Re: Firing up the Russian iron

 | The Dnepr sat outside unused since late summer, but I had to move it
| today. The chokes were stuck from disuse and so were the throttle
| slides. So of course I pounded on both carbs with a rubber mallet
| to loosen things up (including the float valves, which always stick
| if not used regularly). This seemed the natural thing to do with
| a WW2-style machine built like a Soviet tractor.
|
| Then a few stomps on the kick starter and KA-FRACK! A few more kicks
| and one of the jugs started firing. The bike rocked for about a minute
| under these uneven power strokes until a loud BANG! (backfire) upon
| which the other cylinder kicked in and the motor ran more smoothly.
|
| This all happened in the miserable cold, driving rain (that included
| a few ice crystals). That's because the fun part of the year is just
| about over, and now we're in for the cold, sopping damp (and sometimes
| windy) part.
|
Gotta put a Dnepr on my bucket list ...

 

Very cool story.