2WD

Ural Motorcycle — the Russian company built around a captured German machine from WWII — hits 2019 with some fairly major updates that bring the Gear Up into the 21st century. Most of the improvements are “under the hood” as it were, but the factory brushed up the looks and specific equipment for three submodels to make the “GU,” potentially, four rides out of one. Cross-country safety is increased with these models as they’ve been on the receiving end of a universal spare tire that will work in any of the three possible positions. This is the most thorough engine update in quite a while, so let’s check out what those clever Russians have in store for us.

Continue reading for my review of the Ural Gear Up.

You know that sad feeling you get when the first chill arrives in the air and it’s time to start thinking about putting your bike into storage for the winter months? What if you didn’t have to do that? The folks at Ural don’t want you to quit riding just because winter arrives. Back in the day, you needed a one-horse open sleigh to go dashing through the snow. Today, you need a Gear-Up — a street legal, four-season adventure bike from Ural. The off-road beast of its brother, the Patrol, the Gear-Up comes standard with on-demand two-wheel drive, a high-intensity spotlight, spare tire, luggage rack and sidecar bumper to carry you through the snow, over rough terrain or anywhere your adventures take you once the pavement ends.

Continue reading for my review of the Ural Gear-Up.

I can’t say enough good things about these Rokons, and quite frankly, neither can their owners. They have a frame that can withstand the punishment of wilderness riding and an enormous ground clearance. They’re lightweight, have hydraulic brakes; and they have an engine you can’t kill. They pull, they tow and they climb like a mountain goat. If you have business out in the woods, these babies are your huckleberry.

New in 2016, Rokon introduced the Ranger to add to the stable alongside the Scout and its siblings, the Trail-Breaker and the Rokon for Hunters.

Continue reading for my review of the Rokon Scout and Ranger.

Add the Street Legal package to Christini’s AWD 450 Military Edition bike and you have the AWD 450 Explorer. Based in Philadelphia, Christini has been pursuing AWD for two wheels since 1995. What started as AWD mountain bikes turned to AWD motorcycles in 2002.

It was in 2008 when a Christini-upgraded KTM bike took second place in the inaugural Extreme Enduro Race that AWD was established as competitively viable technology. Considering that folks have raced Christini AWD bikes in every EnduroCross event since 2006 speaks to their capability as competition rides. In fact, Christini bikes are race-tested and proved reliable in World Enduro, GNCC, Endurocross, Red Bull Last Man Standing, and Hare scrambles.

Continue reading for my review of the Christini AWD 450 Explorer.

I enjoy writing military hardware pieces, but usually the information is academic because the machines aren’t available to the public. Not so with the Christini AWD 450 Military Edition. Even thought it was designed for military use, Christini decided to make it available to the general public, thus moving it from the realm of wishful thinking into that of possibility. Possible daydreams are my favorite.

Christini partnered up with James King, founder of the Tactical Mobility Training program in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to produce a training regimen for U.S. troops who use the Christini AWD bike. The program was designed to train riders to operate deep within enemy territory, far away from roads or other infrastructure. This ride isn’t just for military applications either – police, park rangers and first responders will find it a useful addition to their motor pools and it can also serve as a viable option to traditional ATV/UTV-type vehicles used in hunting pursuits.

Continue reading for my review of the Christini AWD 450 Military Edition.

Back in the day, a horse and sleigh took you over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house. Today, it’s a two-wheel-drive, all-terrain Patrol from Ural. This street-legal adventure motorcycle is comfortable as a touring bike, but is as off-road capable as its brother, the Gear Up.

Who would have thought you could have so much fun with a sidecar? Of course, the folks at Ural do. Anyone who owns one of these awesome sidecar bikes knows what "UDF" is: Ural Delay Factor. It’s that extra 15 minutes you have to add to your trip’s time estimation anytime you leave the house on one of these because inevitably, people are going to want to talk to you about what you’re riding.

Continue reading for my review of the Ural Patrol.

There can be no doubt the Rokon Trail-Breaker is a rather specialized machine, and the Rokon for Hunters is even more so. The all-wheel-drive feature puts it into a rather exclusive category, lending it an all-terrain capability far beyond that of “regular” motorcycles.

Even though it obviously lacks the stability of a four-wheel ATV, it is capable of getting into places off limits to a wider chassis – even in terrain that would be prohibitive to foot traffic! It’s fair to say that you will not win any bike shows or races on the thing, unless you are competing against other Rokons. However if you are looking for a workhorse capable of striking out with you plus gear, then returning with you plus gear and large game (and I do mean large, you can tow up to a whole short ton with the thing), this may be the ride for you.

Continue reading for my review of the 2016 Rokon for Hunters.

Iron and Air magazine is giving away a used Ural Gear-Up as part of its promotional campaign this year. Yes, you read that right, it’s a used bike…sort of. The folks from Iron and Air plan on taking the customized Gear Up on a six-week tour of the American West, and putting 10,000 miles on it before the drawing on October 15, 2015. Therefore, I guess it isn’t really all that used; just broken in is all. Look at it this way; if anything is going to shake off, it will happen on their watch, and what a great provenance to tell your friends. The winner gets a three-year warranty on the bike, so there ya’ go.

The grand-prize winner will get the classic Ural Gear-up, complete with sidecar and all the bells and whistles as well as LED duel sidecar lights, diamond pin-tuck upholstery, jerry-can rack and more. It doesn’t stop there, either – the sidecar comes stuffed with camping goodies from Nemo, Good-to-Go, Goal Zero and Hennessy Hammock, plus a GoPro camera with which to document your off-road shenanigannery, and post it up on YouTube. (Remember: video, or it didn’t happen!)

The Gear-Up is a curious machine, in that it is one of the few sidecars in the world that comes with the option of engaging the sidecar wheel for true, dual rear-wheel drive, which works really well. If you watch some Ural videos, you rarely see the bike on pavement. Folks are usually off-road and maybe even out on some frozen tundra somewhere, tearing up the countryside with impunity. You don’t play in those conditions on just any machine.

Continue reading for the full story.

Back in 1958, Charles Fehn introduced the world to his two-wheel-drive motorcycle, aptly named the Trailmaker. Mr. Fehn designed it as a utility vehicle with serious, if slow, off-road capabilities, and his bikes became popular with hunters and farmers as something of a mule. Fast-forward to 2016, and you can see that the new Rokon Trail-Breaker is one acorn that didn’t fall far from the tree. Same basic front-wheel-drive system, function and overall look of the original, this ride provides true off-road capability and can perform a utility role in an agricultural or campground setting.

(Continue reading for my review of the 2016 Rokon Trail-Breaker.

The Military Edition of the Christini AWD Is based on the 450 E model and comes with a series of extra features that make it tougher and more reliable than its other siblings. Thanks to ita tough character the Military Edition is the perfect machinery for various types of military operations and Christini says that is used by the Navy Seals and Special Forces groups overseas.

The motorcycle is powered by a 450cc, liquid-cooled, single cylinder, four stroke engine which transfers its power to the ground by means of a 5 speed wide ratio transmission.

The Christini AWD Military Edition is built on a lightweight twin spar aluminum frame that offers a great torsional and longitudinal rigidity. The frame is combined with a Marzocchi 48mm sealed cartridge forks with Progressive Floating Piston (PFP) adjustment, spring preload/sag, high and low speed compression, rebound and damping adjustability. Pout back there is a fast ace adjustable single shock with linkage.

Hit the jump for more information on the 2014 Christini AWD Military Edition.

The Ural Gear Up was especially developed for those who love adventure riding. Though, the bike was not only made for snow, mud or sand, as is also able to deal great with the highway. This three wheeled motorcycle is propelled by a robust 749 cc, OHV Air-cooled, 4 stroke, opposed twin cylinder which offers a maximum output of 40 hp at 5600 rpm and 38 ft.lbs of torque at 4600 rpm.

The Ural Gear - Up shares many common elements with the Patrol model and both of them are based on the company’s legendary military motorcycles.

However, despite its clearly military upbringing, the Gear-Up is equally fit for more peaceful missions, such as fishing or hunting trips. If outdoor adventures are not your forte, you can still amaze your friends with the motorcycle’s ability to blaze over outdoor obstacles or urban challenges.

Hit the jump for more information on the 2012 Ural Gear – Up.

MCN road tester Trevor Franklin rode the Ohlins two-wheel-drive Yamaha R1 at the Karlskoga track in Sweden and came to the conclusion that: "The 2WD system works brilliantly. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be fitted to road-going motorcycles."

After the break, you can check out the technical details, see the 2WD system work with the bike on the stands and then on the track with MCN’s tester onboard.

2WD is yet to be used on a large scale in the motorcycle industry, but articles such as the one published in today’s MCN number might just make a difference.