
Has sir got studded tyres?

I have warned my friends in Vancouver to keep an eye out for you :-)

--
Tim

sean_q wrote:

> * I don't have 25 different words for types of snow like the Innuit do.

Allegedly, and as I understand, not.

--
Rusty

Thus spake platypus ((E-Mail Removed)) unto the assembled multitudes:

> With my Dnepr, it was chokes and ticklers, ignition on, started first
> or second kick - but I also gave it a tiny amount of throttle,
> slightly more than just taking up slack on the cables, before I kicked
> it, then whacked the throttle open as it caught. This was pretty
> reliable for me.

I seem to recall I used the same procedure with my BSA C15, which had an Amal
Monobloc carb with a tickler, but no choke. Still worked though, starting on
first or second kick, waking up all the neighbours as it did so with its
stubby little megaphone! Happy days...

--
Andy Clews
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