1995:
Russian Ural Sidecar Motorcycle: This Russian clone of a 1938
BMW is imported by Ural America in Washington State from the Ural
Mountains in Irbit, Sibera, where they still make them like they
used to... mostly. Thankfully, Ural
America convinced them to make some modifications to the 1938
design (they reverse-engineered the bike, and the factory, based
on a couple of stolen BMW's around 1940) and it's now a wonderful "old" new
bike, and much more reliable than the original. Though my prototype
-- the first to be ridden at high speeds on American byways -- misbehaved
quite a bit. (I'm not complaining though, the troubles creating lots
of great stories for American
Borders.) Ural redesigned the way the gas tank fit onto the frame
and made modifications to the generator, and asked the Russian's
to correct some other small design flaws based on my experiences
riding at high speeds (55 mph is about right) on smooth American
backroads in hot weather. Remember, in Russia these bikes are ridden
at low speeds on bad roads in cold weather. Vibration and temperature
make a difference in design requirements, and Ural America has since
worked out the kinks. Now you can buy one for six or seven thousand
dollars... a very cool addition to your collection. Even a great
first bike. It makes fabulous transport for grocery shopping, camping
trips, off-road riding, and general transport for family and pets.
It's also a non-denominational motorcycle... that is, people on BMW's
and Harley's will wave, and even talk to you, when you're
riding one of these things. Imagine if the entire world of motorcycling
was like that! (Let's try, okay?) By the way, if you want more on
Russian motorcycles, go to the NARMA
(North American Russian Motorcycle Association) site.
1998:
Chinese Chang Jiang Motorcycle: This bike is the Chinese cousin
of the Ural. The Chinese actually bought the tooling from the Germans
when they dismanteled the factory, and set up their own on the banks
of the Chang Jiang (Yangzee) River. This bike was lent to me by Rick
Dunagan, an American executive living in Beijing. The blue license
plates on the bike allowed me to cross provinces, a luxury that those
with plain black license plates don't have. (Chinese citizens.) All
my Ural tools worked on this bike and I had some problems with it,
which I expected and which gave me the opportunity to stay with families
in remote villages, which provided interesting material for China
Road. All you people who have been asking me about riding in
China: IT'S ILLEGAL. I got away with it for a couple of months because
they had just loosened up the rules for tourists (they started letting
us stay in "Chinese" hotels instead of "tourist" hotels)
and most of the officials in the remote areas I rode through were
confused about the rules because of this. You can go to Beijing
and buy a Chang Jiang for about $1500 but the blue license plates
will cost you another $1500, or more, on the black market. No, there's
no way to do it legally. And you can't take your own bike in, either,
without paying megabucks. So if you get a bike with blue plates,
then you will risk being deported because if you're not a citizen
you are not allowed to drive your own vehicle outside of Beijing
Province. And you won't ride by unnoticed, most Chinese don't wear
leather jackets, a helmet that actually protects your head, nor are
the special blue licence plates common. It costs time and megabucks
to hire an official "guide." Good luck, if you can be successful
at flying
under the radar, like I did, and please, let me know how it went. NARMA also
has info on Chang Jiang's, and you might even find one for sale.
2000:
Royal Enfield Bullet: The Brits gave over the tooling for the
Bullet to East India when they were done with this bike, and the
Indians chunked thousands of them out for use in the war against
Pakistan (yes, they've been doing that for a while, now). This is
a great classic motorcycle with one cylinder that makes a wonderful,
low thump thump thump. I had NO problems with this motorcycle except
that I hit a dog on the road at 40 mph. Now, there are a bunch of
tourists who buy motorcycles in India and ride around in shorts with
no helmet and a bunch of them go home in wooden boxes. My head (encased
in a helmet) hit the ground four times before I lost consciousness.
So please, wear protective gear in India. The buses, bicycles, elephants
carrying palm trees, pedestrians, sacred cows, water buffalo, bicycle
rickshaws, broken-down trucks, poorly banked roads, potholes, missing
roads, sticky melty gooey roads, and a slew of other obstacles mean
that you WILL have an accident, small or large, sooner or later.
But do buy a Bullet, about $1600, new, from a dealership in Delhi
or Madras or in Kerala somewhere, and let them handle the registration.
There's more on Enfields at the US
importer's site.
2001:
Moto Guzzi: Strangely enough, there seems to be an affinity amongst
Ural, Chang Jiang, Enfield Bullet and Moto Guzzi enthusiasts. NARMA keeps
the community together, and I'd like to thank NARMA's well-connected
Sheldon Abut for putting me in touch with Guzzi enthusiasts in Italy
who, in turn, got me in contact with the dealerships and factory
in lovely Mandello del Lario. I rode a fabulous Moto
Guzzi California EV, a really outstanding touring motorcycle,
all over Italy, only with reluctance returning it to the factory,
but not before a farewell ride around beautiful Lake Como.