Tomorrow, October 22nd, the factory in Irbit is celebrating its 75th anniversary. A few days ago we received an incredible birthday gift. A very special group of international riders, young artist friends from Germany, Cyprus and Estonia visited us here in Redmond and spent a few days sharing their stories, laughter, hardships, and enormous love for life and their machines.
We get a lot of visitors that swing through our office this was one of the most energetic, impressive long haul travelers we've met yet.
Meet Elle, Anne, Johannes, Kaupo, Efy, Simon, and Nadine aka Leaving Home Fuktion!
2 years on the road around the world, on old 650 Urals, through some of the most grueling terrain, they set out to experience life unabridged. They plunged in with no cushion, relying on their own endurance, wit, and kindness of ordinary folk across countries, cultures and borders. They learnt Russian by reading the original 650 manual “every night before bed”.
A collection of artists, it was evident that they knew how to learn and solve problems on the fly as soon as they rolled up to our loading docks. Their bikes were nothing short of amazing, we felt like we were on the set of Mad Max.
While crossing the infamous Road of Bones, they weren't sure if they were going to make it, at one point even rationing their food to 1 meal a day per person.
Then something happened that made it "feel like Christmas" according to the group.
They discovered support truck from The Long Way Round, the famous Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman motorcycle documentary.
Completely abandoned, it was still somehow filled with tools and supplies. Just in time for their beaten bikes, the crew gutted the tool chests, allowing themselves to fix their bikes and keep going.
After they arrived we brought in the bikes to look them over and make some repairs, everyone here grabbed their tools and started working alongside our chief mechanic Sergey.
It was obvious that they had learned the intimacies of their bikes while on the road.
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After 2 days of wrenching they were eager to continue on their journey. First they'll head east towards Montana, then south to Salt Lake City. The plan is to continue onto Mexico before looping back up and ending in New York in December.
Follow Their Progress on Facebook.
Support their travels here!
Contact us if you'd like to host them while here in the states!
Celebrating 75 Years!
Our factory was born in the midst of the Siberian winter in 1941.
The small town of Irbit on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains became an unlikely hub to supply motorcycles for the war effort.
The first motorcycles were sent to the front lines in February of 1942 and used in the Battle of Stalingrad.
During the war, 9,799 M72's served in reconnaissance and dispatch detachments in addition to helping evacuate the wounded from battle fields.
As the war ended, the factory adapted to the growing post-war need for practical transportation.
The factory continued producing motorcycles with sidecars, building over 3 million units.
These military machines transformed into the functional vehicles of choice for ordinary folks and young families.
Today we carry on the legacy, building the best Ural yet.
To celebrate we're offering up to $1,000 of new Urals!
2016 Ural New England Fall Rally!
This Saturday! Join Ural of New England for their annual Fall Rally, the largest in the country!
Learn more and register here!
Gentleman's Ride Recap
Yesterday more than 50,000 dapper riders in over 500 cities across 90 countries united for the world’s largest motorcycling charity event. Ural riders around the globe suited up and helped raise over $4 million for prostate cancer and mental health research.
European Vacation Adventures
Destination wedding in Europe? Let's rent a Ural.
That was the exact thought that Weston and his wife Mallori had when they received their invite. Ural riders at home in California, they couldn't resist the idea of exploring the South of France and Western Italy on their favorite adventure mobile.
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Words + Photos by Weston Walker // Bike Rental from Classic Bike Esprit
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Mallori piloting from Verdon to San Remo Italy. We loved the unexpected treasures on roads where you have know idea what lies around the next bend.
Never ending lavender fields in the south of France, we'll need to come back one day to see them in bloom.
On the Mediterranean island of Corsica. This place is incredibly beautiful and we can't wait to spend more time here exploring on our next trip!
About half way through the trip my camera completely fried. Early morning cell phone shot while riding through Italy.
Curving, winding and rainy roads in Italy
Interested in your own Ural adventure? See sidecar tour and rental options here!
Exploring Morocco
Meet Insider's Experience, offering curated Ural tours showing you the best of Morocco.
Ural Riders Help Raise Over 50K For Cancer Research!
Photos by Meghan Rose
Last weekend over 350 motorcyclists joined the New England motorcycle charity ride to honor children battling brain tumors. This year marked the largest ride to date, with all donations going directly to cancer research.
The crew at Ural New England organized local riders helping make this year's ride the largest yet!
Ural owner's gave young cancer survivors and their families a ride up front in the sidecar, complete with police escort!
This year, riders helped raise over $54,000 for research!
Want to join the fun?
Sign up for Ural New England's Fall Rally here!
Stay Wild Expo
We headed down to Portland for the 1st annual Stay Wild Expo, a 3 day event at Portland's World Forestry Center celebrating all things adventure. They hosted surfboard shaping workshops, guided hikes, motorcycle ride to the coast, surf contest, a maker's market and so much more!
We were able to hang with the amazing crew from Ural Portland, answer questions about the bikes and give sidecar rides through the Forestry Center and Rose Gardens.
Shaper Studios giving a surfboard shaping lesson in their mobile workshop!
Shoutout to Tilt for keeping us fueled over the 3 day event!
Half way through the Expo the beer garden's hand truck got 2 flat tires. We offered to help with the resupply.
"Are you sure? Each keg weighs like 170lbs?"
"That's it? Sure, throw in 2!"
Outdoor lounge area with Kodama Zones.
These sisters brought their parents back to our booth about 4 times for more photos.
Special thanks to the entire staff at Ural Portland for the help.
See you next year!
