Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Ural Wolf

http://www.imz-ural.com/wolf/

So, I've brought this bike up before, without much reply. So here it is...does anybody know ANYTHING about Urals? All I know is that I guess they were pretty crappy bikes (about as reliable as an Enfield...which are waaaay cool too), but they switched US distributors and now they are putting better quality parts on 'em.

I'd considering getting one and keeping it with me here in Brooklyn, while my BA is out in Jersey in a friend's garage. I'm thinking it would be a pretty good city bike. No one would know what the hell it is, so why would they want to steal it, throw a crash bar on it and keep spare levers so it wouldn't matter if someone tips it over parallel parking, and I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it because...let's face it...it would look better dirty.

I know absolutely nothing about them, but it's a cool looking bike...the fact that it's a pretty unknown brand appeals to me too...would depend on price, warranty and parts availability, etc...not a high performance machine by any means, but still pretty cool!

russian stuff!!!!!!!!! on this web site !!!!!!!!!

I don't know this might be kinda cool

that's a Troyka, I believe...745cc, dual carb, about 40 HP...pricey! about $12,000 here in Canada....looks cool, though!

just checked our Cdn distributor...the Wolf is about $7895 Cdn...which is considerably less than an America or a SM, which would be about $10-11K...certainly won't perform like a Triumoh, but still a unique bike.

Hi
this Bike where made with the " Moskow- MC Wolf " ,they did their instructions gave by " Ural " - so i read in a few Years ago in " Bikers News -Magazin "
greeetz
PETER

Peter - Yeah I read that too. I think that's a really cool idea having a biker club design a bike. Just think if Harley would have the Hell's Angels or whomever design a model.

Or even better, if Triumph would let us design a bike!

Only down side is I guess someone might think it's an old BMW or something cause it's a flat twin...

After reading this thread I checked the net and found there is a guy here in Des Moines that carries both Urals and Royal Enfields. I stopped by this afternoon and checked them out. He told me that the Urals are bolt for bolt reproductions of the old BMW's. Apparently parts are even interchangeable (shades of the B-29ski.) On the sidecar models there is a second drive shaft that turns it into an ATV. He had an old actual Soviet military model that looked like it had a lot of use and still runs. If you need an ATV that could be used on the highway and do 60-70 MPH that might be the way to go. He said that there is a 750CC twin Royal Enfield due out in a year or so. He also had a couple of old Moto Guzzis there.

Quote:

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Only down side is I guess someone might think it's an old BMW or something cause it's a flat twin...

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It IS a copy of an old BMW...see Grzegorz's post above...when the russians stole the factory (BTW, the Brits "liberated" the DKW factory that's where the BSA Bantam came from - as well as the HD Hummer but I digress)..they took the whole BMW plant and just produced what it made, so the Ural sidecars have/had a dinky little bracket on the front - nobody thought to consider what this was for, so they just put it on anyway. In fact, it was for a MACHINE GUN , as used by the Wehrmacht, FFS!!! Handy in city traffic, I suppose....

Jan

Try this for size - might be an alternative bet -





It's a Jawa 650 powered by the Rotax DOHC single cylinder engine as used by a number of other European manufacturers. Jawa is an old Czech factory - they were famous for their 2 stroke flat trackers. Jawa offers an alternative to the mainstream bikes currently available from other major producers. In UK, prices start at £3995 on the road - is there a distributor in USA? Saw one at the BMF last week - did not look too bad but, as ever, you would have to ride one to see what it was really like.

Regards

Jan
.

The Ural is junk. Have ridden them, & had 3 friends that bought them. One never made it home from the dealship. Parts on these things look like they've been cut out of tin with hand cutters......... JUST MY OPINION.

That Jawa looks to have the same engine as my old BMW F650, that part at least will be reliable. and this guy knows all about urals in the uk. www.f2motorcycles.co.uk

Tried to imagine kickstarting a 650 lunger. My leg is sore just thinking about it!

That is one butt fugly bike..... Does it come in a "Rat" version? Flat black primer a little grey......
Warren

Hi Litzer
look ,what i found : http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138410
russian-motorcycle-clon's ....good Story
Peter

Hi,

Ural was my *first* motorcycle. I was 2 years old when my dad put me into the sidecar with my mom. I rode that, K-750 and other Soviet bikes.

There are two things that you should know about these bikes:

1. They are not modern by any means. No ECU or other crap that you guys are used to.

2. The bikes with sidecars are tanks.

In Soviet Russia having a car was expensive; therefore, many middle-class families chose motorcycles with sidecars. We used it on highways, in a city and in the woods. The bike was perfect.

In my opinion, getting this bike as the only motorcycle could be a mistake for now. The bikes are relatively new to the U.S. and the instruction manuals may not be translated perfectly. Also, the top speed is only around 60mph, but in reality you would not want to go more than 55mph on one of those puppies. If I lived in a rural area, I would definitely get one instead of an ATV; however, in a city this may be a stretch. Also, these bikes probably need to be customized a bit in order to make good crusiers.

The seats on these motorcycles are not the best. You can ride for an hour or two tops. The sidecar, if you choose to get one, is not really comfortable if you are a tall person and you will have to pay attention to the sheet metal because it can rust if you scratch it... The again, my bike was made in late 1970s and things could be different now.

The good news is that you cannot have more fun on a dirt road! One of our motorcycles had an on demand sidecar drive. My dad used to find big puddles and smash the bike into them. Then we would try to get it out If I were a hunter, this bike would be perfect for that as well.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks,

-V

P.S.: I hear that Ural has a good warranty and the dealers are pretty nice as well. I was thinking of starting a Ural dealership in my area, but there is one already. GRRRR!!!!

Vitaliy,
Memories are memories, but you really need to raise your standards. You are the first person I have ever heard say something good about Ural motorcycles, and you were not overly complimentary. Urals can only be equated to Russian military equipment... junk.... they don't work. That's the truth behind the end of the cold war (russian junk don't work and they knew it). I am glad you pointed out that the dealers are "friendly", because if you get one, you're gonna get to know them very well.

hello everyone , ive been a lurker here for a couple of years because i never have much to say, allthou im hereing alot of bull on this subject, i have a ural patrol for a little over five years now and over 50,ooo miles on it and i rode it daily as my only transportation, and the bike still runs strong and has never broken down on me as of yet.
But the bike needs weekly upkeep, it is old tech with cast iron jugs, they are know for week wheel bareings and burning alternator bearing, these bikes are NOT for everyone. i recamend these bikes only to those who likes to work on bikes. i deregisterd the ural about two months ago because out of three bikes i can only afford to have two regesterd and insured at once, i need to get more miles on the triumph and CBR this summer. my ural go's in areas that my othere two bike would pee gasiline all over my legg.
so to the right person they are great, to the wrong person they are a nightmare
P.S. i might get rid of my triumph or CBR someday but the ural Patrol will be with me till the day im bured 6 feet under. i hope this helps.

Thanks for the info Richard. It seems that Urals envoke a love'em or hate'em response.