Born in the CCCP

[Grogo67]

How often do you come across a Russian bike? Found this (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/897259520.html) while checking the local listings. I don't know about riding on tires from 1968 though...

[Steve Young]

The craigslist listing has expired, but if by "this" you mean one of "these" http://www.imz-ural.com/ , then the answer is "not often". Here's some more information; http://www.cossackmotorcycles.com/ural650.html . And just in case you thought these were a Russia-only phenomenon, http://www.cj750.net/ ! As for the tyres - if you can only manage 1968-type speeds, then 1968-type tyres are fine! There is a hard-bitten core of enthusiasts for these machines, which can be found worldwide. See http://www.imz-ural.com.au/index.html , for example.

Happy riding.

Steve.

[Badlands-4-2]

There was a review of a Ural in this months Motorcyclist magazine. At least I think that was the magazine. It may have been Cycle World. I read both.

[BillTheCat]

Grogo there are Dealers in St. Louis and Colorado Springs. I see them all the time here in Kansas City There is a guy in Lawrence Ks. that I talked to got his no. off eBay he Imports Chang Jangs by the cargo container loads and builds Urals also. Very cool retro bikes but I ended up with a Royal Enfield back when I was looking just because I prefer the British style.

[BlkHawk73]

Looked at Urals a while back. Neat bikes and would surely be a candidate for a 2nd bike - it is actually ;) I like the idea of some having a powered sidecar wheel (4 season cycle)

[mkultra]

I rode a friends Ural with sidecar and that thing will go about anywhere. Actually i was more hesitant than the bike was capable of....would get one for the mountains if cash was more plentiful....

[Steve Young]

They have phases of producing only sidecars. They're in a "no-solos" phase at the moment, I see by their website.

[Downeast Thunder]

Ural makes a solo version called the "Wolf" but all the rest of the models offered are with a sidecar in one of two configurations. One is with a conventional sidecar and the second is with a sidecar that has a driven wheel (a drive axle extends from the motorcycle's rear final drive to the sidecar wheel) such that you have a two wheel drive unit.
I've always known about Urals but had never worked on one until recently. I had performed some repair and service work on a customer's Yamaha and he asked me if I'd service a Ural. I said sure - why not? Turns out he has two of them and knows some other guys in our area that own them. There is only one Ural dealer in Maine and he's three hours away. I just finished working on one of my customer's Urals this afternoon. They're very easy to work on - pretty basic.
Ural's were cloned from 1939 BMW military motorcycles and they haven't changed much over the years.
Because there are several Urals in my area and the dealer is so far away, I applied to Ural to become an authorized parts and service center which is presently pending final approval. The East coast distributor told me Ural was bought out by Americans in 2006. The American (Ural) company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. They purchased the Ural Factory in Irbit, Russia and hired an Austrian automotive engineering firm to redesign and upgrade the internals of the Ural engine (leaving the outside still looking like an antique - to keep the nostalgic look), and most of the new upgrades will be found on the new 2010 models. An American management team was sent to the factory in Russia along with modern machine tools and production equipment. As an authorized service center, I have to purchase all the Ural special tools & they are now manufactured right here in the USA. I'm impressed with the improvements on the new machines and although the prices increased, they are still very competitively priced that will make them attractive to many riders. They are still a small company, and coming across a rider on a Ural is still a rarity. Most owners love them to the point that one might be convinced they belong to some sort of motorcycle cult. BTW - Urals are manufactured with a reverse gear - handy if you are running the sidehack! Newer Urals have Japanese CV carburetors and electronic ignition systems. The transmissions have Hertzog gears. They're built like tanks and the models with driven hack wheels will go just about anywhere (but not fast).
If you decide to go look at one, I offer you fair warning: These heavy, clunky, old looking machines grow on you, and it's easy to fall in love with a Ural. I set out to simply service a customer's bike and now I find myself setting up my shop with parts and special tools to service, repair, and perform warranty work on Ural motorcycles.......and I just may wind up owning one!

[Steve Young]

Yeah, I remember the Wolf, but, like I said, it's not listed at the moment. It was definitely on the site though. Know of any other manufacturers who consulted with a 1%er club before building a production model? Ural did! The club was the Moscow Wolves (doh!).

That's interesting about the Austrians. Minsk (Belarus, ex-USSR country) did the same thing. http://www.belta.by/en/news/econom/?id=195761 . Their website is all in Russian, but you can check out the result - just a range of little 125s. http://minsk-moto.com/ (Mouse-over the 3rd link down on the left, then the pop-out menu, to see pics). I wonder if it was the same bunch of Austrians?

Also interesting about the American input. Americans are also involved with KMZ (aka Cossack or Dnepr). http://www.dnepr.ru/index2.html . Not much info on the site, but you could alsways phone for a bit of cameraderie!

Good luck with your new venture.

[Downeast Thunder]

I neglected to mention that the American company that now owns Ural is made up primarily of Russian born Americans. They speak the language and know their way around Russia - makes it easier to do business there. The head Honcho at the East coast Ural distributor (located in Boxborough, Mass) is Dmitry Bykhovsky, and his business partner is Gary Riley. They support and distribute Urals to East Coast Ural dealers as Ural Distributor East, and they also have a Ural retail business location known as Ural of New England. The web site is www.uralne.com and if you visit that site click on the "inventory & pricing" hyperlink - then scroll down the page: You'll see a 2010 Wolf listed with an MSRP of $10,899.00

BTW Steve - there is another Russian motorcycle forum you and others following this thread may be interested in checking out: It's called the Russian Iron Motorcycle Club and the URL is http://www.russianiron.com/ membership is free, and it's a good source to search for parts, used machines, owners rallies, etc. This site is not focused entirely on Urals - it also includes Dnepr and other Russian Marks.

[David 1]

Urals. Fer shure. I think they started out as a BMW knock off in the soviet union but have now evolved into their own (American) world.
Both the new and the old ones are frequently seen around here.
dc

[Downeast Thunder]

Steve - I checked out that Minsk Motors URL you mentioned in your above post. They showed three basic models (Classic, Sport, MX) some available in different displacements. I think it would be fun to see these machines in person and take them for a spin.

[Downeast Thunder]

2010 Ural Wolf (USA Model)

[aaronrkelly]

Urals. Fer shure. I think they started out as a BMW knock off in the soviet union but have now evolved into their own (American) world.
Both the new and the old ones are frequently seen around here.
dc

Theres nothing American about them really.....if there are any American parts they are few and far between.

Still assembled in Russia and imported.....from Russian parts with a bit of parts from Italy (Ducati igntion and a few others) with a smattering of Japanese electrical.

Ive got a 1997 Deco Classic.....good times.

[Steve Young]

That 2010 Wolf looks the business, alright. Musta had a bit of input from Messers Bhykovsky and Riley, because I think it looks "cleaner" than what I remember the one on the "official" Ural site looked like.:thumbsup: Love the highway pegs!

[riverdriver]

have had a 1996 ural for about 15 years and it has served me well,these bikes are not fast but they are as tough as a bag of sledgehammers,nothing fancy,slow and rugged,I am 71 years old now and have been riding since 16,have had about everything for bikes and am well satisfied with the ural,good bike for an old timer

[riverdriver]

forgot to mention,they are about as simple to work on as a model-A ford,dont need to be a genious to tinker these machines

[aaronrkelly]

Seeing as this thread got resurrected I painted my Ural end of last riding season.....just waiting for a few bugs to get worked out of some recent engine work and it should be good to go again.


Used to be kinda teal and cream....

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/59992_1269165428559_6142301_n.jpg

Didnt want to do OD green so I went Khaki tan......the motor was painted all black but I left the cylinders and cover bare aluminum.....and I wrapped the exhaust in black header wrap. I put a rifle mount on the back to hold my AK.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/296743_1843003734158_1744456597_n.jpg

This is the first time I have ever used vinyl paint.....I sprayed the all white seats black. I didnt expect much but I was VERY pleasantly surprised.....looks superb.