When you tell someone you’re getting a Ural sidecar motorcycle, you get one of 3 replies:

• “You’ll never have more fun in public!”
• “Are you nuts? ‘Ural motorcycle’ is just another way to say ‘Russian paperweight.’”
• “How can a urinal be a motorcycle?”

A Ural sidecar motorcycle is a Russian — yes, Russian — rig made in Siberia. Based off a 1930s BMW sidecar bike, the Ural in one form or another has been in production since World War II.

Since the 1990s, Ural has been improving its production and making the bike available all over the world. I’m getting one here in Eugene, Oregon, for a few simple reasons:

• I am nuts. A Ural will take a little more wrench work than, say, a Honda, and I’m not the world’s most mechanically inclined person. But I’m confident I’ll learn — and one of the other allures of the Ural, is that it is still a simple enough (ie, not purely computer-driven) machine for the average (or even slightly below-average) backyard mechanic to keep in good working order.
• Urals are tough — anything that can get around Siberia in winter has to be tough, and a 3-wheel Ural rig can get around Siberia in winter. My 2007 Ural Patrol will be able to handle anything I throw it into here in ol’ western Oregon.
• Quality has come a long way. If you do a little googling on Urals, you’ll find a lot of concerns about reliability. Most of those are from earlier years. Ural is, and probably never will be, as reliable and solid as, say, a Honda. However, from the model years 2004 on up, Ural has been turning out some solid, dang near “gas-n-go” rides.
• A 3-wheel sidecar motorcycle is more stable than a 2-wheel rig. The handling takes some getting used to, but the basic is true — 3 wheels are more stable than 2.
• Engageable 2-wheel drive. That’s right. Ural’s Patrol and Gear-up models have the motorcycle equivalent of 4-wheel drive: in a pinch, say bad snow or thick mud (yes, you can ride Urals in either), you can throw a switch to put power to the sidecar wheel. Oh, speaking of unique driving…
• It goes in reverse. And not the duck-walk shuffle, either. The Ural has a bonafide reverse gear.
• They’re unique. Ural exclusively makes and designs sidecar motorcycles. The sidecar (or hack or tub) isn’t an add-on. The bike doesn’t have to be tweaked and adjusted so the hack will go on there. This bike is designed and manufactured as a sidecar rig.

And besides, at this time, they’re still kind of unknown in the U.S., and I like the novelty. I just love this bloody bike, and am excited to be getting one of my own.

As I write this, delivery of my Ural Patrol is still a few weeks out. I’ve been researching Ural, the Patrol, and sidecar motorcycles for a year. All that work has paid off. Getting this bike is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I can hardly wait for the first time I take my sidecar rig for a spin.

I might be nuts, but this is going to be the most I’ll ever have in public — and it’s some of the most fun you’ll have too.

Ride Three.com is a new website providing tips and resources for the Ural motorcycle fan. It will also chronicle the trials and trips of a new Ural owner as he waits (impatiently) for his new 2007 Ural Patrol, what happens when it gets here, and how he adapts to what is not only his first Ural, but his first motorcycle.

Ride Three.com will also discuss dealers, maintenance and gear, as well as provide links and lists for all things Ural and sidecar motorcycling.

Follow along with the free feed, give feedback below and check back for more on the most fun you can have on 3 wheels!