A Visit To Mecca (AKA: Ural Canada) - 04 Aug 06

There comes a time when an Ural owner begins to feel a gentle tug at their inner psyche, a persistent sensation that eventually manifests itself as a desire to head towards the city of Peterborough, Ontario, and the CURDites Mecca located there - Ural Canada. For some time now I'd been experiencing that pull on the heartstrings and today I finally made the pilgrimage. The timing couldn't have been better; even though I am on call for work all weekend the factory was shut down today, allowing me the chance of a visit during normal weekday business hours. Angie was going to visit her Mom for the weekend at her home north of Peterborough and as her route would take her right past Ural Canada, I decided to accompany her that far and we would both stop at Mecca for a visit. I was sorely tempted to take my Ural, but it is a long route on secondary roads to Peterborough and as Angie couldn't leave work until 11am, it meant our departure time would be too late to put us at Ural Canada before closing. The Ural could make it there no problem, but at 90kmh it just couldn't make it there fast enough. So my Harley got the nod, but I wore my fave Ural t-shirt to show my allegiance.
It was a hot, windy ride on the 401 highway and the usual assortment of idiot cagers were already gathering in preparation for the brutal long weekend traffic games. We made it to Ural Canada just before lunch and were greeted by the sight of a sparkly blue Troyka and a camo'd Gear-Up in front of the showroom windows. I immediately made a beeline for the air-conditioned interior, stopping dead in my tracks at the sight of this new '06 Tourist sitting on the floor. I have to say the new red colour looks good, much better than the pics in the brochures would have you think.
Mike and Jerry and the staff were there to greet Angie and I and, despite the frantic pace of phone calls and customer visits, were available to answer all our questions and talk about Urals. Angie spotted a display cabinet full of Ural goodies and, amazing babe that she is, bought me an Ural lapel pin and enamel coffee mug while I was busy chatting with Mike (left edge of pic) about all the improvements to the '06 lineup. Mike told me I had just missed another CURD member and his friend, both on Ural rigs, by a half-hour. Next time I make the trip I'm going to have to announce it beforehand on our CURD forum.
I was amazed at the improvement in fit and finish from the '05 models and spent more than a few minutes up close and personal with the shiny red Tourist. Upgrades to the wiring harness and air filter are immediately apparent, along with improved fasteners and a comfy looking bench seat. The beauty of the Ural is that all of these improvements can be retrofitted to '04 and '05 models. I felt a little pang of regret as I took in the unspoiled beauty of the new rig, remembering when mine looked that shiny just one short year ago.
As we hadn't had lunch yet, Jerry recommended a restaurant just down the highway that had good, cheap eats. Angie and I decided to eat there and then go our separate ways afterwards, with her carrying on to see her mom and me returning to Ural Canada for more talk before heading for home. Angie took this pic of me standing next to Mike's Troyka and Jerry's Gear-Up on the way out to our bikes.
Lunch was just as Jerry had promised, good and cheap. We knew he was speaking the truth about the restaurant when he showed up there for his lunch break a few minutes after we'd sat down. We chatted with him while we ate and learned that this year they are importing somewhere around 75 new Urals, with more than 50 of them sold already! Very good news, indeed. Angie and I talked about planning a rally for next year; an idea Jerry seemed to think was a good one. He told us there are many good campgrounds in the Peterborough area, so we've decided to look for one close to Ural Canada and start the ball rolling for the inaugural CURD Rally.
Angie and I did our "lovers tenderly parting" routine and she motored off all proud and pretty on her Harley. I returned to Mecca and chatted with the staff in between them serving other customers. I had been talking to Mike about an unusual noise coming from the alternator of my bike and next thing I knew he'd dug the keys to his own Troyka out of his pocket and suggested I take a spin on it to see if it made the same noise. He gave me directions for a nice 10-minute loop on quiet country roads and away I went. I stopped along the way at the entrance to a farmer's field and took this photo.
I was amazed at the pep of the '06 motor, due in part to the low restriction - but not overly loud - Dunstall replica mufflers he had fitted to the bike. I was so impressed by them I bought a set when I returned to the showroom, they'll be shipping them out next week. The transmission is much improved and loads easier to shift, it changes gears with a minimum of fuss and an absence of graunchy/crunchy noises pre-'06 owners are so used to. Ural is obviously paying attention to their customers and improving their bikes as fast and best as they can, so if you're even the least bit interested about these Russian beauties your answers are only a webclick away at Ural Canada.

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