Derek Smith
Tech Tips

That's the Brakes - Ural

I seem to be always playing with the brake control cables / rods. Once they seem to be OK after about a week they require tensioning again. I think I've found the reason why. There are a couple of nuts in each hub which are meant to prevent the brake alignment from changing. In both the front & rear hubs I found that one of the nuts was tight while the other one was loose. On the front brake I found that as a result one of the shoes was obviously nicely worn in while the other was untouched with still a glaze on the shoe! You may want to take a look at your brakes and see if those nuts are tight or not. They're easy to overlook.
Still chasing the perfect Ural....eh

That Grinding Feeling

Since I'm a "Reluctant Wrench" I have finally decided to do my own maintenance. The bike is nearing the 5000 km mark so I'm easing myself into this slowly. Today I decided to poke my nose into the rear hub on my Sportsman which has given me some concern for a while. I've noticed aluminum particles on the rear hub since I got the bike a few months ago. I've asked about these but they seemed like a result of the breaking in process & I have been told by more than one knowledgable person that they will eventually stop. Today I bravely removed the rear hub because I've noticed a slight grinding sound as well now. Have a look at the photos of what I found. The "pivot" for the brake shoes has somehow backed out of one half of the hub and been wearing away at the metal in the other half of the hub! Maybe other owners should do an inspection to make sure all's OK What's the procedure for getting that post back into place and how can I make sure that it stays there? Perhaps I should just get in touch with the dealer? I have no access to a press or any other exotic tools....

I had the same thing happen. I can't tell how badly yours got chewed as the photos are taking too long to download.

The first time I saw the post sticking out of the brake area, I thought it was SUPPOSED to poke out like that. But when rotating my tires I saw the chewed ribs in the wheel, it didn't take long to figure out what was wrong.

Gus told me that this happens from time to time and that he epoxied the posts in. I took my final drive off and found that it had NEVER been seated all the way, so I put it in a hydraulic press and reseated it. So far it's staying in.

But obviously it wouldn't have been a bad thing if there was a pin or something to hold this thing in.

Your photo just finished; you must have cleaned it off, there was aluminum all over everything in mine!
"Enjoying the spoils of an economic war!"

Dear Derek-

What Vance says is once again...true.

Seems the factory is in the habit of occasionally not pressing things in all the way...It's an easy job to finish. Vance's suggestion about epoxy is a good one, and any decent machine shop will have a bearing press which can properly seat the pin.

As long as your ribs aren't cut too badly (I've yet to look at the picture), the hub is fine. If you are concerned, swap the tire with the spare rim and put the spare rim into rotation, saving the rim/hub for light duty/emergency use.

Based on the work see so far from your hands (Derek's rig is IMMACULATE), you will have no problem taking care of this!

And finally...

Vance covered the whole pin problem about two months back in the Tech Section, and did a fine job at that! As I can't do any better, his work is truly the benchmark on this job.

Keep your pins tight,

URAL Tech Dep't

Derek: I've got to compliment you on your use of this web site! Your photos of the problem are the ULTIMATE in useful info for the rest of us URAL Heads. Many Thanks.

Russ the Restorer

Dear Derek-

I had a chance to peek at your pix...Now I gotta get a digital camera, so I can better explain stuff to you guys!

The pin can be easily pressed back in...You may even want to try a large C-clamp with a piece of plywood on the backside to prevent damage to the hub.

The webs are not badly ground...You should be able to put that wheel back in service.

You're a far better mechanic than you let on...

URAL Tech Dep't

I blush at the compliments! I find the use of pictures almost mandatory as I'm unfamiliar with the correct terms with which to describe what I'm looking at! As I come across little tidbits of useful info I'll be sharing them through pictures if it helps others to understand & avoid some of the pitfalls. Chuck it would be nice to have file attachments activated for the "technical" section as well as the owners section. I would have posted this problem in technical, but there's no way to attach a picture there. Can you fix that?
Thanks for your feedback guys! I learn so much through your postings!

A few whacks with a hammer against a piece of 1 x 2 wood placed against the pin & she's OK again. I'm going to keep an eye on the pin & if she backs out again I'll use the epoxy / locktite idea. New wheel coming under warranty... I'm cheap as well as a bit of a perfectionist Chuck! (Ural America's worst nightmare eh) Wait until I start posting Alex's Russian secrets for the 15 minute tune-up, complete with pictures! That ought to stir things up around here.
Ural a bunch of great people... eh