The Bike & Sidecar
After spending 25,000km searching for lasting love, it is now abundantly clear that I am in love with the longevity of the Ural. If ever we were to choose a machine to represent a lasting marriage, the Ural is it.
Our 3 wheels are none other than a fabulous, 2009, Ural Tourist T. Everywhere we go we raise smiles and waves from excited passers by, and create what’s become known as “The Ural Effect”. Stopping in a garage often takes a lot more time than it takes just to fill up with gas, as everyone wants to know what it is and where it’s from. “It’s awesome, and is from Russia!” – is our abbreviated reply.
Alanna talks about how the sidecar is a perfect metaphor for marriage – that the lone male adventurer is suddenly joined by a woman tacked on the side. I often think about how reliable it is (as our marriage should be in the future!) and how it can be hard work. I spend a few days a week driving for around 10 hours, it’s exhausting work but it’s well worth it.
We have had very few problems with the bike – only things that we could solve immediately by swapping in the spare wheel on the back. And only one puncture! There are still 8,000km to go, as I write from Arequipa in Peru, so who knows what surprises lie ahead in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
Here’s a little taster of life on the road in the US:
See www.imz-ural.com for a dealer near you…
The 3 wheels for the 20,000 miles.
The History of The Bike
IMZ-Ural was established in 1941 by the order of Josef Stalin for the purpose of suppying the Russian Red Army with combat motorcycles. The original Ural motorcycle design was based on WWII era BMW sidecar rigs used by the German army (a design smuggled out of Nazi Germany by a Swedish spy). Approximately 10,000 Urals (then known as M-72s) served in WWII. Those Urals were built in a Siberian factory east of the Ural mountains where modern Urals are produced to this day.
In the mid-1950s, IMZ-Ural began producing Ural motorcycles and sidecars for civilian use. Since its inception, IMZ Ural has delivered over 3 million motorcycles worldwide. Ural motorcycles were introduced in the USA in 1993. Backed by 60 years of experience, IMZ-Ural is committed to remaining the top manufacturer of sidecar motorcycles, and to serving motorcycle enthusiasts through continuous innovation and improvement.
Today, the Ural is an economical form of transportation that is fun to ride and easy to maintain.
They have a sort of cult following. Here is our great mate Austin, who has written a song about them:
