Ural 750 Octobre rouge II - KRASNYJ OKTJABR II 2021 — Specifications

When a legendary actor takes his final bow in October and a Russian manufacturer releases a limited edition dubbed "Octobre rouge II" a few weeks later, coincidence takes on the air of a Hollywood screenplay. Sean Connery, who passed away at the end of October 2020, was not only the man of impeccable tuxedos and the Walther PPK. He embodied Marko Ramius, commander of the Soviet nuclear submarine in "À la poursuite d'Octobre rouge." Ural seized the coincidence and made it a mechanical tribute. It's the kind of storytelling you can't invent.

The visual recipe reprises that of the first edition, launched in 2010: a blood-red paint job, interrupted by black accents on the engine, silencers, handlebars, wheels, shock absorbers and headlight mounts. The contrast is brutal, almost propagandistic. The definitive signature is displayed on the sidecar, where the brand and model name are displayed in Cyrillic. No subtlety, no embellishments, just a declaration of belonging to a certain idea of the East.

But this second version does more than just repaint the old one. It includes heated grips with five levels, LED headlights, a heated passenger seat located in the sidecar, and a KEIS J501 heated jacket delivered with the set. Power for all this paraphernalia comes through two USB ports and a 12V socket grouped in a housing that also serves as a fuse box. The integration is rudimentary, the aesthetic result is debatable, but access for maintenance or repair is immediate. It's exactly what you expect from an Ural: functionality takes precedence over sophistication, sometimes at the expense of appearance.

Under the red paint, you're still getting the 745 cm3 flat-twin engine, square with a bore and stroke of 78 x 78 mm, which delivers 41 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 51 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. With 363 kilos on the scale, you shouldn't expect a dynamic miracle: the 100 km/h displayed as the maximum speed is a ceiling, not a promise. The four-speed gearbox, five-position adjustable hydraulic shock absorbers, swingarm fork, Brembo brakes, all compose an honest ensemble for a machine whose vocation has never been pure performance. The Ural is designed to go everywhere, slowly if necessary, but everywhere. Reliability, on the other hand, remains a lively topic of conversation in initiated circles.

Twenty units, that's the complete series. The displayed price, 19,800 euros, places this edition 4,000 euros above the base CT. And there, the spell breaks a little. The first version of Octobre rouge cost significantly less ten years ago. Inflation has done its work, and the premium on limited series has done its job. The buyer is not looking here for a versatile motorcycle at the best value for money, he is buying a collector's item, a cultural manifesto mounted on three wheels. The survival kit attached to the back of the sidecar, adorned with the sickle and hammer, with its chewing gum, its can of sardines and its bottle of vodka, says it all about Ural's state of mind. This manufacturer sells humor, history and singularity. For 19,800 euros, that's an expensive smile. But some will still buy it, and we understand them.