2001 Ural Sidecar Motorcycle 250 only Mi

Description

I first saw a Ural motorcycle when I was living in St Petersburg. Russia and I saw what I believed to be a 1930's era BMW sidecar motorcycle. I asked my Russian wife to inquire about the bike to the driver and learned it was of Russian manufacture. but a copy of a 1939 BMW bike. I was intrigued and my fascination with the bike began. I ride the bike infrequently and have used it primarily to transport my Russian mother-in-law on her visits to the US-- a little of the Motherland here in the US. Well the charm has worn off for Babushka and it is time for the bike to find a new home. The bike is in great condition. almost as new. and is very reliable and sturdily built. Read below for some background.

The IMZ - URal Story

The IMZ - URal story

The Ural story begins in 1939. during the USSR's pre-World War II planning. Despite the Molotov/von Ribbentrop Pact. the Soviet Union knew it would soon be going to war against Adolf Hitler. the ruthless dictator of the German Third Reich. Joseph Stalin ordered the military to prepare all areas of operation. including the ground forces that would defend the Russian motherland against invading German Panzers. ground troops. and Special Forces. Having seen the effects of the Blitzkrieg against the Polish Army. mobilization was of paramount importance to the USSR.

A meeting was held at the USSR Defense Ministry to discuss what motorcycle model was most suitable for the Red Army. The Army had wanted to modernize its equipment after termination of the military conflict with Finland. as the motorcycles it had been using had not worked satisfactorily. Their technology was out-dated and the manufacturing quality left much to be desired.

The official version reads that. after long discussion and debate. the BMW R71 motorcycle was decided to most closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through intermediaries in neutral Sweden and smuggled to Russia. Soviet engineers in Moscow busily dismantled the 5 BMWs. They copied every detail of the BMW design and made moulds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Everything about the bike was reverse engineered. Early in 1941. the first trial samples of M-72 motorcycles were shown to Stalin. who immediately approved production of the motorcycles. (Incidentally. one of these original BMWs survives and is on display at the factory museum. Harley-Davidson also copied the BMW design. and delivered about 1. 00 Harley-Davidson XA (Experimental Army) flat-twin shaft drive motorcycles to the US Army during World War II. Meanwhile. in Japan. Riyushko was busy copying Harley-Davidson V twins!)

A factory in Moscow was soon producing hundreds of Russian M-72 sidecar motorcycles. The Nazi Blitzkrieg was so fast and effective that Soviet strategists worried that the Moscow factory was within easy range of German bombers. It was decided to move the motorcycle plant further east. out of bombing range. into the middle of the resource rich Ural Mountain region. The chosen site was the small trading town of Irbit. located on the fringe of the vast Siberian steppes in the Ural Mountains. Irbit had. before the Revolution of 1917. been an important Trade and Fair center in Russia.

The export history of URALs started in 1953:The first Urals were exported in 1953. at first mainly to developing countries. In the late 1960s. deliveries to developed countries began. and since then more and more Urals have appeared on the road on every continent. Urals are a unique combination of price. ageless styling. and sidecar functionality.

Ural is the only Russian manufacturer of heavy capacity motorcycles. and one of few manufacturers of sidecar motorcycles in the world. Besides sales of Ural motorcycles on the Russian market. they have also been exported to Australia. Britain. the United States. France. the Netherlands. Belgium. Spain. Greece. Norway. Finland. Sweden. Germany. Egypt. Iran. South Africa. Brazil. Uruguay. Paraguay. and numerous other countries. Over 3. 2 million motorcycles have been delivered since the first M-72 rolled off the production floor.

 

 

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