Reason not to buy a Ural?

If you are mechanically adept, want to tour at 50 mph and don't mind working on the shoulder of the road every once in a while a URAL would be a good choice.
A Jap cruiser with any sidecar would be a much better choice if you want to tour effortlessly at highway speeds on a naked bike, only stopping when you want to and getting there every time.
IMHO
Lonnie

Second Hack'n. Looked real serious at the Ural. Max cruise 65 mph. Really low mpg. Running an 07 Honda Shadow 1100 with Velorex 565, cruises nice at 75 mph, 35-40 mpg. I really, really like the Ural and came very close to getting a Patrol. May your adventure be fun. Good luck.

Newer Urals are much more reliable than what Lonnie remembers. Cruising speed is a limitation so if you're looking at a lot of freeway a Ural is not for you. Realistically, a 60 mph cruise is what you'll get and mpg around 32-35 at that speed. If you do your routine maint you will not be stopped on the side of the road. Reliability becomes an issue when you push the bike past its design limits or modify it according to the internet commandos out there.

If you like the Ural, buy an 08-up and get all the upgrades, and enjoy having reverse. If not, then oldduck has great advice--a Japanese cruiser makes a great tug.

I've had Urals and enjoyed them and now have a V-Star 1100 with a Texas chassis and Ural tub.

Dealer and factory support for parts and warranty concerns still remain as problems for URAL owners. Another fine European bike, Moto Guzzi, has the same drawbacks which has affected their sales in the US.

Lonnie

Try doing the offroads on the Jap bikes and others. They don't compare to Urals in that venue, in the least. Although the info to purchase as new as you can afford is uaually nice to give someone, it is really misleading at times, as many of the older rigs are trouble free, even to this date. Mine is an '05 and has been very, very dependable for me over the years of personal use. The Troyka I own can run both off-road and on and hit the highways at a faster clip than most Urals. They make different rigs for different folk out there and not everyone is the outdoor or offroad adventurer. The rigs are no more worrysome to most owners as any other brand these days. I live within 11 miles of a good Ural dealership, but I have not visited his shop since I got my rig, as I have done my own maintenance and mods. Just learning as I go and learning quickly who to listen to for good info and who to avoid at the Ural sites. Heck, most of my fixes can even use parts I got at Tractor Supply for that matter.

If you rely on the internet good buddies and make about half the mods or changes that they suggest, then you will likely be complaining of problems all the time, just like them. They all seem to become Ural experts in giving others advise within about a month or so of ownership. Most don't know how to listen to their bike for potential problems and most problems they suffer are completely self-induced. That probably gives Urals a bad name about as much as anything else. The reliabilty of a Ural is pretty good after the '05 models. The maintenance is usually just the normal maintenance you would give to any bike. Treat it right and it will last a long time for you. Start getting stupid or forgetting to do the routine maintenance and the rig will let you down pretty quickly.

I have not seen real issues over factory warranty from the factory, myself. Most have happened when the owner didn't actually go through the IMZ guys, but instantly started bitching or whining on the internet, first. That is much more common to hear, as IMZ has done a pretty good job in honoring their warranty and certainly has the best of most manufacturers. Support for parts may be a different matter, as the dealership network of any small company is not going to have a Ural dealer located on every street corner in the world, and Urals are sold out there in a very large global world. The biggest gripe these days is the high cost of a new rig and the feeling that IMZ is overpricing them. It didn't take the Rooskies all that long to learn our ways when it comes to money, but in a bad economy, price is a very, very touchy subject. As to gas mileage, they do indeed get maybe 30-35 mpg, but it is like driving with a brick against the wind. As far as using them on the super slabs, I drive in Arlington and the DFW area all the time. You can get run over in doing 70 MPH on these highways here, but most of the Urals seem best suited to 55-65 MPH, so back roads are probably safer in the long run. You won't find a rig that gets more smiles per miles though, in my opinion. My dogs agree with me in that regard.

Just like any other make or model, some folk will like them and some will absolutely hate them with little regard in promoting incorrect information about them. I like mine, but I understand it for what it is. It is not a hot rod, not a rocket ship and not a Jap bike by any means. It is fun, dependable and makes me happy each time my dogs and I get out and ride on it. It meets my needs just right and I have no need to sell it off for a new one. I get by without the 2WD and never missed it for a moment. I can park it beside any HD or Jap bike and probably draw a bigger crowd at the car shows. (I have done that often, too). I love the HDs and Jap bikes though and wouldn't hesitate in a milisecond to go that route if I wanted to. I like all sidecar rigs, but find that my Ural meets my needs best and I'm happy with my older one, as is. The newer ones keep adding more bells and jangles, but the old Rooskie crunch box tranny sounds great to me, so I'll keep mine and be content with it. Sort of like a turtle, in that the thing is just ugly enough to be cute.

If you want to view a lot of nonsense, name-calling and outright silliness about Urals, then check out the thread on Advrider about a fellow who purchased two of them and suddenly got buyer's remorse. His story is much more involved than just that, but you be the judge if you'd trust him to have purchased a unicycle and been happy or not. Knowing what your expectations are and what the machine will actully do to meet them is one giant reason to read up, research and study a bit before deciding if the Ural is the machine for you. they are not for everyone and that is one great truth about them. Good luck in your choice.

Pat: Thanks. Great input. As for parts, just because you have a large dealer network, does not mean you are going to have parts readily available. I have owned a Valkyrie, 3 ST1100's, BMW K1200LT, several air heads, and numerous other jap umj's. Try getting a drive shaft ujoint for a Valk in a day or two. Most dealers dont have the capacity to store all of the parts needed; it comes down to the warehousing network of the brand. Even then, you may have to wait a loooong time for parts. So, for me, the availability of a dealer network is not an issue. I have an affinity for Honda's and BMW's and will probably start there.
I appreciate everyones input.

You might consider picking up a second hand rig and trying it for a year or so be it a Ural or other. If it is a Ural the newer the better for reliability. Honda Goldwings make great sidecar bikes for long distance on pavement. BMW GS bikes work great for long distance as well as some off pavement riding. The bike for you depends on just how you are going to use it. For me and many of our customers I go with a BMW GS. I have in the past had Ural's, as well as GL1800 Goldwing rigs. My Urals were the older ones and I never felt like I could trust it to go far so as such never went more then about 50 miles from home while the GL1800 sidecar bikes I have been on trips lasting thousands of miles. The down side to the GL1800 that when I plan a trip, I do not like to have to stay on pavement which is why I switched to the BMW GS bikes. If you can make it to a sidecar event look and see what other people are riding and ask them why. We will be at the USCA national, I will have a BMW R1100GS / M72D rig that we built (for sale after the event $12,000) and would be glad to give you a ride in the rig.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Yes, your correct on parts availability, but one other thing about having them on hand or not, it that probably 90% of the Ural parts are outsourced to begin with. Most of the items on the rigs are no longer manufactured in Irbit at all. Storage is indeed a problem, but the vendors are not plentiful to begin with. If you look at the list of such on the IMZ site, several are not dealers at all, but just places to get service done. Go into a few of the dealerships and you will still have to walk past the weed whackers, ATVs and mowers in order to get to the Urals there. For a small company, they do pretty well with what they have though. Most Ural owners become pretty good at working on their own rig. In thel ong run that actually cuts into the dealers service business though. You can actually count on one hand the best of the best dealerships that IMZ had in their network. They have not changed at the top for years. Even though the Ural dealer is good who has his dealership within 11 miles of me, I still order all parts from Gene, in Holopaw. Establishing good relations with their customers goes a long way.

Me, if I were to suddenly have a need for a newer Ural, I'd be looking to purchase a newer used one before I shelled out the money on a brand new Ural. The used market for them frequently has good, low mileage and nicely accessorized Urals at a much more reasonable price. their new rigs are nice and owning something brand new floats the boat for many, but for me, I believe the real bargains are out there in the used market these day. With a little TLC and maintenance, many, many of those used rigs will last a very long time for some lucky folk. Overpricing themselves is often not related to some Rooskie at the top simply wanting more money for a product. The economics of outsourcing and importing restrictions, as well as EPA or government restrictions, all play a part in the mix.

Everybody loves the Ural look - that's such a classic setup. I'd love to have one in my stable...

IMHO, the biggest thing the Ural has against it is it's low top speed. I've had mine exactly a year now, a 2010 "T", and I bought it exclusively for commuting. 65 mph is running pretty frikkin' hard, and it's got virtually nothing left to give beyond that. I can wind it on up to near 70 mph, but it takes a few minutes to get there and it feels like it's going to sling itself all to pieces. I generally cruise at 60, and get in the neighborhood of 28-32 mpg. The second issue I have is the Russian wheels, which have a reputation for being semi-square (I know mine are). Makes balancing a PITA, especially with the old Uralshina tires that don't have balancing marks. Paint is soft and can be marred with your fingernail, but scratches and dings don't detract from the look like you'd expect. Urals are rugged, and the more they look the part, the cooler they are. I can say that I haven't had a single mechanical or electrical issue in the year that I've owned my T, and it's just cleared 10k miles (17,000-ish km), and I put nearly 7000 miles on there myself. The drum brakes on the rear and side could be better... if you get one, give yourself plenty of room for stopping.

On the good side, Urals have the cool factor in spades. I routinely get waves from people in cars. These things seem more closely related to tractors than modern motorcycles, so they're absolutely dirt simple to work on, which I love. Some of the dealers are so old-school that when you order parts, you don't pay up front... they send you an invoice with your item. It's happened to me with two different dealers, and it blows my mind that you still have people out there in this day and age willing to do that. Ural people are good people!

If I could get 10 more mpg OR 10 more mph, I'd be perfectly content. As it is, I go back and forth as to whether or not I want to keep it. My commute is about 55 miles round trip on open highway, and I only have enough room (and $$$) to have one bike at a time. =(

~SM

There is a post going on at www.advrider.com with the same title closing in on 1000 posts if you want more input.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793

Plenty of reasons not to buy a Ural... Don't buy one if you don't like being the center of attention wherever you go. Don't buy one if you don't like history. Don't buy one if it bothers you do see your bike muddy because you couldn't resist the temptation to head down that dirt road. Don't buy one if your facial muscles are not up to being welded in a perpetual grin. Don't buy one if you want to keep your back in shape by pushing your rig out of a parking space instead of backing it out under power.

^^^ All true.

I still own a 98 Ural Solo with 8000 miles. I owned a 97 Italia sidecar rig that I sold with 7000 miles on it. I did/do not have any problems with either model. The only ones I knew of that had problems, were abused by their owners. I can't speak for the new ones, but mine were/are perfect at 55 mph.