Ural bikes?

[Steel]

For some reason, I really REALLY REALLY want one of these bikes!!



So, wahts the scoop?

[richtazz]

They are pretty cool in a retro kind of way, but......

They aren't just retro in looks, they have all the reliability and electrical issues of the actual bikes they are cheap copies of, without the charm and collector value.....

[Steel]

What sort of reliability and electrical issues? I can deal with a certain amount in order go to out and bomb around the desert in one of these bad boys! And get funny looks from people around the city!

I'd have to learn how to drive one though.

[MagicRat]

My brother has owned Urals for about 18 years now. He says they are military-funky and pretty practical but really slow and UNRELIABLE!

They are so unreliable they are dangerous. For example, my brother's bike broke a driveshaft. Apparently all Urals eventually do this. When the shaft breaks it get jammed in the housing and locks up the rear wheels. This is incredibly dangerous in traffic or around a turn. It nearly killed my brother.

When this happens, knowledgeable owners never get a Ural replacement. Apparently, a half-shaft from an old Fiat 500 can be modified to fit.

This is a bad sign, when parts from an ancient Fiat are much better than the new ones on your bike........

On top of that, they are poor handling, poorly assembled and finished, use poor quality materials, and are just terrible in every conceivable way.

If you simply must pretend to be Erwin Rommel, try starting with an old BMW.........

[Steel]

Ive heard that the new ones (like 2002 and up) have gotten so much better than their old ones, and that they're only getting better all the time. Yeah they still suffer from some reliability problems, but most of them are easily fixed. A lot of parts are starting to get sources out, german transmissions, italian spark boxes, etc.

And they're poor handling is part of their charm!






Jawohl!

[richtazz]

These bikes are Russian built from 40's-50's vintage European designs (not sure who's design, but I believe it's BMW post WW-II stuff). Thru the late 90's, they were still flatheads! I haven't kept up with Urals lately, but I don't want a truly retro new bike. Retro looking (ex. new Triumph Bonneville)= good, retro engineering (ex. Ural)= bad!

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by richtazz

These bikes are Russian built from 40's-50's vintage European designs (not sure who's design, but I believe it's BMW post WW-II stuff). Thru the late 90's, they were still flatheads! I haven't kept up with Urals lately, but I don't want a truly retro new bike. Retro looking (ex. new Triumph Bonneville)= good, retro engineering (ex. Ural)= bad!

The bike's design is based on World War II Wehrmacht (Nazi) designs. When the Germans retreated in 1944-45 they left large quantities of machinery behind, including their military BMW and sidecar combos.

The russians simply reverse-engineered the design and started manufacturing it.

Wikipedia says the design actually pre-dates "Operation Barbarossa", the German invasion of the Soviet Union:
In 1940, the Soviet Union acquired the design and production techniques for BMW R 71 motorcycles and sidecars. The first M-72 model was finished in 1941. Originally, factories were to be located in Moscow, Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), and Kharkov, but due to the approach of German troops, the Moscow facilities were moved to Irbit, and the Leningrad and Kharkov facilities to Gorkiy (now called Nizhny Novgorod).

FWIW during the '50's the Soviet army had some border skirmishes with the Chinese....... and left some military Urals behind. The Chinese reverse engineered these to make the Yangtze motorcycle.

[Steel]

Originally Posted by richtazz

These bikes are Russian built from 40's-50's vintage European designs (not sure who's design, but I believe it's BMW post WW-II stuff). Thru the late 90's, they were still flatheads! I haven't kept up with Urals lately, but I don't want a truly retro new bike. Retro looking (ex. new Triumph Bonneville)= good, retro engineering (ex. Ural)= bad!

Nah, they've switched to OHV. They've updated a lot of stuff to help with the reliability. I just read an entire 71 page thread at adventure riders where a guy got a brand new 2008 gear-up, and rode it 16,000 miles all around the U.S in three months, with only maintanence being done, and a couple of minor issues.

Nope, I'm sold. I'm getting one a soon as I can afford it.

[kelwa1]

Or you could get a vintage BMW R-50, (IIRC it's the civilian post WWII version of the military models)as the Ural is, for all intents and purposes, an exact copy.

[Steel]

Originally Posted by kelwa1

Or you could get a vintage BMW R-50, (IIRC it's the civilian post WWII version of the military models)as the Ural is, for all intents and purposes, an exact copy.

Buying a brand new Ural is much easier than a vintage R50. Plus it will run better and has almost twice the power. And a two year unlimited mile warranty. And i can bash it off of rocks and snakes and not worry about ruining a vintage historic bike. And it has 2wd.

Dunkelgelb Ural, here i come! Oh I saw one guy mount a ruger 10/22 on it that was modified to look like an MG34. That was pretty neat, but not my bag. Still neat though.

[richtazz]

I agree that they are cool as hell. If they have updated their engineering, and upped their quality and reliability, why not!

[FNA]

I have seen three of these on the road in the last 10 years and spoke with the owners. All indicated their satisfaction.

Not disputing anyone's accounts, but these bikes have been selling in the US for at least close to 30 years. If they were on the whole crap and deadly, I would think that we "motorcycle enthusiasts" would all know it, and the company would have been put out of business by the "litigation enthusiasts"