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Wales
by Joske Vermeule, September 1
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Forums39
Topics49,912
Posts838,163
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Most Online1,063
Jun 14th, 2026
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,539
Talk Morgan Expert
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Talk Morgan Expert
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,539 |
Im going to change the oil on the R69s this year... I sold it instead. Took the money and bought a Ural sidecar
kirkusblog.com
2016 M3W John A Prestwich Special
1952 Ford 8N
1968 Honda CL175,and 2018 Ural Retro
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265
Learner Plates Off!
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Learner Plates Off!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265 |
Wohoh! Welcome to the Ural club! The M3W and Ural make a nice pair. Dare I say, build quality is similar....making the Ural a bargain.
'17 M3W:
'08 Ural Gear-Up
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557
Talk Morgan Regular
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Talk Morgan Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557 |
For the life of me, I was never able to comprehend the affection to Ural motorcycles in the US (no offense intended). I grew up in a soviet-block country and those (along with Dnepr, IZH, Minsk, etc) were dirt-cheap and utterly unreliable. I am shocked they are selling these at $16K+, considering that you can probably buy a good example of the bike they stole it from for that money: BMW R71/R75.
2016 M3W, Army Green Matte/Tan Leather, 17k miles
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265
Learner Plates Off!
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Learner Plates Off!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265 |
For the life of me, I was never able to comprehend the affection to Ural motorcycles in the US (no offense intended). I grew up in a soviet-block country and those (along with Dnepr, IZH, Minsk, etc) were dirt-cheap and utterly unreliable. I am shocked they are selling these at $16K+, considering that you can probably buy a good example of the bike they stole it from for that money: BMW R71/R75. LOL. I've heard this before...especially in Russia from Russians. Not a Ural or Ural dealer or parts to be found in Moscow or St. Pete. Only HD's will do. The only way I can explain this - and this comes from a Bimmer snob and person who loves niche vehicles - is to think of the Ural as your 'beater', especially in the winter or when you wouldn't take anything else on the road or through a wooded trail. If I spent the same money on a vintage BMW, I'd pamper it well into OCD extreme and mount it in my living room. No such guilt with the Ural. I bought mine in '08 (new) as the 'anti-BMW' and had zero expectations of it lasting three years. My intention was to use it in the winter and share the joy of motorcycling with my toddlers before I was too old and dangerous to ride 2-up. The Ural has 2-wheel drive and a reverse gear. It's comfortable. It will literally go anywhere through anything. It gets as much attention, smiles and conversations per mile as the M3W. Low and behold, it won the war of attrition in my garage. It became my and my wife's favorite bike. The high-speed K-bikes are long gone. Mine was never abused as planned but instead became a part of the family. Zero issues or rust whatsoever in 11 years of passive ownership. It has never failed to start. Plus, there is such a vibrant owner's community and opportunities to customize, that it'ssimple to maintain and personalize. With a vintage BMW, I would never dream of this level of customization. Granted, sidecars for the highway (65 mph tops, 50 'just right') but for secondary and dirt roads, tailgating, weekend getaways, camping and fishing trips, visits to the market, rides with kids or picnic's with the wife, it's a blast. And it NEVER gets stuck. And I have to say, after working on both, I am more impressed with the value of the Ural.
'17 M3W:
'08 Ural Gear-Up
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1,889 Likes: 16
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
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Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1,889 Likes: 16 |
For the life of me, I was never able to comprehend the affection to Ural motorcycles in the US (no offense intended). I grew up in a soviet-block country and those (along with Dnepr, IZH, Minsk, etc) were dirt-cheap and utterly unreliable. I am shocked they are selling these at $16K+, considering that you can probably buy a good example of the bike they stole it from for that money: BMW R71/R75. Well I only grew up on the left coast, but have had sidecars for years and I cannot comprehend the Ural attraction either. We had a California car on our 78 wing, then a Motorvation coupe (sold both of those cars). And then an EML total conversion on our 86 GL1200 (drove like a dream). Now that the kids are long gone, we have a Motorvation spyder on the 1200. Would have put on a liberty, but he only makes mounts for Harleys. I might add our kids saw nearly all of the country with those rigs, including an 8,000 mile trek back about 88 or 89 in the EML. My wife and I have ridden in all 50 states on bike(s).
Last edited by rcmatt; 22/02/19 02:39 PM.
Rodger
2018 M3W "Dreamers on the Rise"
2004 Plus 8 (wife's)
old Goldwings and a couple of Harleys
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557
Talk Morgan Regular
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Talk Morgan Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557 |
For the life of me, I was never able to comprehend the affection to Ural motorcycles in the US (no offense intended). I grew up in a soviet-block country and those (along with Dnepr, IZH, Minsk, etc) were dirt-cheap and utterly unreliable. I am shocked they are selling these at $16K+, considering that you can probably buy a good example of the bike they stole it from for that money: BMW R71/R75. LOL. I've heard this before...especially in Russia from Russians. Not a Ural or Ural dealer or parts to be found in Moscow or St. Pete. Only HD's will do. The only way I can explain this - and this comes from a Bimmer snob and person who loves niche vehicles - is to think of the Ural as your 'beater', especially in the winter or when you wouldn't take anything else on the road or through a wooded trail. If I spent the same money on a vintage BMW, I'd pamper it well into OCD extreme and mount it in my living room. No such guilt with the Ural. I bought mine in '08 (new) as the 'anti-BMW' and had zero expectations of it lasting three years. My intention was to use it in the winter and share the joy of motorcycling with my toddlers before I was too old and dangerous to ride 2-up. The Ural has 2-wheel drive and a reverse gear. It's comfortable. It will literally go anywhere through anything. It gets as much attention, smiles and conversations per mile as the M3W. Low and behold, it won the war of attrition in my garage. It became my and my wife's favorite bike. The high-speed K-bikes are long gone. Mine was never abused as planned but instead became a part of the family. Zero issues or rust whatsoever in 11 years of passive ownership. It has never failed to start. Plus, there is such a vibrant owner's community and opportunities to customize, that it'ssimple to maintain and personalize. With a vintage BMW, I would never dream of this level of customization. Granted, sidecars for the highway (65 mph tops, 50 'just right') but for secondary and dirt roads, tailgating, weekend getaways, camping and fishing trips, visits to the market, rides with kids or picnic's with the wife, it's a blast. And it NEVER gets stuck. And I have to say, after working on both, I am more impressed with the value of the Ural. Very interesting... Kinda makes more sense now, glad they you’re enjoying it :-) I sold my k1600gtl-e (20.000 miles) as well, as the 3wheeler was the winner every time :-D
Last edited by kankeL; 22/02/19 06:10 PM.
2016 M3W, Army Green Matte/Tan Leather, 17k miles
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265
Learner Plates Off!
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Learner Plates Off!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265 |
Agreed. The Ural can't compare to other sidecars in terms of distance travel. But for around town or off road, it's near impossible to beat. My GS1150 (needed 20 more hp), K1200GT, K1200S were all a blast. But they felt 'solo' and a tad selfish. The sidecar is simply more enjoyable with and for passengers or running errands.
Kinda cool is that my Ural and M3W are essentially the same green/black/chrome color scheme. The Ural is customized with 'Shea Bros. Livery' graphics and striping which I may replicate on the Morgan. They already look like proper stable mates.
But seriously, these two toys have a lot in common. To start, they are both hand built in inefficient factories. IMHO, build quality isn't far off. That makes the Ural a surprising relative bargain.
'17 M3W:
'08 Ural Gear-Up
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 2,223 Likes: 183
Talk Morgan Expert
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Talk Morgan Expert
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 2,223 Likes: 183 |
Interesting that you consider the MMC factory inefficient?
Bruce
1964 4/4 Series V Comp (Megan)
1994 +8 (Maurice) tis no more
2013 M3W (Olga)
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557
Talk Morgan Regular
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Talk Morgan Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 557 |
We need some pictures side by side!
2016 M3W, Army Green Matte/Tan Leather, 17k miles
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265
Learner Plates Off!
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Learner Plates Off!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 265 |
Interesting that you consider the MMC factory inefficient? Britmog, no criticism of MMC on this point intended. By mass production standards though....I mean, they're bespoke, made by hand, of wood (to float and melt apart like witches), right? I'm curious about the comparative labor hours and cost of goods. I bet production rates are similar too. Just sayin. A typical M3W cost $55k and a Ural $16k. I can tell you where the value is. Both have issues. One however, set low expectations and exceeded. Heresy, but I honestly expected more from the M3W at this price point. I'm now adding Ohlins, Dynamat, carpeting, LED's, a proper steering wheel, Stage 1, a 'produced of gold' luggage rack, covers, perhaps an oil cooler, etc. to get it closer to that point. The Ural received upgrades too but at a fraction of the cost for an equivalent number of smiles per mile. I love them both but not one more than the other. Advantage, Ural. But I prefer the M3W to an AMG GTS that I sold to make space for it (and to keep away from son #1, see below). Go figure. I'll take a photo of them together when Spring arrives. The more I think of it, replicating livery graphics is the thing to do. They make a fun, unique pair. My eldest son will start driving this summer. After he's competent and learns to fly a chair, I look forward to touring them together!
'17 M3W:
'08 Ural Gear-Up
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