Mine is a 2005 which is light years ahead of the ones just a couple years older. It is also way behind the newest ones with EFI and Herzog gears in the tranny. The rule of thumb when I got mine was if it is still running without major failure past 10,000 miles, miles not klicks, you got a good one
If you want to see something funny look at some of the older videos that show the production. The facility looks like a very old long abandoned industrial park. One segment showed the making of the fenders, beating them with hammers for "fine fitment" and throwing them on a pile. For contrast then look at the BMW facility from the same time period. Clean, organized precise operation.
Still the Ural has its charm. A good point is that almost anyone can work on them.
A bad point is you have to
They are like most brutes tuff. I was rear ended by a Toyota Tacoma while waiting for a car ahead to make a left hand turn. He pulled hard to his right at the last second striking my sidecar with his driver side fender. After the drama subsided a bit and I quit asking him if he was a FN idiot. He asked what the hell is that thing. Took a bit of work to pull his fender back so he could turn is wheels. I rode the Ural home and beat the side car back into reasonable shape with a 4 pound maul and a piece of 2"x4".
