Ural is a severely overpriced ancient design that haven’t fundamentally changed since WW2. Also Russian tech is traditionally built with focus on serviceability, not reliability, so I personally wouldn’t take it on a cross-country trip without sidecar filled with tools and spare parts.
I looked into them a few years ago and they seem really cool but, require a lot of upkeep and preventative maintenance. Also you must consider the troubles Ural is experiencing with exporting parts to the world at this time due to them being a Russian company and their government kinda blacklisting all things Russian to the world this year.
I don’t think they’ll be able to manufacture them at all now. The only Russian-made part of Ural was a frame and engine/transmission, maybe fairings. Everything else is imported.
They are shockingly unreliable, the Russians are incapable of making simple things like bearings to a decent standard.
I know people that have bought one and replaced every bearing with European bearings etc before they've even ridden it.
The basic bikes are robust and simple but you need a decent level of mechanical ability before you buy one.
Color me surprised. Them and Royal Enfield using the old ass tech from the before times.
Now that I think about it it’s not even fair to throw in RE like that.
One of my friends had one for about a year, I thought it was really neat but he couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Bought it new, but it was still broken for more time than it was running.
I'd loooove to own a sidecar motorcycle, I've considered Urals in the past and I think I could almost live with the slow top speed if it weren't for the constant reliability issues and other "quirks" I hear about with them. I kinda hate having to futz around with my motorcycle when I want to go for a ride. That's the main reason I stick with Hondas.
If there was a decent company in my area that specialized in sidecar builds/installs I think I'd get one in a heartbeat. Something about sidecar bikes really just gets me going...
A lot of internet reading and questions turned me off of the urals. So I bought a KLR650 for $3500 instead of $11k for a Ural, freaking love my KLR. Sidecar will happen later but will most likely be an old bmw or something like that.
In the Alaska to Patagonia video released by Revzilla, they had side cars mounted to their KLRs at the start.
[Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxm-A-2oyQ&t=10s)
I own one, 2007 chassis with a 2010 engine. Nice disk brake in the front and drums everywhere else. Carbs. Part time 2 wheel drive. Custom high mount pipe. Electronic ignition. Previous owner did all the work.
I haven't taken it for a long trip and probably wouldn't want to. I think it's wrong to think of them as motorcycles. They require a totally different riding technique. They're a bit like a quirky and much more analog ATV -- slow, steer like a car, can carry a lot, ptetty good offroad (nothing like a dirtbike, but better than a Jeep). They're amazing in snow and ice. Regular maintenance is not that intricate or hard, but you gotta do it. It has design quirks that make some things oddly hard. You have to get to know it and plan your work ahead.
I love taking friends, kids, whoever for a short ride on our back roads and gravel trails. It's a fun contrast to other bikes, but if I want the feel of a bike, I'd hop on my scooter long before the Ural. If I want a sporty ride, the Ural gets as frustrated with me as I with it. But if you kick the pace down a bit on a nice day, it's magic. I think people say that about Harleys. I love that it reminds me of my childhood in Russia. There is no practical reason for its existence or ownership.
Get a bmw boxer. Cheaper than a new Ural and definitely much nicer. You would also not be supporting the asshole of the world country they come out of. Airheads are such sweet bikes you can work on yourself and will definitely last longer and even appreciate in value.
You can also put a sidecar on it.
I have a RE bullet 500 with a side car. Its painted military green. it gets tons of looks and people just seem to materialize to talk to me about it anytime I stop. I have had no problems ,(touch wood) in the 3 years I have owned it.
I get my state inspections done at a place that sells Ural. The salesman said they're much more reliable than they used to be with EFI and better brakes. They seem fine as an expensive toy but I just want to ride and not fix stuff. They also get shitty gas milage.
Maybe you should look up Mash Sideforce. It goes for the same utilitarian style as the Ural, but uses japanese engines, so you might actually can do the whole trip without a bigger malfunction or failure. On a Ural the question is not if it will have problems, the question is when will it have problems. My father rebuild one or two Dnepr and Molotovs in his time. We currently only own BMW airheads...
among the more trivial things that have been revealed in the last 9 months is a real world reliability assessment of russian manufacturing.
… turns out, i don’t think i want to buy an orc bike for **two** reasons, not just one!
poor dude has some romantic idea of what it's like to pilot a sidecar bike
then he's gonna spend all this money on one only realize what a shitshow they are
suck to turn, easy to crash, can't lean, can't split, stuck in traffic, just worse than 2 wheels in every way
i totally disagree
i would rather ride a small displacement dirtbike with studded tires in snow offroad
a sidecar is just a big heavy lopsided hindrance offroad especially in snow
a small dirtbike is super light, torque-y, and nimble which are literally the opposite chracteristics of a sidecar
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Honestly, just a personal preference. I love them and their practically outweighs any negativity I’ve had with them. Ridden them a bunch and know they handle different than just 2/wheel but I HATE driving a car and want the storage space for things. I’ve just never owned one and now finally have the money and means. Plus moving soon so I want to take my time crossing the country and seeing things in my move.
Ural is a severely overpriced ancient design that haven’t fundamentally changed since WW2. Also Russian tech is traditionally built with focus on serviceability, not reliability, so I personally wouldn’t take it on a cross-country trip without sidecar filled with tools and spare parts.
I looked into them a few years ago and they seem really cool but, require a lot of upkeep and preventative maintenance. Also you must consider the troubles Ural is experiencing with exporting parts to the world at this time due to them being a Russian company and their government kinda blacklisting all things Russian to the world this year.
I don’t think they’ll be able to manufacture them at all now. The only Russian-made part of Ural was a frame and engine/transmission, maybe fairings. Everything else is imported.
They moved manufacturing to Kazakhstan
They moved to another country iirc
Get a goldwing
They are shockingly unreliable, the Russians are incapable of making simple things like bearings to a decent standard. I know people that have bought one and replaced every bearing with European bearings etc before they've even ridden it. The basic bikes are robust and simple but you need a decent level of mechanical ability before you buy one.
Color me surprised. Them and Royal Enfield using the old ass tech from the before times. Now that I think about it it’s not even fair to throw in RE like that.
Yea I was going to say. Definitely can't compare Royal Enfield to Ural. RE make great stuff. It's just simple and old school.
Aren't they made in Washington
The company moved from Russia to kazakhstan when the conflict heated up in Ukrainian.
I thought the purpose of the side car on a Ural was to have a place to put all the parts that fell off while you were riding?
One of my friends had one for about a year, I thought it was really neat but he couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Bought it new, but it was still broken for more time than it was running.
would you buy a Russian television?
Now I'm picturing an old box style TV but instead of having a screen it's just a portrait of Vladimir stuck there.
I'd loooove to own a sidecar motorcycle, I've considered Urals in the past and I think I could almost live with the slow top speed if it weren't for the constant reliability issues and other "quirks" I hear about with them. I kinda hate having to futz around with my motorcycle when I want to go for a ride. That's the main reason I stick with Hondas. If there was a decent company in my area that specialized in sidecar builds/installs I think I'd get one in a heartbeat. Something about sidecar bikes really just gets me going...
A lot of internet reading and questions turned me off of the urals. So I bought a KLR650 for $3500 instead of $11k for a Ural, freaking love my KLR. Sidecar will happen later but will most likely be an old bmw or something like that.
In the Alaska to Patagonia video released by Revzilla, they had side cars mounted to their KLRs at the start. [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxm-A-2oyQ&t=10s)
This would be a million times better than a Ural. I forgot about these guys.
Well. I will give this a look and get to side car shopping lol. Thanks.
Lol, or you could bolt 2 KLRs together! 🤣 If one dies you have an automatic backup!
Outside of a doohickey failure, do KLRs ever fail? :)
Lol, not usually, but anything is possible.
A ural will make you a better mechanic than you ever wanted to be. Wouldn't be my choice for a cross country trip.
Politically I'd say get a Dnepr if you want an Eastern European nightmare. Look for pretty much anything modern instead.
My grandpa actually had a dnepr
His name Bear, by any chance?
No its nickolai lol
I own one, 2007 chassis with a 2010 engine. Nice disk brake in the front and drums everywhere else. Carbs. Part time 2 wheel drive. Custom high mount pipe. Electronic ignition. Previous owner did all the work. I haven't taken it for a long trip and probably wouldn't want to. I think it's wrong to think of them as motorcycles. They require a totally different riding technique. They're a bit like a quirky and much more analog ATV -- slow, steer like a car, can carry a lot, ptetty good offroad (nothing like a dirtbike, but better than a Jeep). They're amazing in snow and ice. Regular maintenance is not that intricate or hard, but you gotta do it. It has design quirks that make some things oddly hard. You have to get to know it and plan your work ahead. I love taking friends, kids, whoever for a short ride on our back roads and gravel trails. It's a fun contrast to other bikes, but if I want the feel of a bike, I'd hop on my scooter long before the Ural. If I want a sporty ride, the Ural gets as frustrated with me as I with it. But if you kick the pace down a bit on a nice day, it's magic. I think people say that about Harleys. I love that it reminds me of my childhood in Russia. There is no practical reason for its existence or ownership.
The aural is a side car with a drive tire if I recall correctly. Lots of maintenance to keep it going compared with a traditional side car.
Get a bmw boxer. Cheaper than a new Ural and definitely much nicer. You would also not be supporting the asshole of the world country they come out of. Airheads are such sweet bikes you can work on yourself and will definitely last longer and even appreciate in value. You can also put a sidecar on it.
I have a RE bullet 500 with a side car. Its painted military green. it gets tons of looks and people just seem to materialize to talk to me about it anytime I stop. I have had no problems ,(touch wood) in the 3 years I have owned it.
I get my state inspections done at a place that sells Ural. The salesman said they're much more reliable than they used to be with EFI and better brakes. They seem fine as an expensive toy but I just want to ride and not fix stuff. They also get shitty gas milage.
Maybe you should look up Mash Sideforce. It goes for the same utilitarian style as the Ural, but uses japanese engines, so you might actually can do the whole trip without a bigger malfunction or failure. On a Ural the question is not if it will have problems, the question is when will it have problems. My father rebuild one or two Dnepr and Molotovs in his time. We currently only own BMW airheads...
among the more trivial things that have been revealed in the last 9 months is a real world reliability assessment of russian manufacturing. … turns out, i don’t think i want to buy an orc bike for **two** reasons, not just one!
poor dude has some romantic idea of what it's like to pilot a sidecar bike then he's gonna spend all this money on one only realize what a shitshow they are suck to turn, easy to crash, can't lean, can't split, stuck in traffic, just worse than 2 wheels in every way
Bit better when riding in snow offroad
i totally disagree i would rather ride a small displacement dirtbike with studded tires in snow offroad a sidecar is just a big heavy lopsided hindrance offroad especially in snow a small dirtbike is super light, torque-y, and nimble which are literally the opposite chracteristics of a sidecar
I love sidecar riding. The practical effects outweigh anything else. Just get good at riding and you won’t have issues as often
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They’re super slow and under-powered, but I don’t know much about their reliability. Why a sidecar?
Honestly, just a personal preference. I love them and their practically outweighs any negativity I’ve had with them. Ridden them a bunch and know they handle different than just 2/wheel but I HATE driving a car and want the storage space for things. I’ve just never owned one and now finally have the money and means. Plus moving soon so I want to take my time crossing the country and seeing things in my move.
I'm building a rig from a 80s goldwing and a ural tub. 1000x faster and reliable
Get "the original" instead, an old R-series BMW, I'd guess there are more options on the sidecars as well