With this in mind I decided to get some hand guards. My father-in-law was kind enough to send me an Amazon gift card for my birthday, so all I had to do was research the best ones.
After looking at a few in person in local bike shops and online, I decided on the Moose Racing Contour Hand Guards with the Large Competition Hand guard Protectors in Black. I looked for Olive Green hand guards to match the Patrol, but couldn't find any by a name brand manufacturer and they were a "one size fits all" type deal, so I didn't want mix-n-match guards and the protectors. I wanted a clean look that would have people asking, "did they come with the bike?" It was $67.95 for the guards, $24.95 for the protectors, no tax and free shipping. The price wasn't cheap but once I saw them and how well the Protectors fit on the Hand guards, I was very pleased.
The first problem I noticed (What? You didn't think this was going to be easy did you? We're talkin' Urals here!) was the inside bar diameter didn't match the 2 sizes of aluminum cam bushings that were supplied with the handlebars. The bushings supplied fit standard 7/8" and 1 1/8" bars. The Ural is somewhere in between with the 7/8" bushings being too small and the 1 1/8" too big. I don't have a lathe to turn down the big bushings and I didn't want to try and ream out the bars and mess them up. Instead I started scrounging for something to shim the difference. It turns out that some 1/2" copper tubing is just the right size, the bushings fit right in and then the copper fits snugly in the bar ends. I cut two pieces about as long as the bushings and then sawed through one side so that the copper could expand and seat in the bars properly...
A few caveats to keep in mind:
-The hand guards and bushings are aluminum and the handle bars and screws are steel. Take the time to line things up and fit the parts loosely; start the screws by hand and hand tighten only until you get things lined up the way you want them. If you tighten one end and then force the other into position by cranking down on a screw, you will strip somethings.
-Patience! I fit each side several times to align everything properly and to clear the controls.
-Make sure no wires or cables get pinched and that now wiring or cables are getting pulled when the front wheel is in full lock in either direction. You might have to snip a cable tie or two to fit the handle bar clamps and reposition the wires slightly to make sure everything clears OK.
-Blue Loc-Tite all threads. You don't want a hand guard rattling off on the highway or interfering with you controls in any way!
The next step was to drill some holes in the guard bars for the protectors. I guess because you can use more than one size protector on the hand guards Moose doesn't drill and tap them. Instead they supply you with a bit and some hard, fine thread screws that hat cut their own thread when you screw them in. Slip protectors on bars, use a pick to scribe your marks, remove protectors, drill through bars, install protectors, Loc-tite screws and done.
I started with the left side, as it is the easiest due to fewer cables, wires and no throttle to content with. I used an Exacto knife to remove the end of the grip. I left the lip of the grip on to offer some rub protection between my hand and the guard. Mount the hand guard, place the handlebar clamp on and trial fit before tightening.
Mine had to mount with the arm of the clamp going under the clutch lever in order to clear everything properly. YMMV.
You want the horizontal bar of the hand guards level to the ground or slightly upward, depending on the positioning of your levers.
I put a dab of grease in the recess of the end mount screw so it wouldn't gouge, allowing me to get maximum torque down on the screw. Careful not to get any on the aluminum cam or the copper shim. It worked perfectly and after torquing everything down I can lift up on the hand guard and rock the bike as solidly as if I was moving the handle bar. One on, one to go...
Next I had to decide how much to cut off of the throttle tube. The instructions say to loosen the throttle slide it off the bar slightly and to cut the hand grip and throttle tube with a hacksaw. I thought this was a little imprecise and instead decided to cut the hand grip end and the throttle tube with an Exacto knife. You want to remove enough material that the grip or throttle tube aren't rubbing up against the hand guard or you might find yourself with an unintentional cruise control situation. Removing the end lip of the grip and about an 1/8" ring of plastic did the trick for me. An Exacto knife is much better than a Stanley knife here, as it allows better control and cuts through the rubber like a scalpel.
The right hand guard took some finagling to clear the brake cylinder. The clamp was mounted with the arm going over the controls in order to clear everything, opposite to how I installed the left side.
Here is the "bat wing" silhouette of the hand guards installed. The brake lever is actually hanging a little low, I loosened the assembly to get the hand guard over it. I moved it back up and tightened it after this picture.
REMEMBER: MAKE SURE YOUR THROTTLE SNAPS BACK NORMALLY AND THAT THE THROTTLE TUBE, HAND GRIP AND HAND GUARD DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THAT YOUR THROTTLE CABLE AND BRAKE LINE ARE NOT GETTING PULLED WHEN TURNING!
There are too few Uralistas as it is, don't need someone riding off a cliff due to stuck throttle, damaged brake line.
