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Reliability issues
Can a Russian motorbike really be reliable?
Can a Russian motorbike really be reliable?
When you stop by the road will it be to take a photo - or repair the bike?
So. Are URALS reliable?
So. Are URALS reliable?
They improved year on year, but realistically are more 'demanding' than a modern Japanese or German bike.
It is sensible to check them regularly. Are nuts and bolts still tight? Are electrical connections good? Fuses? Fuel filter clean?
If you can handle an oil change or tackle routine adjustment of the engine valves then you CAN maintain it!
So you now feel safe going shopping - but would you risk a real road trip on a Ural?
A few years back, two Kazakhstani brothers (Sergey and Alexander Sinelnik) rode their Ural Wolf 5,600 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok, and then back again. Then they headed South to Gibraltar, before returning once again to Moscow.
That would be impressive, but there is more - much more...
They followed this with a 9,000 mile drive through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, the Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Reliable enough for you?!
What price reliability in a desert?
The Sahara crossing was 435 miles of searingly hot sand track. Heat wasn't a problem, but Ethiopian famine was. "In Russia, we have bad roads, but in any village we could buy food,'' one of the brothers said, "in Ethiopia, there were no roads, and no food...''
Urals (a Wolf and a rig) have also been driven around Australia - and through three of its deserts - and are equally at home in the cold of Siberia! Tough and reliable?
Damn right they are!
As long as you look after them, maintain them, and have realistic speed expectations, Urals will look after you for many thousands of safe but adventurous miles...
"One of my best bike experiences was a transcontinental run on the '95 Ural Tourist ..."
"It made it in about 11,000 miles with only a light switch failure and several rear tires being changed. A great trip. Over the Cascades, up the Grand Tetons, over the Canadian Rockies, across much of the HOT Great Plains on reservation roads, across the top of the Great Lakes and home by way of the Smokies. All by myself with no cell phones or support vehicle, a GREAT trip."
The reliable Wolf - at home in desert or snow or cities
The reliable Wolf - at home in desert or snow or cities
Ural Police bikes - using the same mechanical components as the Wolf - are used to patrol the mean streets.
"A noble geometry of chrome and leather. A motorcycle for the infinite highway..."
Adapted from Russian Ural website
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