cool military vintage 3 wheeler

[Portland_Rider]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone has been having a good winter.

PR

[KRUSTYburger]

'zat a Ural? I saw one just like it in New Orleans last year... come to think of it I may have even been in a noodle-joust against them.

[pimaCanyon]

I want one! Where'd you get it and what did it cost?

[Syd]

I want one! Where'd you get it and what did it cost?

Where: Take the short trip up to Logan's

How much? Looks like $10k+

[ericalm]

That one? About $13600K.
http://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/



The new Ural-T is about $10K, their cheapest model.

I think they're all 750cc. Sidecar is included with all, too.

[mattgordon]

That one? About $13600K.
http://www.imz-ural.com/gearup/



The new Ural-T is about $10K, their cheapest model.

I think they're all 750cc. Sidecar is included with all, too.

Also available as a 2WD iirc, perfect for those Siberian snowbanks.

[Portland_Rider]

I want one! Where'd you get it and what did it cost?

About an hour ago, I emailed a personal message to the person who posted that pic of their sidecar at an investing blog where I saw it. It does seem as though Eric already has posted your answer. If the person replies with more information, I'll let you know.

This link within the site provided by Eric shows five different models.

http://www.imz-ural.com/accessories/

[ericalm]

A guy near me has one. FWIW, never seen anyone in the sidecar.

Oddly, I hear some people get them (in CA at least) because you don't need a license to ride a bike with a sidecar. I don't know why they're so scared to get their licenses.

[babblefish]

I saw these at the last international motorcycle show here in the Bay Area. They look really great in person, but the build quality is a bit lacking. As an example, the trunk lid (under the spare tire) will not keep rain water out. But hey, where else are you going to find something like this new?

[Kaos]

Dooglas here on MB has a Ural with sidecar. I see it around my home town every once in a blue moon. Neat looking bikes.

[illnoise]

Wow, I thought Urals used to be super-cheap. Why would you pay that much for a Soviet-era BMW knockoff? You could buy a real Beemer for that.

I'm on my third Sovtek Big Muff π, which is pretty bad for how little I play guitar. I would never pay that kinda money for an American-capitalized Russian-made product.

Bb

[Portland_Rider]

On the website where I saw the cycle, the owner sent me an email saying that he paid $14K+ for his cycle with attachments along with a link to the same website link provided by Eric. Personally, $10-14K would be too much for me to spend on such a cycle. I do find the idea of owning a three wheeler fun to consider.

Back in California, I used to see a man riding around on an ex-police 3 wheel motorcycle. According to the media story on it, he bought it used (really cheap) and fixed it up relatively inexpensively. After that he painted the cycle and added on some attachments. It was really cool. I once saw him giving a child a ride in it with the kid laughing away in the back seat section that used to be the police trunk.

[Dooglas]

Wow, I thought Urals used to be super-cheap. Why would you pay that much for a Soviet-era BMW knockoff? You could buy a real Beemer for that.

Well, several answers. The most important is that you CAN'T get a sidecar beemer for that price. In fact, you can't get a factory sidecar beemer for any price. BMW has not made sidecars or motorcycles with frames and suspensions set up for sidecar use for many years. Secondly, a Ural is much more than a "BMW knock-off". Yes, it had its origins (over 60 years ago) in early BMW designs but has been continually refined since and is a rugged and well built bike in its own right. For those that want a sidecar bike there are not really many other choices. A factory sidecar Harley runs about $30K. Custom bikes are all over the map in price and actual rideability (steering geometry is a big issue). If you want 2 wheel drive - where else are you going to look? Finally, used bikes go for about half the price of new ones if price is the big issue. Urals are mechanically fairly simple and easy to work on yourself. They are a neat little piece of the motorcycle world for those that march to a different drummer.

[Kaos]

Finally, if you want 2 wheel drive - where else are you going to look?

Out of curiousity. Is it two wheel front and rear, or two wheel rear motorcycle and sidecar?

[Dooglas]

Out of curiousity. Is it two wheel front and rear, or two wheel rear motorcycle and sidecar?

Two-wheel drive with the rear wheel of the bike and the sidecar wheel pushing. On the highway you disconnect the drive to the sidecar wheel (there is a small transfer case at the rear hub).

If you are interested in these guys, visit Jim at Raceway Services in Salem sometime. He is about the most knowledgeable guy around regarding these bikes (and the Royal Enfield as well)

[Kaos]

Out of curiousity. Is it two wheel front and rear, or two wheel rear motorcycle and sidecar?

Two-wheel drive with the rear wheel of the bike and the sidecar wheel pushing. On the highway you disconnect the drive to the sidecar wheel (there is a small transfer case at the rear hub).

If you are interested in these guys, visit Jim at Raceway Services in Salem sometime. He is about the most knowledgeable guy around regarding these bikes (and the Royal Enfield as well)

I might have to do that, I've always though the Ural and the Enfield bikes were facinating

[Dooglas]

While we are at it, how about this?

[Dooglas]

Or this?

[Portland_Rider]

While we are at it, how about this?

A snow plow! How well does it ride on snow and ice? That second photo must be the most gas efficient vehicle along with the attached camper on the road.

[illnoise]

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like I was bashing on them, I always thought they were pretty neat, just (still) think that's a lot of money and there are a lot of bikes I'd rather have. Maybe they've changed a lot since they first appeared in the US, but back then, I remember them being cheaper.

I'd always seen it as pretty much vintage-styled a /R with some updated features, much like a Stella is to a Vespa. I guess you could get a lot of arguably-"better" modern scooters for Stella money, so there you have it, ha.

I would encourage anyone getting excited about a sidecar to drive a sidecar (and have your prospective passengers try it out) before purchasing one, It (driving or riding one) is certainly not for me, ha.

Bb.

[ericalm]

A friend of mine got a "real" Soviet-era Ural when they first started showing up in the US in the '90s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, etc. No sidecar, a little battered, and still very much a knock off the WWII-era BMWs.

A friend of mine here in LA has one, with a sidecar, that's actually a Chinese knock off of the Russian knock off of a BMW.

Both of these guys, BTW, also owned BMWs. I think for them, these were fun/novelty bikes.

The appeal of a new Ural is a much different thing.

[siobhan]

Dooglas, that is one sweet paint job.
Urals are awesome.

For what it's worth, I was at an auction where a 1960 /2 with sidecar sold for $9,500. The thing was in really good condition, and everyone thought the price was reasonable. Bikes with sidecars cost serious money.

[Portland_Rider]

A friend of mine here in LA has one, with a sidecar, that's actually a Chinese knock off of the Russian knock off of a BMW.

Someone should start an American builder of these sidecars that is an American knockoff of the Chinese knockoff of the Russian knockoff of the German knockoff that maybe even had its earlier inspiration knocking off another nation's sidecar that in turn....

[Skootz Kabootz]

Royal Enfield's are coming to LA... military model shown here...

[Dooglas]

Someone should start an American builder of these sidecars that is an American knockoff of the Chinese knockoff of the Russian knockoff of the German knockoff that maybe even had its earlier inspiration knocking off another nation's sidecar that in turn....

The heavy metal of the Ural is still built in Russia with final assembly in the US but it has really become something of an international bike. The brakes and shocks are Italian, the engine and transmission gears German, the carbs and alternator Japanese, the bike now uses the Ducati electronic ignition, etc, etc. A new Ural is quite a different bike than a Soviet military sidecar of the 60s or even the first imports into the US in the early 90s. Harley is the only significant builder of motorcycles left in the US today and it has been hemorrhaging money badly in the last year or two. I wouldn't expect any US competition for this bike any time soon.

[Dooglas]

How well does it ride on snow and ice?

I guess the quick answer is much better than a conventional motorcycle but I'm not really the guy to answer that one as mine is single wheel drive and stays on the road. Several guys in the Northwet Ural Pod in Seattle have two wheel drive bikes that they take off road quite a bit and they say the bike does quite well.

Look at UralSnowGames on this site if you want a better idea of what the bike can do. http://www.imz-ural.com/downloads/movies.htm

[Portland_Rider]

The heavy metal of the Ural is still built in Russia with final assembly in the US but it has really become something of an international bike. The brakes are Italian, the suspension German, the gears Austrian, the carbs and alternator Japanese, etc. A new Ural is quite a different bike than a Soviet military sidecar of the 60s or even the first imports into the US in the early 90s. Harley is the only significant builder of motorcycles left in the US today and it has been hemorrhaging money badly in the last year or two.[/quote]


That is an international bike.

Separately, futurist Gerald Celente is forcasting a buy 'Made in America' movement that will become ingrained into our culture over the next few years along with a long term economic downturn.

This seems like a great opportunity for riders like you and others who know scoots to establish an assembly factory here in the Portland area to produce the full sidecar bike (auto please, not manual). There are plenty of people looking for work and maybe the government will give some good tax breaks. I'll cook the office donuts that will outdo Voodoo donuts.

We can call the first bike the Buddy Avenger.

[Dooglas]

This seems like a great opportunity for riders like you and others who know scoots to establish an assembly factory here in the Portland area to produce the full sidecar bike..

The Ural is assembled in Redmond, WA so it already makes a pretty significant economic contribution to this area. I'm afraid the price of any small output production bike made entirely in the US would be so expensive that they wouldn't sell. Same reason there are no US built scooters. (I know, a guy can dream.)

[pocphil]

10+ years ago you could buy a Ural (or a Dnepr) complete for under $5000 - They were cheap, in every sense of the word. The Dnepr factory locked their doors in Russia (Kiev Motorcycle Factory) in 2001 giving the "Russian Export Motorcycle Market" to Ural.

The original Urals were crap, simply put. I owned one, the final drive was a joke and internet forums couldn't spring up fast enough to deal with all the owner issues the bikes had. They've made so many improvements tho' the price had to go up.

They're MUCH better now, but still can not be compared quality-wise with any other mainstream motorcycle company product. They're not a mainstream bike tho' most Ural owners find their "quirks" to be part of the experience, or part of the charm. One of our best customers owns a fully loaded "Gear Up" edition that he commutes on and it has been dead in our parking lot more than once. He's an engineer at NASA and thinks the "mechanical aptitude test" aspect of the bike is great. Getting stuck in a parking lot for 4 hours when you're supposed to be back at work has gotta hurt a little tho'.

Comparing it to a Stella is pretty spot-on, it's an old bike, with modern upgrades that evokes a call the past without restoring one from the ground up.

I agree with Beeb - YOU can you get a BMW for the same price? Yes!

Before you scoff, here's how.

Buy a USED BMW R75/5 or if you want something modern and completely trouble free get an R850R - Either of these can be had for right around $4000. Even BMW mavens will gush about how the R75 was the best bike BMW ever built.

Buy either an Inder or a Ural Sidecar (Price between $2500 and $3000) and have a competent shop install it ($400).

There you go

$7400

Even "Used" it is my opinion that both of these BMW's are much better built than the brand new Ural.

It will have far better performance than the 60 mph / 38HP Ural.

It will have a MUCH better resale value and spare parts can be had at ANY BMW dealer which are pretty much in every major metropolitan city.

Now, you'll have to pay for $30 worth of O.D. Spray paint if you want to complete the "Image".

Takes balls to do the Red October limited edition - complete with hammer and sickle.

http://www.motomaania.ee/wp-content/uploads/ural2.jpg

[Portland_Rider]

I'm afraid the price of any small output production bike made entirely in the US would be so expensive that they wouldn't sell.[/quote]

I would tend to agree at this time. Yet, down the road, who knows? If they keep practicing liquidity easing along with debasing the currency and the world reserve currency status continues to change then manufacturing the bikes in the USA might become feasable.

[Dooglas]

I would tend to agree at this time. Yet, down the road, who knows?

Just run the cost of fuel up high enough that the cost of shipping goods half way around the world creates a substantial price differential (and creates more incentive for fuel efficient vehicles). Then it's a whole different world for domestic scooters and motorcycles.

[ericalm]

I would tend to agree at this time. Yet, down the road, who knows?

Just run the cost of fuel up high enough that the cost of shipping goods half way around the world creates a substantial price differential (and creates more incentive for fuel efficient vehicles). Then it's a whole different world for domestic scooters and motorcycles.

Run up the cost of fuel that high and domestic motorcycles and scooters will be the least of our concerns.

[Portland_Rider]

I would tend to agree at this time. Yet, down the road, who knows?

Just run the cost of fuel up high enough that the cost of shipping goods half way around the world creates a substantial price differential (and creates more incentive for fuel efficient vehicles). Then it's a whole different world for domestic scooters and motorcycles.

I've read that the Balkan Dry Index (?) used to determine shipping trends is tanking down again (no pun). Not good yet maybe if it continues those future 3-wheelers to be built here in Portland can get be shipped really cheapo.

Besides that, oil is sold using 'petro-dollars' or the USD/FRN since that is still incredibly the world's reserve currency. That will change sometime. This year, the Gulf States are introducing a new currency and several of them including Saudi Arabia will be using it in the buy/sell of oil. Over the next years, other oil producing nations will begin using the new Gulf currency. Part of the move is to re-create the ancient Islamic bank which is required to hold gold and I believe silver. Gold is 'barbaric' to Americans yet around the world people have a different view or value of it.

Venezuella, Iran, Kuwait and others already use the Euro or Yen to sell oil. With about $10 Trillion held abroad in USD, anyone care to guess what is going to happen as US world reserve currency status begins to increasingly diminish?

[Portland_Rider]

Run up the cost of fuel that high and domestic motorcycles and scooters will be the least of our concerns.[/quote]

That too. Maybe we should go into the domestic bicycle, pepper spray, survival food, fishing poles, and fallout shelter business? I knew that I should have invested in Cabelas back in '08 when it hit $6 share, now it is at $17 share. Actually, I've done much better with silver mining stock bought in December '08.

[Jackie F]

This belongs to a friend of mine. I believe he got it from a friend's father who brought it back from China in the 50's.

[Dooglas]

This belongs to a friend of mine. I believe he got it from a friend's father who brought it back from China in the 50's.

Yes, that looks like one of the military Chiang Jiangs. That is the Chinese-built version of the Russian (Ural) M72 military bike. It was a 750cc, 2 wheel drive machine with a side-valve (flat head) engine. You occasionally see a rebuilt one in the US. In the 50s Russian sidecar production was split between the original factory at Irbit (IMZ) and a second factory at Kiev (KMZ). For a number of years the Russian verson of this model was built at the KMZ plant.

Below is a photo I took of the so-called "plastic Jiang" in Harbin a few years ago. This version of the Jiang was designed and extensively used for police applications in China. (as you can see, this one uses the OHV civilian engine)

[BuddyLicious]

Royal Enfield's are coming to LA... military model shown here...

Just read the Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500 orders are back-logged with around 6k units.There is a 5-6month wait on orders.One person said,the factory has never seen sales so strong in its entire history.Royal Enfield bikes are assembled in India.No matter what 2-wheeler it is,I'm just happy to see some good news in this recessionary era.

[ericalm]

The Enfields should do quite well!

I also heard that the pre-orders for the $30K Norton Commando are quite good, with many people having put down deposits on them already.

[ageekgirl]

I'm waaay late to the party here! Congrats on the Gear Up! My husband as a 2006 Ural Troyka that he loves. He grew up with his dads R75, so this is very familiar to him. The biggest problem he's had with his bike is the the drive shaft splines chewing up the wheel splines a couple of times. He does his own maintenance, cause there are no dealers within 4 hours of us here.

I'm his semi faithful hack monkey and navigator. I've been much less of a hack monkey since getting my own ride.

If you haven't already seen the Soviet Steeds or Russian Iron forums, I'd recommend that you check 'em out. They are regular resources for DH.

Here's a pic of his bike, decorated for Christmas for a a local parade with us scooters:

[Dooglas]

Here's a pic of his bike, decorated for Christmas for a a local parade with us scooters

What a beautiful bike - and all decked out to boot!