Buying Guide – Ural 650
What was once a coldhearted workhorse is now a fun-loving machine
“ICALL HIM ANDROPOV,” says Russell, owner of this splendid green and white Ural 650 flat twin. A reference to Yuri Andropov, the 1980s leader of the Soviet Union, perhaps? “Because bits ‘dropov’ him all the time,” Russell added. Russell has had the Ural for three years and is the 18th owner. “I bought it from a bloke in Camborne in Cornwall. It was advertised as being a runner with an MoT, so I thought I’d ride it back home. When I got there the bloke said, ‘Where’s your van?’. He wasn’t expecting anyone to actually try and ride it.”
Russell togged up and hit the road. “I thought I’d just slipstream lorries at around 55mph, but on a couple of occasions I simply couldn’t keep up with them and the speed dropped to below 30. The bars were so badly positioned I had to stop three or four times on the way back to ease the cramp in my wrists. It was the longest ride of my life. I got it home, parked it and thought I’d bought a complete and utter lemon.”
The following day he got to work. The problem was that the settings on the replacement Mikuni carburettors were “all over the place”.
The first step was to remove the bodged-on pod airfilters and replace them with the pancake filter from a Triumph Spitfire. With the aid of a Gunson Colortune carb tune-up tool he was able to sync the carbs and fit the right jets. “Once done it started straight away and would happily do 70mph. I think the previous owner had tried but, in the end, just gave up because
he couldn’t get it right. There are thousands of permutations, but once you do get it right, it’s fine.”
He sprayed it Ford Highland Green and Ford Ivory White. “I used to really like the off-the-wall paint schemes the factory used to use, and this kept it kind of Russian.”
Although registered in 1994, it is believed to have been sitting languishing in an old Russian warehouse for several years before being imported by Neval, who re-chromed all the important parts and registered it. Eventually it made its way to Russell.
“Since I sorted the carbs out, it’s been bombproof. The engine is really solid, and the only issue is that if you leave it on the sidestand for a while, oil will leak into the left-hand cylinder. That’s nothing to worry about though, it just smokes for a bit.”
Russell uses 10W/50 fully synthetic oil in the engine and changes it regularly, buying oil filters at 10 for £10 from Ukraine and puts EP90 in the gearbox.
The “awful” rear shock absorbers were replaced with pattern examples designed for a Suzuki
GS750. Lucas indicators replaced the old ones when they fell off, and wider bars replaced the wristsnapping originals.
“And I should have bought shares in Nyloc and Loctite,” says Russell. Nuts and bolts have been an issue. “If you are used to a Japanese bike, you’ll always find the head and thread sizes match. These are all over the place. I have to take them to a fastener supplier and get them to measure it to get the right ones. Of course, that might not be the Russians – it could be the 17 previous owners.
“Touch wood, I haven’t had to do anything major to the engine, though. It’s a great lazy thing. I just replace things as and when needed.
“The brakes take a bit of fettling, but at the last
MoT the lad doing it said he’d never come across a drum as good as this. It must have been set up absolutely perfectly.”
To start it with the sideways kickstart, Russell has created his own ritual. “I put on the ignition, petrol and choke, turn it over five times to prime it, then give it a big swing and it will start. I don’t know if that’s the right way to do it, but it works for me, so
I’ll stick with it.”
The Ural is perfect for country roads. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to throw about. If you lean in with it, it tips in, but if you stay upright and lean it under you it’s fine and you can scrape your boots. It’s perfect for country laning. Just go everywhere in top, change up early and change down late. Don’t force the gearbox, just ease it in and its fine.”
The gear selector adjustment feature hasn’t been touched. “Third gear is something of a challenge, but you just let it slow down to 30mph to change down. It’s got glacial gear changing.”
Russell uses German Mefo Explorer tyres front and back. These are quite knobbly and the rear tyres wear quickly, but one design feature of the Ural helps reduce that. The front and back wheels are interchangeable. You just swap them round and the wear gets balanced.
Maintenance is done at home. “You do need to be able to wield a spanner and a screwdriver, and being able to fabricate a bracket or two will help. Some of the head sizes are weird, and you need special thin spanners for the yoke and the fork tops – you can get kits with those in. Electrically, it’s a bit old and dated, but I’ve never had any problems with that. Though sometimes I look at the wiring and think, ‘My God, what were they thinking?’, and think about getting a new loom made, but if it ain’t broke…
“I’m going to get a stainless exhaust system made for it, and some slightly quieter exhausts as they are a bit loud and anti-social. Even mates with bikes have said, ‘Russ, that’s a bit loud’.
“I’ve never had any issues with it, and I’d be confident to take it anywhere. I’ve been offered serious money for it. but always turned it down. It just puts a grin on my face.”
50 YEARS OF SOVIET STYLE
IT’S A CHARMING motorcycle, your Ural. Not overly large, and certainly not over-stressed, Urals are currently attracting prices that would have astonished owners in the 80s and 90s who could hardly give them away. This once derided flat twin has a following among young hipsters, old rallyists, classic fans and those who just want something quirky.
“The first step was to remove the bodged-on pod air-filters and replace them with the pancake filter from a Triumph Spitfire”
Things don’t get much more grassroots and real in motorcycling terms than owning a Ural. First imported by Wells Motorcycles as the Ural, a new 650 cost £299 in 1971 – around half the price of a 650 Bonneville.
Importing was then taken over by the import agency Satra (Soviet American Trade Association) and it was re-branded as a Cossack. The new agency got to work refining the Ural, mostly in the braking department, with new British drum brake shoes and cables. The Ural was part of a range which included Dnepr flat twins in solo and sidecar orientation and two-stroke twins and singles, which were all made in different factories in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus under Soviet central planning. Of all the Soviet motorcycles, the Ural was the most popular.
Importation was then taken over by Neval, and eventually returned to the original Ural name. The 750 is the only Russian make that you can buy new today in the UK, and there’s a six-month waiting list if you want one, from F2 Motorcycles. Solo mounts are no longer sold new in the UK, and the Ural is only available as a combination.
There is a strong second-hand market, with a steady trickle of bikes coming into the UK from Russia, the Baltic states and other countries including Moldova and Bulgaria. Registering an imported second-hand one can be a challenge, and while the Cossack Owners Club can help, buying one like this is a decision that should be cautiously made, given all the potential pitfalls.
On a trip to Belarus in the late-noughties, your scribe saw many Urals and Dneprs still carrying out sterling service, mostly with sidecars attached. You can see them being used as family transport with a headscarf-wearing Babushka in the chair, or being used to deliver milk churns, or re-purposed as tractors to bring in a potato crop. One of the Ural’s sisters, a two-wheel drive Ukrainian Dnepr, was spotted with the sidecar wheel removed, being used as a drainage pump. They used to be family transport next door in Russia too, but now the Russian riders buy them out of nostalgia. They have a cult following in the
US, despite a rocketing price that has seen the new cost shoot up threefold.
WHAT’LL IT DO, COMRADE?
THE URAL WILL manage 85mph, though that’s stretching the limits of the performance. Power varies from 28-40bhp at around 5,000rpm, depending on the model and carburation. 85mph is about the limit of the handling. Compression is 6.8:1 to 8.5:1. The earliest had tiny carbs and it was originally designed to run on Soviet-era 72 octane petrol. They are reasonably smooth for a twin, and they pull from way down in the rev range with lots of torque. The gearbox is a left-foot shift and uses a one down, three up change pattern. A brand new Ural 750 combination will cost from £15,750.
Interested in a Ural? You need to speak to David Angel at F2 Motorcycles. We asked him what to look for when buying a Ural 650.
The most important thing is to make sure you are buying a Ural and not a Dnepr by mistake. The Dnepr is completely different and the factory in Ukraine closed in 1998. You cannot get good parts for them any more.
The general look of the Ural engine is rounded and soft, with no sharp angles. The rocker cover is an almost oval shape with three raised lines halfway up. The space between these lines is painted on
70s models.
The timing cover, which can be found on the bike by looking back between the two frame down tubes at the front of the bike, is tall and rounded towards the top. It nearly always has the Ural logo cast into it.
The engine is smooth, and the Ural pulls well as a solo. Spares supply is generally ok, and the very last ones had an electric start.
Attach it to a sidecar and it has to work hard. Spares are not so easy to find for early models. The early 6-volt electrics are only just ok. When buying, look out for Nippon Denso alternator conversions or original L424 alternators. Avoid Chinese copies of the L424. Mikuni carb conversions are great. Try and buy from an owner who uses good oils, and a 12-volt late model is best if you want it for everyday use.
Things to watch out for include the late 90s Russian 300-watt alternator, which is known as the ‘hand grenade’, and for good reasons. It can simply stop turning and seize. It’s driven from the cam gear and if it does seize, the flywheel has too much mass to stop, and as a result a seizure will destroy the cam gear. If you are lucky, you’ll just smash eight or nine teeth off and find them in the bottom of the sump. A more likely result is that the bits of a shattered cast iron cam gear will punch holes in the alloy crankcases.
The K301 carburettor, fitted up to the late 1970s, is absolutely awful. It leaks, floods, spits, and sends fuel almost anywhere except into the engine. What does make it to the engine is rarely the correct mixture. Use a K63/K65 carb, or a round slide K68. The Jikov used from 1998 is excellent, but they need looking after as you can’t get spares any more.
Avoid badly maintained rough bikes, motors run on cheap oils and early models, unless it’s as a second bike or a hobby.
“Tyres wear quickly, but one design feature of the Ural helps reduce that. The front and back wheels are interchangeable. You just swap them round and the wear gets balanced”