Mother Russia's Motorcycle

Uncovered-Iron's First Post-

Ural M-72
Photo Credit;http://www.bikepics.com/ural/m72/

In-light of the current Russian-Ukraine conflict, I feel it's appropriate to bring up Russia's Flag ship motorcycle company, Ural. Ural dates back to another conflict far bigger than today's. That conflict happened to be World War II. Russia needed an edge on the war it was about to undergo. What better way to get that edge, than to use a motorcycle. Russia utilized its resources to the extreme, to create a motorized ground force to be reckoned with. Their debut war motorcycle was called the M-72. Put an “R” in place of the “M”, a “1” in place of the “2” and you have a BMW R-71 motorcycle. Yep that’s right, there’s not much difference in the names, and apparently there wasn’t much difference in the motorcycles themselves.

BMW R-71
Photo credit;http://www.goodkarmaproductions.com/bikepics/1938BMW_R71%20large.jpg

       There are two circulating stories of how Germany’s R-71 and Russia’s M-72 clashed together. The first story states, BMW could’ve handed over the R-71 plans to the Russians. How could this happen so effortlessly? The answer lies in the Molotov-Ribbentrop treaty formed in 1939. This treaty was essentially a “Non-aggression” agreement between the Soviet Union, and Germany. The Molotov-Ribbentrop treaty made for easier access between Russia, and Germany. BMW Motorcycle plans and ideas could’ve arisen in Russia from this “treaty induced” friendship between the two. Incidentally the treaty fell apart in 1941, when the Germans began to enter the Soviet Union by force. 1941 happened to be the same year the M-72 was approved by Stalin.

Ural M-72
Photo Credit;http://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_vehicle_id_cycles.php

       The second story is said to be the official version. It involves the Russians reproducing the features of five smuggled BMW R-71 motorcycles. It also mentions BMW stopping production of their R-71 in 1941, and preceding it with production of the R-75. Personally, the second “official version” is more exciting! It Kind of reminds me of SEAL team six’s secret helicopter crashing. This occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, when other countries allegedly tried to salvage the helicopter parts for research.

       Production of the M-72’s first occurred in Moscow, but was later moved to Russia’s Ural Mountain region. This is how Ural presumably got its title for years to come.  In 1942 M-72’s made their World War II debut. A total of 9,799 M-72’s were sent into the field. The M-72’s claim to fame is their sidecar (to throw an extra soldier in, haha), horizontally opposed engine, and their ability to combat rugged Russian terrain.

Ural entered the mainstream in 1953, beginning its journey exporting bikes for years to come. A notable model in my eyes, is the Ural K-650 which was produced in the year 1953 according to bikedata.com.  Ural motorcycles are most famously known for their two wheel drive, giving power to their sidecars. Urals are still produced today under the name IMZ-Ural. Uncovering information on classic Urals seems to be a tough task. A few years back I ran into a couple riding an Ural (Sidecar included) across the east coast. I am not sure of the model name, but traveling that far, tells me that Ural motorcycles are pretty economical and reliable. I would like to have stayed in contact with them to see how their Ural journey concluded. Ural’s history demonstrates how powerful a motorcycle can be, not power relating to the engine, but an added power to help defend a nation.

-Uncovered Iron; Alton

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Credited Information:

http://www.ural.cc/index.php?en_history

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact.html

http://www.imz-ural.com/

http://www.ural.com/