I'm in love with a Russian!

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Back in Spring of 2009 my wife encouraged me to get a motorcycle. I hadn't ridden in a few years. I gave away my last bike while living in Creve Coeur, a town full of grayheads who tried to kill me every time I went for a ride. I figured I should quit while I was still alive.

Anyway, I missed riding, badly, but I didn't think there were any recent bikes I'd like. I wanted an old fashioned bike with modern engineering. I knew there had been at least one fairly recent retro-styled Japanese parallel twin but last I'd heard none were sold in the US.

So I googled "retro motorcycle" and guess what popped up. Yes, my Bonneville. And I bought one two weeks later. But guess what else popped up. Turns out there is a motorcycle model called the "Retro."

To make a short story long, the Retro is just one of several models of sidecar motorcycles built by Ural, a manufacturer in Russia. The bikes and sidecars are knock-offs of a 1938 vintage BMW rig. Ural has improved its machines over the decades but without stylistically deviating from their original "borrowed" inspiration.

A couple of models, including the Patrol pictured above, have a driveshaft linking the rear wheel of the motorcycle with the sidecar wheel, for a switchable two-wheeled drive that rivals the off-road traction of an ATV.

A 2WD Ural is a motorcycle you can ride in the snow! Do I really need to say more?

I need a 2WD Ural. I want to ride a motorcycle in the snow. And I love the funky old fashioned look of the Urals. I love their noise and their low-tech design. The Ural is made to be serviced by the owner. And it's made to be serviced with normal tools. This is the motorcycle for the proletariat... and for petit-bourgeois dilettantes like me.

Since a fully-equipped 2WD Ural costs about $13,599.00 it might take me awhile. I might have to finish paying for the Bonnie first, but I clearly see a Ural in my future.

Now would be a great time to buy a Ural. They have just upgraded the machines a lot. And yet they still have carbs. That can't last long, given increasingly rigid pollution standards. If you can swing it, get your Ural now. Then swing by Westport and give me a ride.

If you're anywhere near St. Louis, get your Ural from Dave Clark in Eureka. He's a top BMW tech and he upgrades and stands behind the Urals he sells. Check out Dave's shop at:

http://www.abcbmw.com/

1WD models can be detached from the sidecar and ridden solo. The 2WD models cannot be used without the sidecar.

The entry level 1WD Ural rig costs $10K. But I just have to have a 2WD model.