Ural, a Siberian motorcycle manufacturer, has launched a limited edition bike with a side car and oar. Christened the Yamal, (Russian for ‘end of the earth’) it shares its name with a nuclear powered ice-breaking ship and has been designed to take on the extreme weather conditions that define Russia.
While the ship (now an artic explorer) is powered by a nuclear reactor, its much smaller land roaming friend is powered by four-stroke flat-twin 794cc engine which produces 40bhp and 52Nm of torque. It features Brembo brakes, spring shock absorbers and even has a spare tyre. The mill is mated to four speed gearbox.
The company has used 3M coating to weather proof the lower portion of the sidecar body and the fenders for additional protection. The motorcycle has been painted orange so that it can be spotted anywhere and the side-car is equipped with dual fog lights to ease night traveling.
Outside of Russia, the company plans to sell only 50 motorcycles in the USA for 14,250 Dollars (Rs 7.7 lakh before taxes). We expect that if Ural planned to bring the Yamal to India, it would work well during our monsoons (the purpose of the oar). However, with an Rs 7.7 lakh (before taxes) it will mostly become a novelty item.
