If you’re a fan of a retro motorcycle that’s not another Harley Davidson or an Indian, particularly WWII sidecar motorcycles, Russian bike builder Ural has what you’re looking for. Although the company’s older bikes are known for a lack of reliability, but from what we hear, their new stuff is robust and will take you places your SUV won’t.
As retro as Ural bikes look, the latest Ural MIR motorcycle comes with space-age technology, in the form of a removable solar panel mounted on the sidecar. The panel can be removed to make way for a storage rack. The solar panel can be used as a battery tender or to charge gadgets such as GPS unit, cell phone, tablets etc.
The Ural MIR is a limited production motorcycle, and the name is a tribute to the MIR shuttle program. The bike is powered by a 749cc 2-cylinder 4 stroke boxer engine that produces 41 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 42 pound-feet of torque at 4,300 rpm. Power is sent to the rear wheel of the bike and sidecar via a 4-speed gearbox; the gearbox also has a reverse gear.
The Ural MIR looks pretty cool; it’s finished in metallic “Orbital White” and comes with a black frame. The sidecar is equipped with twin LED headlights to provide even more light, especially useful when going off-road in the dark. The bike also comes with a wrench with a QR code that provides a link to a “Repair Video”, which takes you a clip from the movie Armageddon… so that’s how you fix Russian made machinery.
Only 20 Ural MIR motorcycles will be available, at price of $16,999.
