iron curtain motorcycling..

my friend turned up sunday afternoon on his old russian motorcycle..a ural 650 flat twin...

i love this bike,oozing character and built in the days of the cold war these bikes and similar models are the transport backbone for alot of russian people, esp living in the remote countryside...which there is alot of...

made since 1940 after the red army purchased some german BMW R71 flat twins from the swedish army to test they adopted its design as they found it an ideal military high speed offroad motorcycle which could withstand the harsh russian climates...-40C winter to 40C summer...
production was then moved from moscow to the east to the town of irbit deep in siberia after the german Blitzkrieg to keep out of range of german bombers..
built only for the military with 30,000 produced by 1950...then production was moved to the KMZ plant in the ukraine in the late 1950s and domestic consumers bikes were produced...these were imported to the UK like this bike in the 1970s along with a few other soviet makes under the brand `cossack`

sold as a motorbike or tough sidecar outfit with 3 wheel drive they came with sidecars often then modified by owners for transportation of firewood,goods and supplies and also used for powering log cutting saws and water pumps...
i love some of its features...function before style in true russian engineering...
the big toolbox in the tank...

big leather saddle and 90 degree kick start...note bungee retainer!

gear change is on left foot but on RHS is a hand gear change!,

looks like the speedo needs replaced...

steering damper for when fitted with sidecar...

sidecar tyres..incredibly hard compound means will last 1000s of miles but shocking handling...lots of mudgaurd clearance for mud,snow and ice...

as are the drum brakes a bit dodgy...

tupperware box houses rectifier...

for all its faults..well not really faults just 40 years advancement in design of modern motorbikes and tyres since its introduction, this bike is still cool and in its own way iconic as it has stood the test of time just like the india enfield bullet...
built to be stripped and repaired with a simple tool kit and what ever comes to hand of a soviet mechanic...its rough and ready with a few curves... i love its looks...
my yamaha seems so souless beside this old bike...spares are available here in the UK but its cheaper to buy direct from the ukraine...how about £3 for a full gasket set!,or £30 for a complete set of carbs...
i had a quick ride around the square...it sounds lovely too...

click on thumbnail for some film...



if you want to see more heres a factory film of the army ural motorbikes check out the machine gun mounted! and the big jump at 2mins 45secs! lol... here is the ural website
i want the brown camo model!