Anyone familiar with URAL motorcycles

[EDELWEISS]

Recently I remembered reading that at the end of WW2 the Soviets captured the BMW motorcycle factory and took everything home, including the plans AND bolts that held the machinery to the floor. They apparently liked the bike and side car so much that they continued to produce it well into the 1980s. Then their Communist brothers from China asked for assistance producing a motorcycle/sidecar of their own and the original machinery was sent south to the descendants of Chairman Mao, who may still be making the bike. I first heard that story in the late 1990s at a military vehicle show, where aftermarket sellers were offering cool pieces to "upgrade" the German-Soviet-Chinese bikes back into German configuration, complete with BMW info plates stamped with your VIN number....Back then the Chinese bikes were selling for maybe $3500. That seemed a steal; but I wasn't interested enough to drop the coin.

Now Im not finding a source for the Chinese bikes; but I did stumble onto a local URAL motorcycle dealer. Im NOT sure if they are the same bikes; but they do look similar enough for me. They are priced in the reasonable range for a toy bike, and are even available in OD Green. I find myself wanting one, especially if I can use it as an excuse to mount a MG34 on the sidecar....

They definitely aren't racing bikes being only 749cc with a happy cruising speed of 65-75MPH. I haven't ridden a motorcycle for 30 years. Im "hearing" that adding a sidecar means re-learning how to ride?


Anybody have any knowledge of the URALs.

[barnetmill]

I will say generally in the past when they were communist the prices on the combloc bikes were good, but spare parts were most often not available. Before buying verify what sort of support and warranties are actually in place. The Chinese initially got factories for military related industries from the Soviets. So there bikes might be similar and then again might not.

Still verify the questions of parts and service.

There are also russian tractors and such about. I would likely look at the Indian made tractors first. Check out India for motor bikes, maybe they make old BSA bikes.

[EDELWEISS]

Theres a URAL dealer within 30 miles of me and a separate service center also nearby. As to how well they are stocked, that does seem like a good thing to confirm.

[jmoore]

They started out as replicas of the old airheads. Now, they are trying to modernize and such. Have heard they are switching from carbs ti FI. Oh well.

geezer john - started on a 75/6

[EDELWEISS]

They make a version with 2WD (using a driveshaft for the sidecar wheel). Does that offer any significant advantage over a standard 1WD bike?

[Mike Heckathorn]

Just get a Royal Enfield


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[EDELWEISS]

Just get a Royal Enfield


I cant bring myself to mount a MG34 on Enfield. OTOH maybe a BREN????

[Steven Spaugh]

https://www.rokon.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_full/public/rokon-for-hunters.jpg?itok=J37INutP
I'd rather have one of these, with a chainsaw bayonet to cut a path through the woods.

[jesselp]

A buddy of mine recently purchased a used Ural with the sidecar for adventures on dirt roads. He absolutely loves it, however it is his first experience with owning a motorcycle. I rode in the sidecar of a trip for coffee, and it was a very odd sensation.

He has one of the newer versions with fuel injection and I helped him to change the oil for the first time. If the amount of effort necessary for an oil and filter change is any indication, maintenance will be a breeze.

I will say that I think highway cruising at 65-75 MPH may be a bit optimistic. He tells me it runs out of steam pretty quickly at around 55, and is much happier cruising at 45 on back roads than 55 of the highway.

There's a very active online community of Ural owners who are very generous with their time and knowledge, if you look for them.

JLP

[coastalcop]

45 mph is your benchmark, if you want faster cruising and dirt capability go to a BMW GS1150 or better with sidecar.

Operating a motorcycle with a sidecar is COMPLETELY different than riding on two wheels, it will take a learning curve, preferably at low speed in a empty parking lot.

URAL motorcycles are easy to care for provided parts are available, ive ridden a couple and they were fun.

[chad newton]

Just get a Harley bro. I’ve only had two street bikes other then a cr250 dirt bike, but they were fun. I had a triumph boniville and a hot rodded 1200 sportster. I bet I can still do about a 50’ wheelie on one.:). But really if you are going to get one, get one you can take across country and not have to worry about it....

[coastalcop]

But really if you are going to get one, get one you can take across country and not have to worry about it....

So youre saying get a Honda ;)

[Papa]

I cant bring myself to mount a MG34 on Enfield. OTOH maybe a BREN????

Live large. Vickers beltfed.

[chad newton]

Lol, there’s a Harley dealership on every corner, you might need it...... Dude, I never went more then a couple hundred miles on mine. I like air conditioning and heaters. Not enough can be said about being inside a car when it starts raining. Just saying.:)

[coastalcop]

Lol, there’s a Harley dealership on every corner, you might need it...... Dude, I never went more then a couple hundred miles on mine. I like air conditioning and heaters. Not enough can be said about being inside a car when it starts raining. Just saying.:)

I was just joshing ya brother, Ive ridden just about everything on two wheels, last major ride was around 4000 miles in 9 days with buddies......... 450 miles of that was mine and a buddies bike in the back of a uhaul (the rest of the friends kept riding to meet us ) from Cody WY, to Provo Utah which happened to be the closest place that had a regulator/rectifier for his Victory in stock on a shelf lol. The Concours 14 that I was riding still runs like a top, but the XO doesnt like rides as much on the cycle since I got the miata, so the Concours will go to a new home when I find the new owner then something smaller will take its place.

And yes, when it starts raining, or the sun is beating down on you at 110 degrees, its nice to raise the hardtop and crank up the AC ;)

[TFA303]

Yeah, I'm certain they're not practical. Still want one.
https://www.imz-ural.com/blog/

56255

[EDELWEISS]

Thanks guys. THATs what I wanted to hear. Im not committed to the purchase but kinda interested. Id mainly be using it for back roads in decent weather as a toy.

[Ringo]

I've a dear old friend from the Corps who just sold his Ural/sidecar combo. Here's a recent FB post on it:



"Dang. Three years with this Ural bike. It was fun when it was working. Yeah, when. Three years and went through three clutches, three gearboxes, one cylinder, one swing-arm, a flywheel, a starter, a tachometer, and speedometer. Best, highest quality German engineering of the 1930's with modern day Russian quality control means absolute rubbish most of the time. Oh yeah. This design started out as a BMW. Has a shared history and origin with all modern BMW bikes. Compare a modern BMW with a modern Ural. This right here is a real-world demonstration of the stark differences between capitalism and socialism/communism. BMW progressed and improved, because in the free market, it's improve or die. The Ural stagnated until the fall of the Soviet Union and only exists today because there are a small number of people who are willing to deal with the hassle of old tech. It's really niche. If only the Russian worker had the mind-set of quality. Alas, 70 some years of the sickle and hammer and over twenty years later, the western owners of the modern Ural company can't get rid of that "this is how we always did it. Why change?" mentality from the Soviet era.

Got rid of that Russian piece of crap two weeks ago, trading it for something a lot more dependable: a Kawasaki KLR650."

[coastalcop]

I've a dear old friend from the Corps who just sold his Ural/sidecar combo. Here's a recent FB post on it:



"Dang. Three years with this Ural bike. It was fun when it was working. Yeah, when. Three years and went through three clutches, three gearboxes, one cylinder, one swing-arm, a flywheel, a starter, a tachometer, and speedometer. Best, highest quality German engineering of the 1930's with modern day Russian quality control means absolute rubbish most of the time. Oh yeah. This design started out as a BMW. Has a shared history and origin with all modern BMW bikes. Compare a modern BMW with a modern Ural. This right here is a real-world demonstration of the stark differences between capitalism and socialism/communism. BMW progressed and improved, because in the free market, it's improve or die. The Ural stagnated until the fall of the Soviet Union and only exists today because there are a small number of people who are willing to deal with the hassle of old tech. It's really niche. If only the Russian worker had the mind-set of quality. Alas, 70 some years of the sickle and hammer and over twenty years later, the western owners of the modern Ural company can't get rid of that "this is how we always did it. Why change?" mentality from the Soviet era.

Got rid of that Russian piece of crap two weeks ago, trading it for something a lot more dependable: a Kawasaki KLR650."




The KLR is cutting edge 1960's technology....... but it works and keeps working, i hit hundreds of miles of semi-charted Chisos mountains with one, never a problem ;)