First of all I suppose I should define my idea of today’s biker.  Unlike decades past where a biker was generally a social outcast whose main purpose in life was to get smashed and raise as much of a ruckus as humanly possible without going to jail, (al least not for more than the rest of the weekend), today’s biker is generally a “horse of a different color”.  Quite often he is the same person as previously described, but having undergone the transformation that comes with age, wisdom, and the settling effects of home, business and a family.  Today’s biker has rarely maintained a presence in the motorcycle society beyond having managed to keep his spouse from finding out that he still buys the occasional motorcycle magazine, and secretly yearns for the “Good Old Day’s”.  He has never forgiven himself for having sold that “old piece of iron” that was his personal claim to freedom.  He has secretly lamented giving up his “ride” in order to get married, start a business, raise the kids or whatever else he has been using for an excuse for the past few decades.  Now the kids are grown up, or the business is flourishing, he’s retired, or just plain fed up with all the B.S.  Today’s biker is in reality just another “Baby Boomer” albeit one with a slightly more jaded past, and a heck of a lot better memories of his youth. 

   I’m not talking about the corporate guru who has finally accumulated so much money that he can afford to go out and buy a brand new “Hog”, or one of those super double dog throw down “Metric Cruisers” to cruise around on.  I’m not referring to the guy that always wanted “one of those things” but never had the time or the money, let alone the guts to ride a motorcycle when it wasn’t cool.  I’m talking about the guys that were there at one time or another, and had to abandon the lifestyle for whatever reason, and now they are finally ready to take one last grab at the “Brass Ring” of life.  More often than not today’s biker still can’t afford, or justify, spending the baskets of money required to buy or build a motorcycle.  Many have turned to “Russian Iron” to fill this void.  There are a variety of makes that fall into this category, but for some reason one of the motorcycles of choice is the Dnepr.  Those with a bit more money and less of a sense of  adventure, along with many who just have no mechanical aptitude have opted for the newer civilian version known as the Ural, in a vain attempt to marginalize the “social outcast” image.  Even so the vast majority of these hardy souls go for the “Retro” or “Trooper” in order to at least appear that they are Hardy Souls of Motorcycledom.   But the true believer has ignored all the warnings and common sense indicators and taken the plunge into the world of the Dnepr. 

   The Dnepr is known as “The Red Headed Stepchild” of motorcycles.  Its feats of endurance are legend, and it is the vehicle of choice for the Soviet military since the 1940’s.  Nobody buys one of these beasts, (or nearly nobody) with the intent of getting on it and going around the world.  Few even hope to go around the block without encountering a few problems.  However once the infamous “Russian Technology” has been overcome, and the man finally conquers the beast, the Dnepr is the king of the back roads.

   This book is dedicated to those hard few who dare to stare in the face of motorcycle doom and laugh defiantly.  I have chosen to tackle only the 650cc OHV models for now, as this is what I have chosen as my personal nemesis.  Hopefully I will muddle through this, and go on to the beloved “flathead” models, and I will most likely touch on the 750cc models as well simply because so many parts are interchangeable.  I will endeavor to put things into some cohesive sort of order without getting too technical, or using words and terms that only a licensed mechanic or engineer could possibly decipher.  Instead I am going to try to give you the layman’s perspective of things, and where possible give you as many alternative methods of overcoming the many hurdles of keeping a Dnepr running properly, and well maintained. 

   The information contained here is not gospel.  There is no “Chiltons Guide” to this beast as there just aren’t enough of them to make publication viable.  This is just one of “Today’s Bikers” trying to make the best of the information that is out there, and share what I can gather with all the other hardy souls who share my affection for this particular piece of “Russian Iron”.  I will attempt to combine what little information is available from the best English Language Translation manuals with all the tidbits I could cull from the various discussion groups on the internet such as “Russian Iron” , B-Cozz and “Dneprheads”, mixed in with words of wisdom from the few Dnepr gurus out there who are willing to share their vast knowledge and a smattering of personally learned lessons.  The most important thing to remember is that this is NOT rocket science.  It is not a highly developed piece of machinery, but a motorcycle based on 1940’s technology with a whole lot of ingenuity mixed in.  There is a lot of WWID (What Would Ivan Do?) logic intermixed with common sense and a smattering of factory information.  When it comes to a Dnepr “nothing is written in stone”.  These things have been culled together using whatever parts were available at the time, and I’m positive that there is a lot more back yard mechanical inclination used to keep one of these beasts running than all the other motorcycles combined. 

   Remember “THINK TRACTOR”, or in the immortal words of Scooterbob…..  “Before you sit down to work on a Dnepr first you should drink a 40oz  of Vodka, then hit yourself in the head with a brick a few times to get yourself in the proper frame of mind.”

Unlike many of today’s modern marvels of technology, the Dnepr OHV is the predecessor of the BMW OHV.

  The factory tool kit is a hand full of wrenches and screwdrivers that come wrapped up in a tool roll.  If you have been lucky enough to come across a pristine model that still has all the original factory parts go out and buy yourself a lottery ticket because you are the luckiest person in the world.  Seriously, if that were the case the meager handful of tools encased in that little roll up package is in theory all that you should need for full maintenance and repairing anything short of a major catastrophe.  Chances are, though, you have inherited a quagmire of assorted nuts and bolts from around the world. 

   The average Dnepr riders garage consists of a tool box full of SAE standard, Metric, Whitworth, and home made wrenches, drift pins, a large selection of files and a wide assortment of hammers.  Throw in a huge assortment of screwdrivers and an impact driver or two, and top it off with picks and hooks and magnets and any other assorted gadget you can get your hands on.  A mechanics stethoscope wouldn’t hurt, and some sort of carb balancer is always helpful.  Those of us who are lucky enough have a lathe and mill, or at the very least a drill press, bench grinder and vice, and hopefully a friend or two with a lathe and mill. 

   A good supply of rags and hand cleaner generally sits right next to the bottle of Vodka and the brick.  Those rags can also double as crying towels.  A parts cleaner, or at the very least a bucket of solvent is very handy, and it’s probably a good idea to have a fire extinguisher or two on hand.  Like I said in the beginning if you want to conquer the dreaded “Russian Iron” you need to be prepared to get your hands dirty, and it’s best to have an ample supply of patience and ingenuity. 

   A factory manual never hurts as does a parts catalog with expanded diagrams, but if you are reading this then you have most likely already found out that as often as not, the manual isn’t worth the paper its written on unless you are caught out in the wilderness and the “call of nature” has overcome you, and there is no other suitable TP.  If you’re using the CD version of this guide, then a computer or laptop is also pretty helpful.  I intend to pirate as much technical info and as many expanded drawings from the above noted sources as I can since the factory has been MIA for decades, and being sued for copyright infringement will only get them a well worn Dnepr and a pocket full of  air.

   Now I am going to ASSUME (one should never assume as it always makes an ASS of U and ME) that you have somehow already suffered a momentary lapse of reason, and actually gone out and bought yourself a Dnepr.  Now it’s either broken, dead, or at best is making some sort of dreadful noise deep within its bowels. You have already tried all of the local motorcycle repair shops and between gasps of horror mixed with howls of laughter and the inevitable “What the heck is that thing anyway?” you have come to determine that your better off trying to tackle the problem yourself.  If you are lucky you might find some foreign car mechanic from Russia, the Ukraine or some other Baltic nation who has some knowledge of this sort of machinery, but most likely you’re on your own.   The first thing you should do is get out the degreaser and garden hose, and give the bike a good bath.  Chances are if you just got it it’s covered in crud and grease, or if you’ve been riding it already, you have been out in the back 40 playing and the thing is filthy. 

Your bike should look something like this.

MT10-36

   Don’t be alarmed if there are some minor differences such as the bench seat being a pair of solo seats, or the handlebars, headlight and ignition panel is different.  It may not even have a sidecar and the front end may be totally different.  This model has a telescoping or plunger front end, while others have what is known as a leading link front end.  Some bikes have windshields, and hand protectors, and many come equipped with crash bars and leg protectors.  Some sidecars have their own little windshields, and many sidecars come equipped with such accessories as fuel cans, ammo boxes, and an assortment of little clampy gizmo thingies for mounting shovels and axes.  Some have luggage racks, and bumpers, while others have any number of styles of machine gun mounts.  That’s right I did say machine gun mounts, although if your going to put one of those to use I suggest that you use a replica machine gun, as the police tend to freak out if you drive around with a real machine gun on your motorcycle.  Come to think of it, they sometimes freak out about the replicas.  In some states and provinces there are even laws against having a replica weapon of any type in public never mind a big old machine gun or two.

   Like I said before having one that is all original is somewhat akin to having your own personal Gutenberg Bible.  That would be very rare and very valuable.  Most of these rigs have been severely modified to suite the previous owners needs and whims, not to mention knackered together from whatever was available.  Chances are you will want to make your rig as personal as possible according to your own whims and flights of fantasy.

   Safety is all important when working with any type of machinery or tools.  You must adhere to all safety precautions, and wear the correct personal protective equipment for the job at hand.  Number one in importance is a good pair of safety glasses.  You should have a pair that has shatterproof lenses and proper side protection.  Safety glasses come in all shapes and sizes, and there are even some that are made specifically to fit over prescription eye wear.  There are even safety shields that come equipped with magnifying lenses or shields for those of us who are slightly sight challenged.  A good pair of mechanics gloves is also a good idea since skinned knuckles are common when working on old bikes without proper hand protection.  Both of these items are usually available at the local auto parts store, or if you want really top notch safety equipment you can check your yellow pages for a safety supply retailer.  A fire extinguisher that is rated for gas and electrical fires is also a good thing to have on hand.  Another item, although not really a safety item, is one of those lighted headbands, so you can see into the dark recesses of the inner workings without having to grow a third hand to hold a flashlight.

   Normally this is where I would be saying that this is not meant to be a substitute for the factory service manual, however if you have ever seen the English translation for the OEM service manual you would understand that this is not the case.  The manuals that are available in English are probably machine translated, and can be quite confusing until you sort of figure it out.  Not only that, it is for the most part incomplete and inconsistent.  This manual/guide is cobbled together from various translations from the Russian and Ukrainian language versions along with solutions gathered from the various news groups that are meant to deal with these very problems.  I have just gathered up as much information as possible, and tried to put it all into a cohesive orderly manner.