My review of Ural Motorcycles (2012)

People are pissed because this thread is completely fucking stupid at this point. If in fact the Brembo part failed, that is on Brembo. I don't care if people like Ural or not. What I care about is the misrepresentation going on about Ural and the people who run the company. IMWA has been beyond awesome to me and I won't stand by while someone makes false claims about their product.

Once again, if the bike is so faulty that all of these parts have broken because of quality control on IMWA's part, how would anyone in their right mind climb back on the saddle? If it were me, I would be doing several other things then posting on here about it. I would be parking the thing in a garage, I would be on the phone with IMWA-USA screaming at Jason, and be finding someway to get the issue(s) resolved. To have several major failures like this, and according to the OP being Ural's fault, should not leave him comfortable about the bike. He needs to shit or get off the pot. Don't waste people's time with this thread anymore. If the bike is a total unsafe POS, and I would say having the brakes "fail" would qualify as unsafe, then don't ride it anymore. One's life is more valuable then the Ural. Find a solution. That could be shipping the bike back home and renting something else or calling IMWA and seeing if they will give him another bike to ride in the mean time.

Howdy Heyload,

AGAIN, what you have written is simply common sense and goes along way toward why even thou I have thought about it, I have not spent the time and money to pursue such a devise on the Ural. Like many of the so called fixes that have been offered to the Ural, it is a solution to a problem that if ridden or maintained properly never existed.

Fair dinkum.

Apparently you haven't taken the time to learn a bit about me and my "brand" of bike. I am currently DOWN to 8 bikes in my stable, all different brands built to different jobs, dirt bikes for playing on the skinny trails, a RCK for knocking down 1,000 plus mile days , and R1 for being truly nuts, etc.

For years I have put up with the same stupidity when it comes to assholes many of whom have never even sat on a Hog let alone ride one talk about what pieces of shit they are. The same type of person seems to gravitate toward Hogs as does Ural's they like the look of the machine but don't have a fucking clue about learning to ride or how to maintain the bike but will piss and moan at the first broken fingernail, dead battery from lack of use, drop of oil on the floor etc. Both brands would be better served if the damned rubs would just go buy a Honda, oh and I have owned and ridden a few Honda's in my time too.

What I take seriously is someone who is partaking in what most of us would agree is the trip of a life time yet wastes his time on the net spewing his opinions and passing them off as a universal condemnation of an entire brand of motorcycle based on HIS limited experience. I would feel the same way if some loon started a thread called, "Why you should NOT buy a Harley, Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, KTM, Ducati, Yamaha,..................motorcycle".

Like I said and not in any bullshitting about this, if I were on a trip like bokad is, if I had the trouble he has had with the machine that he has had be it from bad quality control the fault of Ural or self induced malfunctions, if the rig had nearly killed me and my passenger according to him twice, if I couldn't sell it I would have stripped it of any identification and left it burning in a fucking ditch bought another machine and continued my journey.

Does anyone want to come ride their POS Ural with us this weekend. Applejam is working out his Cascade Discovery Route and needs some beta testers for new tracks. Meet up is on Mt hood's Barlow Road tomorrow night where the creek crossing is. Oh by the way I'll be on my POS Ural gear up too. Expect break downs, grumpy folks, flat tires, drunkenness (mainly in the evening), final drive failures, break failures, rim distortion, piston melting, sidecar falling off, water in the carbs, yelling and screaming (mainly Yee Ha), flip overs, dangerous ascents and descents, oh and HUGE SMILES!

It sounds way better than reading this thread. Doesn't it? Oh and everyone is invited, even if we have only distain for you. Show up and have some fun on a new adventure route thru the mtns of Oregon. Or keep typing and enjoy the camaraderie of this thread.

I'll address your points:

Bikes and this Forum are supposed to be fun, my friend. Lighten up.
Glad you like your Ural. I like mine too, but it's just a bike.

Howdy asrvivor,

Now that is down right CRUEL, here I am wasting time with this thread as I count down the till the departure date of my Australia trip and you folks just a few miles south of me are going to go play on Barlow Pass. If I didn't have so much other stuff to take care of ( in between posting to this thread ) I would ride my totally fucked up, broken down piece of shit Ural down there and play with you guys till the cows came home. If Berry wasn't stuck working for a living I am sure we could con him into riding his death trap of a Ural down there too.

Have a great time proving out the new tracks, be sure to tip one for me and don't forget to post up photos of all the broken bodies and busted parts that result from your daring to ride Ural's in such conditions.

I must agree, Bokad has kept pretty cool...

Hiya Mr. Cob, You're dilema sounds like a fun one too. I'm hoping I can get Vern to come out this weekend. I'll get plenty of photos. Soon as Markwoodleif gets that trials bike repaired I'll be up to visit you boys. Was supposed to pick it up 2 weeks ago and he blew the top end. The day before I headed up. Shoot...

I was just trying to break the mood here. I enjoy riding more than typing, I know you do too. Man have fun in OZ.

Invite stands for anyone else. Mt hood is going to beautiful this weekend. And we'll be doing things like this.............




No fun at all!

Backpressure on a Ural crankshaft sounds like a recipe for disaster!
I don't know how well the 750 cranks are built and if they'd stand up to a Jake brake, but I'm pretty sure if you tried that on a 650, you could afterwards remove the crank through the drainplug!!!

Ural Retro parking crossing after the flood:

...

I have kept up with this thread right from the start and have also been in touch with our importer regarding buying one as I was seriously considering it as Bokads experiences hadn't put me off.

Now though, I will be saving my money and may invest it in my current outfit an other bikes, once again,not because of Bokad but because I do not wan't to be tarred with the same brush as the 'Uralista' I have come across on this forum.

There are a couple of decent types,like Tarka, and some semi reasonable, but the majority are blinkered idiots who have nothing better to do than sling shit at anyone who doesnt like or finds fault with their Ural.

Wait...should I or should I not buy a Ural?











Oh well, too late. I did buy one. 97 Tourist 650. Fits my needs and I haven't broken it yet. What is this "brembo" front brake you speak of? Mine must have fallen off.

Bokad - You ride report is good. Keep having fun. Next time, I am sure you will be on a different machine. I think a hacked DR650 would be a good thing for the roads you describe. You can always run street tires on it to get mileage and swap to knob when you need it. Just a thought. Worth what you paid for it.

Seriously? The list would be a lot shorter the other way around.

The parts NOT a 70 year old design: electronic ignition, front disk brake, electric starter, alternator. Just because the materials may be newer, or produced with better equipment, doesn't mean the overall design is any better. If I built the Wright Brother's plane out of aircraft aluminum, that doesn't make it handle like an F-16. Likewise, if I added an actual jet engine, that still doesn't make it behave like a modern plane. I'm not saying your brakes didn't crap out of their own accord, but I simply don't agree with you on the "modern bike" statements.

BTW, glad you're not dead. That's scary shite when the unexpected happens, regardless of where the fault lies.

~HA

If you're basing your vehicle purchase on the Internet behavior of people you will more than likely never meet... well, good luck with that.
Guess you didn't spend much time over at Soviet Steeds, where people don't get so riled up over broken stuff. Bokad gave ya lots of SS links about those front brake failures.... 'course no one blew up about it over there, so they're not as much fun to read.

~HA

Ahem, Billy it would appear you waded in on the shit slinging very early in this thread, something around the 3rd or 4th post.

Sorry, but as one of the "deluded", I must say your kettle is as black as any pot............

Glad you are not buying a Urinal, we the Ural Cabal have met in judgement of you and decided you are not worthy

Yes, very funny, but I do not retract that. The whole genetic line including Dneprs,Nevals,Cossacks etc ARE shit and have always been so.

At one time their pricing reflected they were cheap and nasty, now they are just nasty.

Funny you should mention "Tarka" I was his guest and riding monkey last year and we got along as you folks say splendidly. He is a good sort and like most of us experienced Ural riders has difficulty dealing with people who are to dense to get it. Before you write us uncouth Uralista's off as you hold Tarka in high regard, ASK him what he thinks of this thread and the guy who started it.

Howdy gspell68,

I agree, the old 650 crank would not have lasted more then a few revolutions with the type of strain an exhaust brake would put on it. The new style 750 is stronger but even if the crank itself could withstand the stress and I don't think it would for very long I would be more concerned about the crank and rod bearings going bad as they are loaded more heavily now then when the engine was only 650cc.