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IMZ-Ural

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Every motorcyclist should ride a sidecar at some point in their life, if for no other reason than to live on the wild side. If you really want to get silly with it, you should take vintage-fueled romp on a Ural – a Russian sidecar that is “based” off a pre-WII BMW sidecar design.

You really have to be a special breed to own a Ural, and while a good mechanical background isn’t a pre-requisite, it certainly helps with those “unplanned stops” that may occur.

While most motorcyclists are turned off by the quirks of the sidecar brand, Ural owners love their machines, and have an almost cult-like relationship Russian company.

Take this video from the good folk at Good Spark Garage, which instructs us on how to properly ride a sidecar. Like everything else in the Uralverse, it takes a light-hearted approach to life, the universe, and everything. We think you will enjoy it.

Ural Motorcycles has posted its sales figures for 2013, and 95% (1,151 units) of the company’s 1,206 motorcycles built were exported outside of Russia. Given Ural’s cult status here in the United States, it is perhaps not surprising that half of Ural’s total output came to the United States, with American dealers selling 604 units in 2013.

Making both two and three-wheel bikes, Ural is best known for its sidecar platform, which accounts for 98% of the company’s total sales. One of the few makers of a two-wheel drive sidecar, Ural’s 2WD models account for over 70% of the Urals sold in the United States. After the USA, Ural’s largest markets are Germany, France, Canada, and Australia — in that order.

Riding a Ural is an interesting experience. For starters, the Russian-made sidecar can trace its origins back to BMW’s WWII-era three-wheeler, and includes a near facsimile of the German company’s now iconic boxer-twin motor as its power plant. While BMW Motorrad has changed significantly in the decades since the Second World War, IMZ-Ural remains sort of stuck in time.

One could use pejorative comparisons to farm equipment while riding the Cossack motorcycle, and they would not be inaccurate. In our modern time of silky smooth gearboxes, stout motors, and powerful brakes, the Ural T sidecar lacks just about all of these superlatives — and yet, the brand has been booming.

Maybe it is the two-wheel drive off-raodability of the Ural’s design, which has struck a chord with the ADV crowd. Maybe its the machine’s “authentic” and low-tech pedigree, which appeals to motorcycle enthusiasts who feel constantly corned by the growth of rider aids like slipper clutches, anti-lock brakes, traction control, and their progeny.

Or, maybe it is the company’s obscure brand and its Soviet heritage, which resonates enough counterculture “fuck the man” goodness to lure in the skinny-jean espresso-sipping crowd. The answer is probably “all of the above” to be honest.