Inaccessible “Ural” and expensive “Harley”: how the Russian motor market works

Ural motorcycles are the only model of heavy motorcycles that are produced in Russia at a plant in the city of Irbit. Most models come complete with a wheelchair that has a drive. There are several models without stroller wheel drive. The drive itself is switchable.

Currently, the Ural company sells only 3 percent of motorcycles in Russia , and the rest are supplied to foreign countries. The main sales markets are the USA, Canada, Australia, as well as European countries. Modern Ural motorcycles date back to German pre-war developments, which results in an outdated design. Despite this, the motorcycle plant in Irbit positions its motorcycles as simple, highly reliable motorcycles with a masculine character.

Since 2011, Ural motorcycles have used many foreign parts, which has a negative impact on the price for Russian consumers. This explains the drop in demand in the homeland. Among the Ural models there are models with a sidecar, without it, as well as exclusive and sports motorcycles.

Advantages

Ural motorcycles began to be produced before the war, and during its years their number increased significantly. This is explained quite simply. The Ural has high cross-country ability, copes well with off-road conditions, is not picky about the quality of fuel and oil, and is also quite easy to repair. That is why during the war the production of motorcycles was increased and, at its core, the Ural became a mobile military unit. A crew of three with a machine gun mounted on a sidecar could easily change the outcome of the battle.

Currently, technically the model remains military, but they are not often used from this point of view. All this affected the future development of the motorcycle and to this day they are reliable machines that are perfect for off-road use. Based on reviews from Ural owners, we can safely say that this is a very powerful motorcycle with high gasoline consumption . This is undoubtedly a minus, but with the right approach and modernization, fuel consumption can be reduced by almost half. The Ural easily reaches 90 or more kilometers per hour, but at such speeds it becomes quite unstable. Therefore, it is not recommended to organize races on them.

The term “heavy” was taken literally by Soviet designers, and when copying German prototypes, the frame was significantly heavier, the cylinders were quite widely spaced to the sides, which made the model very large and uncomfortable when cornering. There are quite a few jokes about the reliability of Ural engines, and they did not appear out of the blue.

The Ural is a truly reliable motorcycle and, if cared for, can last for decades. For Russian bikers who cannot afford expensive foreign choppers, old Ural models bought on the cheap can be a real godsend. With the help of simple manipulations, a factory frame can turn into a rather unique biker motorcycle.

The main thing is to approach this wisely. Ural motorcycles, among other things, are famous for their ease of repair . Easy access to the main components has a positive effect on the fact that the equipment is easy to repair in the field on your own, and for a long time this was also valued among motorcyclists. Recently, it has become quite difficult to find original parts on the Russian market due to the fact that many components are bought abroad, and in the vast majority of cases the equipment itself is sold the same way.

The popularity of Russian Urals in foreign countries is quite understandable. For foreign buyers, this is a very inexpensive motorcycle option and is especially in demand among poor bikers. The Ural is undoubtedly inferior in speed characteristics to foreign competitors, and also loses in design, but few models can compare with the Ural in cross-country ability.

I change three for four

— At what point did Irbit motorcycles stop being in demand in Russia?

— In 1992, IMZ produced almost 131 thousand motorcycles, and in 1997 - four thousand. Within five years the domestic market disappeared. This happened because people started buying cars, the need for a motorcycle as a means of transportation disappeared. It was impossible to do anything about this. They often point fingers at us and say “they destroyed the plant.” Then we have to remind this story. Another thing is that in the 90s management could work more energetically in the sense that volumes fell significantly, but the size of the plant did not change.

— Why did Uralmashplant need IMZ?

— It was the beginning of 98, everything was bought up. The one who sold it painted a beautiful picture; if I’m not mistaken, the figure was that the plant would sell 20 thousand single motorcycles a year. There was also an idea that IMZ, which produces consumer goods, would help shape the positive image of the United Machine-Building Plants holding, which was created by Kakha Bendukidze.

— As a result, you turned out to be the owner of the enterprise, which experienced a hundredfold drop in production.

- Well, yes. And I think that the plant was lucky with both the owners and those plant managers who did not jump ship, but continued to fight with us for survivability. In 1992, the plant was the largest in Europe. The 1.2 thousand that we made in 2012 is the two-day volume of work for such a plant. I don’t know of examples, either in our industry or in any other industry, when companies remained afloat after such a reduction.

Flaws

The disadvantages of domestic Ural motorcycles include, first of all, their cost. For the Russian market, the price of a new motorcycle varies from 500 to 650 thousand rubles . Many Russian buyers do not understand how a motorcycle can cost more than a car. This price is the result of using foreign parts. An equally important negative quality of the Urals is its high gas consumption with low speed characteristics. The Ural is a very expensive motorcycle to refuel and this also does not make it popular.

High demand on the foreign market has led to the disappearance of original spare parts from Russia, and Chinese analogues cannot compare with them in quality. The low weight of the Urals negatively affects the stability of the vehicle at high speed. When driving over 90 kilometers per hour with or without an empty stroller, a bump can become an excellent springboard. Most Ural models take turns poorly at high speed, which is not acceptable for those who like high speeds.

The “brutality” of the motorcycle’s body causes admiration abroad, but meets with protest in the Russian open spaces. Outdated design in most cases leaves a negative impression of an excellent motorcycle.

Soviet style conversion

In 1955, the military order was transferred to the Kyiv Motorcycle Plant (which produced cars under the Dnepr brand). The Urals had no choice but to switch to civilian consumers. And it is in this market segment that Irbit motorcycles have achieved incredible success.

The first civilian model was the M-72M.

“It was a real workhorse.” In villages and small towns, this motorcycle literally performed the function of a horse: it was easy to bring a haystack or bags of potatoes for fishing. Take it anywhere! — says Alexander Bulanov.

At first, Irbit motorcycles did not have their own brand - only letter designations. The first car with a name was the M-61 model - it was called “Irbit”.

And only in 1961, when the M-62 model was released, Irbit motorcycles received the name “Ural”. At the same time, large-scale production of motorcycles began.

In the 60s of the last century, policemen drove Urals. And in this capacity - a police motorcycle - the “Ural” was often filmed in films. In the photo: an episode from the legendary Soviet film “Beware of the Car!” (1966)

— Our most popular model over the years was probably the M-63 motorcycle. It was produced for 8 years: from 1963 to 1971,” says former plant director Nikolai Volozhanin .

Nikolai Ivanovich will turn 80 this year. He is a living legend of the Irbit Motor Plant; he was its director twice. The first time was from 1979 to 1983, and the second time was at the end of the enterprise’s glory, from 1987 to 1995. He himself had three Urals, in which he participated in long-distance runs.

The most famous of them took place in 1968. Then a team of Irbitsk residents went to an international gathering of, as they would say today, bikers, which took place in Italy. According to the recollections of Nikolai Volozhanin, nine motorcycle plant workers left Irbit on eight locally produced motorcycles. It took 50 days to get to Italian Perugia, where the rally took place, and back; we drove 11 thousand kilometers - and with virtually no breakdowns. Probably, then “abroad” saw the Ural motorcycle for the first time. As Nikolai Ivanovich said, even in the company of eminent brothers, “Ural” looked good. The technical lag of the Irbit motorcycle began later...

Ural overseas

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Desperate foreign bikers who don’t want to give up an extra few months of their motorcycle season to winter know that there is one brand that frankly doesn’t care about bad weather, because it was created in such conditions and for such conditions. Constant test drives and comparisons make our bikes one of the main “survivors” in their price and weight segment, for which a special patriotic thank you to them. Currently, the number of motorcycles assembled per year rarely exceeds a thousand, but there is constant demand for Urals, mainly in Europe and America, where there are about 120 official dealers of the plant.

Ural Gear-Up

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One of these dealers, for example, in 2013, provided journalists with several Ural motorcycles with a side trailer, locally called Gear-Up, for a test drive, as well as an experienced travel rider Mr. Cob (short for Cranky Old Bastard). From the very first minutes, riders had to experience all the features of driving a motorcycle with a cradle, which is unlike anything else on two wheels in the world. At the same time, the Ural itself is not a unit for the fairer sex or sport bikers expecting high torque. The most accurate association among newly minted bikers was with the T-90 tank, which will definitely reach the end point and will never let you down.

The phenomenon of Ural motorcycles

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After the war, it was decided to produce this amount of equipment in just six months, for which a strategic development plan was developed. According to him, export production of Ural began in 1953, reaching its peak in the 70-80s. The main customers were the army and law enforcement agencies, but ordinary people also appreciated the application potential of the bike. With varying degrees of success, the plant operated quietly until 1992, when it became a joint-stock company, and a little later, bankrupt. Similar falls, revivals, changes of owners and names occurred continuously over the next 20 years. All this time, the quality of Ural brand motorcycles (now in Latin) has never made potential buyers doubt their choice. People leave, the metal rusts, but the harsh character, quite comparable to the “spirit of freedom” of Harley-Davidson, remains.

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Content

• 1. History
• 2 Consists of 2.1 Pihlo
• 2.2 Gearbox
• 2.3 Gearbox
• 2.4 Frame
• 2.5 Brakes
• 2.6 Carburetors
• 2.7 Injection system
• 2.8 Limited editions