1964 Ural MT16 Dnepr

Description

Up for Auction is my old friend the sidecar.
I am known as sidecar Mike, as I have ridden sidecar bikes since 1985, I have had Harleys and BMWs with sidecars as well.
I am turning 65 and retiring next month and moving part time to Europe.
That said, a few life changes are going on, including selling a bike or two.
It is with some trepidation that I am selling my MT16 Dnepr with a BMW motor.
We took this bike on our honeymoon 10 years ago.
It has been in my possession since 2009.
I purchased it from Vostok Motors in Sacramento with 25 Kilometers on the clock. The motor was a mess, with a seized tappet and a ruined cam.
I rebuilt it and ran it for several years. A piston failed catastrophically and I rebuilt it again.
The motor suffered from garbage carburetors, lack of power, poor oiling and bad metallurgy.
A common fix in Europe is to stuff a BMW motor in these bikes.
I made the decision to replace Dnepr motor with a BMW. I had a 78 BMW RT parts bike and pulled the motor, did the requisite welding on the tranny, rebuilt the motor and a year later had a BMepr.
The Bike is a full time 2 wheel drive (unlike the Ural locker type) and goes off road to places you wouldn’t think it could go.
The motor starts easily, runs well, is electric start and is finely tuned and running great..
A few of the engineering items this bike
1)
BMW R100RT motor, while I have lowered the compression and installed hardened valve seats it still puts out double the power of the 650 Soviet motor, has electric start and is a proven reliable motor, it is a big valve engine with 40mm Bing carburetors.
2)
As is common practice with this conversion, there is a /2 clutch disc, it doesn’t slip, it does take a firm hand like any BMW airhead of this vintage.
There is a heavy duty rubber donut onthe driveshaft from Europe, designed for the bigger motor.
4)
The Dnepr trans has been modified with a lower 1
st
and a higher4
th
gear ratio, the bearings are all Timken or SKF.
I
t sports a Ford TFI electric ignition; it retains points and the auto advance mechanism and has functioned flawlessly for more than a decade.
6)
The dodgy Soviet wiring has been replaced with new 12awg copper wire; all connectors are soldered and shrink tubed.
7)
The headlight is a 55/100 Hella bulb and lights up as well as a modern bike.
8)
The starter is a Veleo with permanent magnets, it uses less power and spins faster than the old Bosch unit.
There is a full size car battery in the trunk.
Front Disc Brake – the drums were OK 50 years ago in the Soviet Union; they were unsafe on American roads. I used a large piston Master Cylinder as used on the big Hondas. I have retained the
Leading Link front end and installed a double caliper setup. It stops well now.
2)
All the U Joints were replaced a couple of years ago.
3)
Comes with lots of extra parts, gaskets and filters.
4)
Tires will last another season; they are Duro on the ground and a Kenda knobby as a spare for dirt work. All wheels are interchangeable on the bike.
Make no mistake, if you are looking for a bike with Honda reliability, buy a Honda.
If you are a better than average mechanic with working knowledge of 40 year old Airheads, this might be something that will make you smile. There are few motorcycles I have owned that faithfully give me the grins, this is one of them.
I have a full size trailer that I will Sell for 0 if you buy the bike.
I will accept a 0 payment within 48 hours of the auction closing by PayPal.
The remainder is due when you pick it up.
I will not store it more than a couple of weeks before you pick it up.