IMZ-Ural
Encyclopedia
IMZ-Ural is a Russia
n maker of heavy sidecar motorcycles. Recently the company has developed a solo motorcycle with no sidecar.
In 1940, the Soviet Union
acquired the design and production techniques for BMW
R 71 motorcycles and sidecars. The first M-72
model was finished in 1941. Originally, factories were to be located in Moscow
, Leningrad
(now Saint Petersburg), and Kharkov, but due to the approach of Nazi German
troops, the Moscow facilities were moved to Irbit
, and the Leningrad and Kharkov facilities to Gorkiy (now called Nizhny Novgorod).
A similar model is the Soviet (now Ukrainian) Dnepr
motorcycle. Both Ural and Dnepr motorcycles are sometimes known by the generic
name, "Cossack motorcycles," which was used between 1973 and 1979 by SATRA
in the United Kingdom
.
Plans for the M-72 were later sold to the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, a Chinese industrial firm, to build the Chang Jiang.
The origins of the IMZ-Ural are linked to developments in the Eastern Front
during World War II
. The Soviet Union was preparing for possible military action by Nazi Germany. Joseph Stalin
ordered the Soviet military to prepare in all possible areas, including the ground forces that would be defending the Soviet Union against invading German panzer
tank
s, storm trooper
s, and special forces
. Mobility was especially stressed after the Soviet Union had witnessed the effect
of the blitzkrieg
on Poland
.
A meeting was held at the Soviet Defence Ministry
to come up with a model of motorcycle that would be most suitable for the Red Army
. The Red Army wanted to modernize its equipment after the suspension of the Winter War
with Finland. The motorcycles used up to that point had not worked satisfactorily; their technology was outdated and the manufacturing quality was not adequate to endure the often harsh Russian climate and terrain.
The motorcycle was "modeled after a late-1930s BMW sidecar bike called the R71, which Nazi Germany provided to the Soviet Union after the countries signed a nonaggression pact in 1939." After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, this part of the history fell out of favor.
According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through some Swedish intermediaries. Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineered the BMW design in every detail and making molds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production. (One of the original BMWs purchased through the Swedish intermediaries still survives and is on display in the IMZ-Ural factory museum.)
In 1941, BMW began series production of the R 75
and ended production of the R 71.
As production escalated, a factory was set up in Moscow producing hundreds of Russian M-72 sidecar motorcycles. The Nazi Blitzkrieg was so fast and effective that Soviet strategists worried that the Moscow factory was within easy range of German bombers. The decision was made to move the motorcycle plant further east, out of bombing range and into the middle of the resource rich Ural mountain region
. The site chosen was the town of Irbit
, located on the fringe of vast Siberia
in the Ural mountains. Irbit had once been an important Trade and Fair centre
in Russia before the Revolution of 1917
.
The only available substantial building was a brewery outside of town, beyond the railway line. It was soon converted into a research and development building to prepare for the construction of a massive new production complex to build the M-72 motorcycle. On October 25, 1942 the first batch of motorcycles went to the front. During World War II a total of 9,799 M-72 motorcycles were delivered for reconnaissance detachments and mobile troops.
After World War II the factory was further developed and expanded, and in 1950 the 30,000th motorcycle was produced.
Initially, the "URAL" was built for the military only. In the late 1950s, the KMZ
plant in Ukraine took over the task of supplying the military and the Irbit Motorcycle Works (IMZ) began to concentrate on making bikes for domestic consumers. In the late 1950s the full production of the plant was turned over to non-military production. In 1957 the M-72 production lines were sold to the People's Republic of China
.
The export history of URALs started in 1953, at first mainly to developing countries. Between 1973 and 1979, Ural was one of the makes marketed by SATRA
in the United Kingdom as Cossack motorcycles.
motorcycles designed for rough Russian roads, and the custom Wolf and Solo. There are many places in Russia where poor roads, or an altogether lack of roads, makes horses and URAL motorcycles necessary to transport gear. URAL motorcycles are equipped with four-stroke, air-cooled, flat-twin engines, a four speed gear box with reverse gear, shaft drive, two disc dry clutch, spring shock absorbers, and drum brakes. Some newer solo models have been developed for western markets, and the company has developed an engine that meets the standards required by the modern sporting and leisure rider. Though the outward appearance of the engine is the same as before, new quality control techniques employ better alloying and casting, better engineering tolerances, and better paint and chrome while retaining the advantage of continuity with the inherently balanced design of a horizontally opposed flat twin engine with roller bearings in a solid frame.
The motorcycles are mainly exported to Australia
, Britain
, France
, Netherlands
, Belgium
, Spain
, Greece
, Norway
, Finland
, Iceland
, Sweden
, Germany
, Egypt
, Iran
, South Africa
, Brazil
, Uruguay
, Paraguay
, and the United States
. The total number of sales since the factory was founded has been over 3.2 million. IMZ-Ural is the only Russian manufacturer of large capacity motorcycles and one of few manufacturers of sidecar
motorcycles in the world.
Like most motorcycle manufacturers, Ural now sources pre-made components in many cases — buying alternators from Nippon Denso
, brakes from Brembo
, handlebar controls from Domino, forks from Paoili, ignitions from Ducati Energia, etc. The company still makes the frame, the engine, the transmission, the body parts, and the wheels.
The 2003 USA model featured a newly designed crankshaft
and a disc brake in front. The crankshaft had a longer stroke which bumped the engine up from 650cc to 750cc, a 15% increase in size. This also addressed weaknesses in the older 5-piece, press-fit crankshaft. The old crank was fine for the low-compression models made in the 1990s, but it just did not hold up to the higher compression that it took to pass United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, and the higher speeds on U.S. highways. In 2004, the company fixed another weak point: the alternator
attachment. The alternator is gear-driven off the camshaft
. Adjusting the gear lash
is critical for this type of system. The new design can be retrofitted to old machines and has a new coupling mechanism that allows for better alignment of the alternator shaft to the camshaft. In 2007, Ural switched to a Ducati electronic ignition and utilized new engine and transmission gears (including synchronizers) designed by Herzog in Germany making for a quieter engine and smoother shifting transmission. For the 2010 year, the rear drive has been strengthened. The company is currently selling all it can make. Production in 2010 was 800 vehicles and the factory employed 155 people.
In November 1992, IMZ-Ural transformed into an open-end joint stock company "Uralmoto Joint Stock Company" a privatized entity owned 40% by management and employees through grant, 38% by auction with privatization vouchers (mostly management and employees also) and 22% retained by the government. In July 2000, the company was re-organised with the government's shares being redistributed to investors.
At the beginning of 1998 the business was bought by private Russian interests and it is no longer a State Company. The private owners have mandated new ideas, investments, management, production techniques, designs, technology and quality control of incoming, in-process and finished products.
In 2000, the company was sold to three entrepreneurs and broken into three components with the power production facilities, and foundry and forge being sold off. They took that opportunity to reorganize the remaining factory. It was originally spread over many, many acres because it had been such a major manufacturing plant, making thousands of motorcycles per month. Many employees were let go in the ensuing reorganization.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n maker of heavy sidecar motorcycles. Recently the company has developed a solo motorcycle with no sidecar.
In 1940, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
acquired the design and production techniques for BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
R 71 motorcycles and sidecars. The first M-72
M-72 motorcycle
The M-72 was a motorcycle built by the Soviet Union. Conceived as a replacement for the two heavy motorcycles used by the Red Army—the TIZ-AM-600 and PMZ-A-750—both of which had performed unsatisfactorily during the Winter War with Finland and were considered outdated designs...
model was finished in 1941. Originally, factories were to be located in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(now Saint Petersburg), and Kharkov, but due to the approach of Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
troops, the Moscow facilities were moved to Irbit
Irbit
Irbit is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located from Yekaterinburg by train or by car on the right bank of the Nitsa River. It is crossed by long distance railway Yekaterinburg–Tavda–Ustye-Akha and by road traffic routes, directed to Kamyshlov, Artyomovsk, Turinsk, and Tyumen. Total area...
, and the Leningrad and Kharkov facilities to Gorkiy (now called Nizhny Novgorod).
A similar model is the Soviet (now Ukrainian) Dnepr
Dnepr (motorcycle)
Dnepr is the brand name of heavy motorcycles produced in Kiev, Ukraine. It has been in use since 1967.Motorcycles have been produced in Kiev since 1946 at the Kiev Motorcycle Plant . Initial production was of a 98 cc two-stroke model that was confiscated from the German firm Wanderer as...
motorcycle. Both Ural and Dnepr motorcycles are sometimes known by the generic
Generic brand
Generic brands of consumer products are distinguished by the absence of a brand name. It is often inaccurate to describe these products as "lacking a brand name", as they usually are branded, albeit with either the brand of the store in which they are sold or a lesser-known brand name which may...
name, "Cossack motorcycles," which was used between 1973 and 1979 by SATRA
Satra
Satra Corporation was a New York-based international trading and metal processing company. It is primarily known in the United Kingdom for its Satra Motors Limited subsidiary, which was the official importer and distributor of Soviet Union cars and motorcycles in that country from 1973 to 1979...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Plans for the M-72 were later sold to the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, a Chinese industrial firm, to build the Chang Jiang.
History
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Soviet Union was preparing for possible military action by Nazi Germany. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
ordered the Soviet military to prepare in all possible areas, including the ground forces that would be defending the Soviet Union against invading German panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, storm trooper
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
s, and special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
. Mobility was especially stressed after the Soviet Union had witnessed the effect
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
of the blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
on Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
A meeting was held at the Soviet Defence Ministry
Minister of Defence of Soviet Union
-List of defence ministers:-See also:* Heads of military of Imperial Russia* Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation...
to come up with a model of motorcycle that would be most suitable for the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. The Red Army wanted to modernize its equipment after the suspension of the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
with Finland. The motorcycles used up to that point had not worked satisfactorily; their technology was outdated and the manufacturing quality was not adequate to endure the often harsh Russian climate and terrain.
The motorcycle was "modeled after a late-1930s BMW sidecar bike called the R71, which Nazi Germany provided to the Soviet Union after the countries signed a nonaggression pact in 1939." After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, this part of the history fell out of favor.
According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through some Swedish intermediaries. Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineered the BMW design in every detail and making molds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow. Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production. (One of the original BMWs purchased through the Swedish intermediaries still survives and is on display in the IMZ-Ural factory museum.)
In 1941, BMW began series production of the R 75
BMW R75
The BMW R75 is a World War II-era motorcycle and sidecar combination produced by the German company BMW.In the 1930s BMW were producing a number of popular and highly effective motorcycles...
and ended production of the R 71.
As production escalated, a factory was set up in Moscow producing hundreds of Russian M-72 sidecar motorcycles. The Nazi Blitzkrieg was so fast and effective that Soviet strategists worried that the Moscow factory was within easy range of German bombers. The decision was made to move the motorcycle plant further east, out of bombing range and into the middle of the resource rich Ural mountain region
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. The site chosen was the town of Irbit
Irbit
Irbit is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located from Yekaterinburg by train or by car on the right bank of the Nitsa River. It is crossed by long distance railway Yekaterinburg–Tavda–Ustye-Akha and by road traffic routes, directed to Kamyshlov, Artyomovsk, Turinsk, and Tyumen. Total area...
, located on the fringe of vast Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
in the Ural mountains. Irbit had once been an important Trade and Fair centre
Irbit fair
The Irbit fair was the second largest fair in Imperial Russia after the Makariev Fair. It was held annually in winter, trading with tea and fur brought along the Siberian trakt from Asia....
in Russia before the Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
.
The only available substantial building was a brewery outside of town, beyond the railway line. It was soon converted into a research and development building to prepare for the construction of a massive new production complex to build the M-72 motorcycle. On October 25, 1942 the first batch of motorcycles went to the front. During World War II a total of 9,799 M-72 motorcycles were delivered for reconnaissance detachments and mobile troops.
After World War II the factory was further developed and expanded, and in 1950 the 30,000th motorcycle was produced.
Initially, the "URAL" was built for the military only. In the late 1950s, the KMZ
Dnepr (motorcycle)
Dnepr is the brand name of heavy motorcycles produced in Kiev, Ukraine. It has been in use since 1967.Motorcycles have been produced in Kiev since 1946 at the Kiev Motorcycle Plant . Initial production was of a 98 cc two-stroke model that was confiscated from the German firm Wanderer as...
plant in Ukraine took over the task of supplying the military and the Irbit Motorcycle Works (IMZ) began to concentrate on making bikes for domestic consumers. In the late 1950s the full production of the plant was turned over to non-military production. In 1957 the M-72 production lines were sold to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
The export history of URALs started in 1953, at first mainly to developing countries. Between 1973 and 1979, Ural was one of the makes marketed by SATRA
Satra
Satra Corporation was a New York-based international trading and metal processing company. It is primarily known in the United Kingdom for its Satra Motors Limited subsidiary, which was the official importer and distributor of Soviet Union cars and motorcycles in that country from 1973 to 1979...
in the United Kingdom as Cossack motorcycles.
Modern-day products
The main products today are the heavy duty URAL sidecarSidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
motorcycles designed for rough Russian roads, and the custom Wolf and Solo. There are many places in Russia where poor roads, or an altogether lack of roads, makes horses and URAL motorcycles necessary to transport gear. URAL motorcycles are equipped with four-stroke, air-cooled, flat-twin engines, a four speed gear box with reverse gear, shaft drive, two disc dry clutch, spring shock absorbers, and drum brakes. Some newer solo models have been developed for western markets, and the company has developed an engine that meets the standards required by the modern sporting and leisure rider. Though the outward appearance of the engine is the same as before, new quality control techniques employ better alloying and casting, better engineering tolerances, and better paint and chrome while retaining the advantage of continuity with the inherently balanced design of a horizontally opposed flat twin engine with roller bearings in a solid frame.
The motorcycles are mainly exported to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The total number of sales since the factory was founded has been over 3.2 million. IMZ-Ural is the only Russian manufacturer of large capacity motorcycles and one of few manufacturers of sidecar
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
motorcycles in the world.
Like most motorcycle manufacturers, Ural now sources pre-made components in many cases — buying alternators from Nippon Denso
DENSO
is a global automotive components manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Established December 16, 1949 as , in 1996 the company became DENSO Corporation worldwide...
, brakes from Brembo
Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is a manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. It was established in Bergamo, Italy in 1961. Soon after the company was formed, it specialised in disc brakes, which were exclusively imported from the United Kingdom at the time...
, handlebar controls from Domino, forks from Paoili, ignitions from Ducati Energia, etc. The company still makes the frame, the engine, the transmission, the body parts, and the wheels.
The 2003 USA model featured a newly designed crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
and a disc brake in front. The crankshaft had a longer stroke which bumped the engine up from 650cc to 750cc, a 15% increase in size. This also addressed weaknesses in the older 5-piece, press-fit crankshaft. The old crank was fine for the low-compression models made in the 1990s, but it just did not hold up to the higher compression that it took to pass United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, and the higher speeds on U.S. highways. In 2004, the company fixed another weak point: the alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
attachment. The alternator is gear-driven off the camshaft
Camshaft
A camshaft is a shaft to which a cam is fastened or of which a cam forms an integral part.-History:An early cam was built into Hellenistic water-driven automata from the 3rd century BC. The camshaft was later described in Iraq by Al-Jazari in 1206. He employed it as part of his automata,...
. Adjusting the gear lash
Backlash (engineering)
In mechanical engineering, backlash, sometimes called lash or play, is clearance between mating components, sometimes described as the amount of lost motion due to clearance or slackness when movement is reversed and contact is re-established...
is critical for this type of system. The new design can be retrofitted to old machines and has a new coupling mechanism that allows for better alignment of the alternator shaft to the camshaft. In 2007, Ural switched to a Ducati electronic ignition and utilized new engine and transmission gears (including synchronizers) designed by Herzog in Germany making for a quieter engine and smoother shifting transmission. For the 2010 year, the rear drive has been strengthened. The company is currently selling all it can make. Production in 2010 was 800 vehicles and the factory employed 155 people.
Corporate information
IMZ-Ural is a conglomerate of companies producing and selling classic motorcycles in both solo and sidecar combinations.In November 1992, IMZ-Ural transformed into an open-end joint stock company "Uralmoto Joint Stock Company" a privatized entity owned 40% by management and employees through grant, 38% by auction with privatization vouchers (mostly management and employees also) and 22% retained by the government. In July 2000, the company was re-organised with the government's shares being redistributed to investors.
At the beginning of 1998 the business was bought by private Russian interests and it is no longer a State Company. The private owners have mandated new ideas, investments, management, production techniques, designs, technology and quality control of incoming, in-process and finished products.
In 2000, the company was sold to three entrepreneurs and broken into three components with the power production facilities, and foundry and forge being sold off. They took that opportunity to reorganize the remaining factory. It was originally spread over many, many acres because it had been such a major manufacturing plant, making thousands of motorcycles per month. Many employees were let go in the ensuing reorganization.