Ural sT

Ural sT

You probably associate Ural with sidecar motorcycles. But the new Ural sT has extended the classic Ural experience to solo riders. The company says, “Think of it as a bike that could have been produced by Ural in the 1970s if the engineers were allowed to fulfil their ambition for a performance two-wheeler.” The sT keeps the traditional Ural look, and like its sidecar cousins, it’s at home on a forest road as well as the Interstate. Interestingly, Ural will build each sT to order, using what it calls ‘Ural A La Carte’: “The starting point is the base model in flat black. It comes with straight stainless steel exhaust, standard gas tank, black trim, single ‘tractor seat’ and a black rear fender rack. You can choose to order additional equipment and/or upgrade from standard specification.” There are two seat options: a base model single ‘tractor’ seat with a rubber shock mount, or a two-up bench seat. You can also have two single seats, if you mount the second seat on the rear fender. There’s a menu [PDF] that potential owners can download, choose from, and send back to Ural. It allows you to specify the color, shinier trim, seating configuration, engine protection, fender racks, toolkits and so on. But unlike most bespoke bikes, the starting price for the sT is eminently reasonable: just $6,999. That’s the same as a base model Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Low—which is arguably packing the same level of technology. I know what I’d rather have.

Nikon D80 | 1/100s | f/16 | ISO 125 | Focal length 28mm