1999 Ural Sidecar

Frame no. XTB3764AX1205538

Previewing in Los Angeles, California by Appointment. Please contact [email protected] for scheduling.


"A brand new 1940s motorcycle" was how Bike magazine described the Ural back in 1985, a reference to how little the Soviet Union's BMW clone had changed since the design first saw the light of day on a Munich drawing board. Bike was, in fact, referring to the overhead-valve M-65, but what it said about that model's origins applies equally to the M-72, that was based on the BMW R71, a 750cc sidevalve model first introduced by the German manufacturer in 1938. One consequence of the Soviet system of centralised planning and direction was that there were no individual manufacturers or marques as understood in the West; rather, model names such as 'Dneiper' and 'Ural' were associated with the products of individual factories, but not generally applied until exports began after WWII. Used by the Soviet military throughout WWII in both solo and sidecar forms, the M-72 was manufactured at the Iskra Zavad plant near Moscow from circa 1939, although in 1941 the factory was dismantled and moved east of the Ural mountains to avoid being overrun by the German advance. The M-72 remained in production until 1956.

When the neo-retro movement grew during the 2010s, many traditional manufacturers reborn some of their all-time classics and some old brands made reappearance, like Royal Enfield or Ural, to satisfy that demand.

This Ural comes from the stunning Gerhard Schnuerer Collection and just like any vehicle from that collection, the bike was taken care of as a museum piece, serviced, maintained and kept to the highest standard possible. The bike engine received a complete rebuilt over the past 3 years and a large history file with maintenance receipts will be handed to the buyer after the sale.