With a Hammer and a Wrench: About Sense and Nonsense of Riding a Soviet Motorcycle

When the first edition of this book appeared in Germany in 2003, Soviet and Russian motorcycles were considered the epitome of ＂junk on wheels＂. They were just suitable for rough riding fun on one’s own property, or only conditionally suitable for everyday use by hopeless optimists. Back then, anyone who dared to take on the adventure of riding a Dnepr or Ural had to be very brave and constantly defend themselves against the taunts of people who knew better. Today-some twenty years later-things don’t look much better, but the former cheap imports from the other side of the Iron Curtain have matured into genuine vintage vehicles with a steadily growing fan base. At the same time, the legacy of post-Stalinist mass production has given rise to a small motorcycle manufacture that builds primeval Russian stones to current standards. Riding a Russian motorcycle-whether old or new-is an exceptional way of life. It educates one to slowness, pragmatism, and the ability to suffer. This book helps with that. It is intended to open up the world of these survivors of times long past, primarily to those who are thinking of buying a classic 650cc Ural or Dnepr. Or to give the new ＂Russian driver＂ a profound insight into the history of these controversial vehicles. And in particular it should clear up the half-truths and rumors that persist today at the regulars’ table or even in the trade press. After more than 100,000 km with his Ural ＂without any special incidents＂ (measured by the world view of an Ural driver), the author set to work to combine experiences and interesting facts about history and technology-from the great-grandmother and BMW copy ＂M72＂ to the current generation-into a guidebook that quickly established itself as a standard work and is now finally available in English.