Ural 750 Adventure Prikljucenie 2019 — Specifications

When half of the world’s manufacturers slap the word "Adventure" on their brochures like a visa stamp, Ural responds with a two-wheeled sidecar, 363 kilograms on the scales and a top speed capped at 100 km/h. The message is clear: here, adventure is not a marketing argument, it’s a physical constraint.

This three-wheeled machine has never claimed to compete with Africa Twin or other GS models on the performance front. Its flat-twin 745 cc engine develops 41 horsepower and 51 Nm of torque at 4000 rpm, figures that would make a modern 400cc scooter blush. But that’s not the point. The Prikljucenie, whose name simply means "adventure" in Russian, derives its legitimacy from something else: mechanical longevity that defies decades and a robustness more akin to military equipment than a recreational two-wheeler.

The paint scheme of this limited edition leaves no doubt about its origins. White, blue, red, in that precise order, that of the Russian flag and not the French tricolor. The frame tubes, the swingarm, the sidecar chassis, everything is painted. A compass glued to the tank and the nose of the sidecar completes the geographical scene. The assumed kitsch of the blue seats completes this picture that we can perfectly imagine on a Siberian track under the stars. Based on the Ranger, this Adventure inherits the two-wheel drive transmission, a spare wheel housed in a dedicated luggage rack and a weight that flirts with that of a large touring bike.

The additional equipment justifies the "sport" qualifier that the manufacturer attributes to it with a certain irony. Sport à la soviétique, so: priority to survival rather than the stopwatch. Italian GPR 2-in-1 exhaust line with raised silencer, five HCS remote reservoir shock absorbers adjustable in compression and rebound, LED headlight, Heidenau K37 tires cut for mixed terrain. All complemented by a Lone Rider tent and, detail that summarizes the mindset better than any brochure, a few logs ready for an improvised campfire.

Twenty units produced, 19,440 euros apiece, the price of a well-equipped maxi-trail for a machine that will never exceed 100 km/h. This paradox is precisely what makes these special series Ural so charming. This sidecar does not target the motorcyclist in search of adrenaline sensations or the busy city dweller. It is aimed at those who travel on three wheels as they used to go on expeditions before GPS, with a passenger, provisions and the quiet certainty that they will return, even if it is by repairing by hand at the side of a track. The Ural adventure actually begins with the first turn of the key. It has never needed a label to prove it.