Ural From Russia With Love (FRWL) reviews

Ural's "From Russia With Love" edition (FRWL) is the best model so-far produced by Ural (including the 2022 line-up, a topic for another post). The FRWL was a limited edition of 35 units, all themed on James Bond's silver Aston Martin DB5. Here, Ural made a credible effort to include 007-esque features (covered extensively in other articles) and furthered the exclusivity of the edition by giving every unit a distinct name, each based on a noted Soviet-era female spy and stitched into the sidecar's leather dashboard (I own "Polina"). The rig is, in a word, gorgeous. 1. RELIABILITY The model is still too new to comment on long term reliability, but we can expect it to be Good based on Ural's commitment to improving and correcting past woes. Rather than "fixing" Russian-born issues, Ural applied proven components from trusted brands such as Ducati, Brembo, Keihin and Kuryakyn. The 750cc engine is air cooled and reliably simple, turning a robust shaft drive to the pusher wheel (with another shaft that can be operator-engaged to turn the sidecar wheel). The carbs were replaced by Ural with fuel injection. Disc brakes on all 3-wheels. A time-tested leading link fork. Literally battle-proven frame and sidecar. Failing that, all new Urals come with a 2-year/unlimited mileage warranty. 2. QUALITY As mentioned above, Ural is persistent in making the brand better year-by-year, an effort quite apparent in 2019 and later models. Still not equal to top-name motorcycle brands, but most of the FRWL quality shortcomings are cosmetic rather than functional (e.g., chrome parts that surface rust too quickly). If you buy a Ural, buy wax. 3. PERFORMANCE The Ural is powered by a 750cc air cooled engine. By conventional motorcycle standards it is under-powered, even without the sidecar. If you want to pull an 10-second 1/4-mile with the weight of a WWII sidecar and passenger tagging along, you don't want a Ural. If you want to cruise at 65 mph and aren't in a hurry to get there, you won't be disappointed. Ural's braking performance is better than adequate, especially given inherently awkward sidecar dynamics. BUT I do wish Ural offered anti-lock brakes. Off-road performance is remarkable: A low first gear gives the operator a sense one could climb trees, and true 2WD that allows me to keep-up with ATVs. This same traction lets me cruise snow-covered New England streets that otherwise keep most bikers grounded. The Ural has a rare ability to perform competently on Show less

The best Ural yet. Reliable, beautiful, & will drive at 65 all day. All steel, reverse, classic lines. The 3rd russian mc I have had. I have over 7000 miles on it & have had not 1 problem. Show less

Purchased my Troyka Jan. of 05. Did quite a bit of research before buying and waited for almost 2 years before reviewing. Well...It's been a blast. I keep it most of the year in NC. My wife & I go riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway quite often. It's my honey do errand vehicle. She knows when I go out, I'll be out for a while. Have to answer a lot of questions. Winter it comes back to Florida for sunset cruises. No major issues to date. Starting to see some leakage in the front end seals. Just wish there were more dealers for service. Email with questions. Show less

Readers of this review and potential riders of this bike have to keep in mind what this bike is intended for, where it was made, and its history. In short, don't compare this with the latest German and Japanese technology! that's an apples to oranges comparison. There is no apples to apples comparison on the market today for this bike. Mount from the left and the first thing you notice is that you don't need to balance. Sit on the tractor seat and your wallet and anything else in your back pockets will jam into your glutes - put wallet/phone/knife in your riding jacket and the seat is very comfortable. The rubber block holding the seat adds significant suspension. Controls, mirrors, and grips are easy and reachable. Foot pegs are soft and comfortable. Pull the left side manual choke, no need to wrap throttle twice (the old priming trick), push start button and it will start instantly. Pop choke back in asap to avoid fouling. Roller bearing engine with heavy flywheel means you must WAIT for the engine to lower RPM when you rev it. NOT modern Japanese bike! In neutral, pull clutch, LOOK BEHIND YOU, place right heel over chromed lever inboard of right footpeg, push down, no clunk, and go reverse. Easy, strong, and very very useful, especially in 2wd. CAREFUL! Reverse can be scary. Look forward, right heel can effortlessly flip chrome lever back up, push shifter down for first, CLUNK, and go. Bike has lots of torque, very smooth roller bearing engine, and non syncro trans. It will pull hard to the right when you gas it hard and pull hard to left when you let off gas abrubtly. This is sidecar inertia effect, don't be scared, learn to use it. Off road manners are a totally new experience. No more picking a line to avoid that rock or rut. Take your hands off the bars and it will just keep going straight, bouncing along. Earles fork is nearly indestructible, and the suspended front, rear, sidecar wheel, and rubber block seat do an excellent job of insulating you - again, this is NOT A JAPANESE MOTORCROSSER with 18 inches of travel! Put your wife and kid in the car, kid on back, and explore fireroads with a picnic lunch. Up steep loose hills, car will pull bike to right side and you will hate being stuck sideways with mom/wife/skeptic. Before big hill, engage sidecar drive, and it will go straight up. Amazing. On the way home, cruise hardtop with the whole family at 60mph. Why go faster? Why would you want to? Front disk brake groans at low speed but stops bike very well. Sidecar brake works nicely. My rear main brake wore out fast. The first gear should be 30% lower for trail/road/heavy load work. My valve covers rattled the threads right out of the heads (blocks fixed it right up.) Fuel lines rotted from the outside-in from Vegas sun/dry heat. Turn signal/brake light issues. Other than that, I love this bike and will hand it down to my heirs. Show less

The Ural Gear-up is the fifth motorcycle I have owed and I am having more fun with it than any of my previous bikes. The bike is still in the break-in period but I have not expected any problems and thus far. The bike does very well in the city and will run at highway speeds, it is no freeway flyer. The engine, while not very powerful (roughly 40HP) produces a lot of torque and that allows the bike to get up to speed quickly. I have used both the electric start and the kick start and find the bike starts equally well with either. The Ural is a mite cold blooded and takes a couple of minutes for the opposed twin to warm up to a nice even lope. The switchgear is all quite nice and functions well. The seats have been the biggest surprise. The seats look very industrial and a bit rough but are really very comfortable. The sidecar accommodations are very pleasant and practical. My wife was a frequent passenger on the back of my Harley but, it was never designed for a person with 37" inseam. Now that she has gotten a taste of the sidecar she may never go back. Her comments revolve around on how nice it is to be able to see where we are going, how very comfortable she is, how nice it is to have a place to put things (her hair dryer/purse/camera/anvil collection). This bike is a constant head turner and seems to have universal appeal. I am constantly stopped and asked questions about the bike (you must not be an introvert if you own this bike). The bike seems to appeal equally to traditional "bikers" and little old ladies. While it is a bit of a "chick magnet" it is also an old guy magnet. Expect to give a lot of rides and answer a lot of questions. The nice thing about all the attention is it the constant positive reinforcement prevents too much buyers remorse. Overall, the bike is a blast to ride and has been maintenance free. Unlike most modern bikes that you can jump on without checking first, this bike does require you to look it over and check tire pressures and fluid levels and warm it up a bit before departing. Down the road it will take more periodic maintenance but, there is a very complete manual and it is a very easy to work on machine. If one is willing to accept some of the limitations this can be one of the highest smile per mile vehicles you will ever own. Show less

I just picked up my Patrol two days ago. The last time I had checked out these bikes was 1995 and I was not impressed. The bikes looked cheap, and their reputation was pretty bad so I decided against it. After quite a bit of research I decided to take another look. First off, the finish is 1000% improved, it's still a little rough around the edges but overall I think they compare well to BMW or Harley. After a short indoctrination by the dealer I was ready to get on the road. I had a 120 mile ride ahead of me and the prospect of not going over 40 mph was not exactly appealing. It turned out to be a very pleasant ride; the tractor seat is actually very comfortable. The bike tracks very well although pulling a hack gets some getting used to. The transmission reminds me of our old tractor back home, although it is already smoothing out some. This is definitely not a high tech, high performance bike. I think it will be a nice commuter; the reverse gear makes it easy to back out of a parking space. But the main reason I bought it is to take my 6 year old out on rides with me. And the kids LOVE it. Today I took the wife and the two kids (3 and 6) out to dinner. Both kids fit well in the sidecar and the wife rode on the back. The bike handled about the same, the engine has a lot of torque. Once the break in period is over I'll see how it handles highway speeds and off road. Already my son is asking to go camping and I think this will be the perfect vehicle to get us out there. Will keep you updated. Show less

My Ural is the most fun you can have on 3 wheels. Plenty of power and an ultra classic look and design. You better like to talk to people because EVERYONE will want to know more about your bike. Take everyone and everything for a ride... Grandma, little kids, the pet. Simple, a no-hassle blast!! Show less