I remember the first time I heard a Ural. Not heard of or saw, but heard an Ural. The symphony of gear whine, valve lash, detonation and general rattles was awe inspiring, but not in a good way. This was 10 years ago and how things have changed. I recently attended Ural’s technical training for new dealers and I was pleasantly surprised by the product. I was not going in blind as I had ridden and played with some of the newer product and I expected a reasonable level of improvement, What I found was a passionate group of people and a quantum leap forward in technology from the smoking, rattling, grinding product that was my first introduction to Russian Motorcycles.
 
The morning of the first day was devoted to uncrating a 2009 Tourist T model. The crate was huge and constructed of Russian Pine with some angle iron supports. I have since fantasized about a multi-level play house for kids and animals in my back yard constructed entirely from Russian motorcycle crates; it will soon be a reality! The uncrate went smoothly with some guidance on the location of key anchor points and fasteners. There was no damage to the bike or sidecar and everything was as expected, all the parts and attachments in the right place and order. It took a little over 1 hour to remove the crate and attach the sidecar. This was the first hour of a 3-4 hour set-up including tow-in, lean angle, installation of standard equipment, start-up, and a short test ride. The bike started on the first crank and ran for a time on the choke circuit. The ride was smooth and the uneventful.
 
After lunch we did the Basic Service training. Oil change, valve adjust, air filter replacement and the like. The bikes fit and finish was surprisingly good as was the attention paid to assembly. Gone are the days of 130,000 units a year from the factory under a not-for-profit regime. No more making bolts, carbs, shocks and gear sets in-house. In a global economy parts from Austria, Italy, Japan, and, of course, Russia comprise the Ural motorcycle. The servicing needs are different from modern bikes but are easy to do and require no funky, expensive tools.
 
Day two was motor, transmission and final drive teardown, repair, and re-assembly. As befitting an old design the bikes come apart easily as they were designed at a time when regular heavy service was normal. Watching the Russian trainer strip a motor down in 45 minutes was humbling. The motor was out of an older unit (2001) before the new Herzog timing gears and was getting a much needed update. When it was all said and done the motor would have new timing gears, rear main seal, top-end gaskets and be re-installed into a customer’s bike. As there has not been a dealer in the Seattle Area for a time, Ural has provided service for local customers such as this.
 
After lunch on day two we tore into a transmission and final drive. A simple design again with new Herzog gears makes the tranny a simple, robust unit. The rear drive is equally robust and simple. As we were training on a Tourist model, we did not deal with the two-wheel drive rear end.
 
All in, I came away excited about Ural products. The improved build quality, cool old-school design, and tank-like construction make the product a perfect addition to South Sound Motorcycles.  
 
Brendan Ferrer
General Manager