Ural has a new model on North American shores, the “Ural-T” (Model IMZ-8.1037), with the air-cooled four-stroke flat twin cylinder engine making 40HP you’ve come to know and tolerate. But of course it retains Ural’s trademark feature, those wonderful sidecars. It’s $10k to start, but you’ll probably want to add a few things like a sidecar windscreen and a spare tire.
It’ll be in dealerships this June. I will almost certainly be taking one for a ride. Basem Wasef already did, and found it “arguably one of the most entertaining ways to haul a passenger along the open road.”
I just bought a 2009 Sahara and love it. Its so much fun and it does bring a smile to my face and others who see you ride by. Now my husband and dog can join with me the love of riding.
I almost bought one of these several years ago. They actually made better looking bikes before this. While really just a copy of the pre-war BMW motorcycles these (like the Indian made Royal Enfields) are mechanically not for the faint of heart. You either want to be able to turn a wrench or live next door to someone who does.
To # 7
This Real Classic thing is dated back to 2005.
If you want to read something relevant on Urals don’t even look at pre-2007 articles.
As an example – Carla King, who made Ural famous for its breakdowns in her “American Borders†book in 1994 or 1995.
Just read her current dispatches (http://www.carlaking.com/morocco/dispatches/index.html).
She mentions almost nothing about the bike (Ural, of course) – a complete disappointment to those who expect to hear about breakdowns
I own a 65 BMW, so I’m cynical about maintenance on everything else. Especially cheap Russian copies of my bike (which, yeah, is a 65, but it’s not seriously different than a WWII one). Still the about.com review made me chuckle because they’re listing faults that are daily hallmarks of my (or any other) pre-1970 bike. I think we actually refer to these faults as “character”.
Tis pretty for sure. But I always fear it will tip over.
No, it won’t tip over.
And it won’t break either.
Ural did it home work, and the overall quality and reliability of new Urals are light years ahead of what it used to be just a few years ago.
Read this if you are interested:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466226
@#6> If you read down the list it becomes apparent there are some issues even with the new bikes. No, you won’t have the oil plug stripping out as was a reported problem with the first Urals to hit the US market but honestly these are not new Hondas. Then again, they’re easier to fix when they do break and parts are cheap. I own a 1968 Triumph Bonneville so perhaps I’m a bit more cynical about maintenance.
Real Classic’s review.
http://www.realclassic.co.uk/ural03101500.html
Simply beautiful.
(Or is that beautifully simple??)
I’m not saying Urals are perfect.
I’m just amazed at what this little Siberian manufacturer has achieved in such short period of time.
Plus new Urals come with 2 years unlimited mileage warranty and from what I’ve heard Ural would go above and beyond to keep customers happy.
Me want
I can’t tell, is this a 3×1 or one of their 3×2 rigs? ‘Cause with no differential, the 3×2 ones don’t turn very well when the sidecar wheel is engaged.
I have 2 650cc Urals with sidecars here in Hanoi, Vietnam. They are ex Vietnamese Army rigs which were given to Vietnam by the Russians many years ago. Yes, they certainly have a lot of “character”. I have upgraded the electronics on both; one has a windscreen, driving lights, spare tyre and carry rack, the other is more utilitarian. It is a challenge to ride anything in Hanoi, but riding a Ural with sidecar around the streets of the old quarter is another story all together, but I love it.