Is That a Camera in your Pocket?

People ask "Roxy, why do you always carry that digital camera everywhere you go?" Here is your answer;

You never know when you will be walking in Beautiful Downtown Wetumpka and happen upon a Russian-built motorcycle complete with side car and camo paint circa WWII. Does that seem unlikely? How about TWO Russian built motorcycles with side cars, one in a sporty red?

These are "Ural" motorcycles with a rich, colorful history. As the Russians prepared to defend themselves against Hitler and the invading Germans, they bought several BMW motorcycles in Sweden and took them to Russia. There they took them apart and "reverse engineered" by making dies from the engine parts and just copied the design and parts to replicate the BMW motorcycles.

The camo motorcycle in these pictures actually has "two-wheel drive". Both bikes are shaft drive and have a reverse. But the camo version has a shaft and gearing that allows the wheel outside the side car to pull also. That enables the bike to travel through snow and deep sand. These are used in remote parts of Russia and Ukraine as well as African nations where "road" is little more than a footpath.

Note that the camo bike has a map of the USA and the western and southern states colored as having been visited. The tag indicates that the owner is from Washington state. The red bike has an Alabama tag. I regret not taking the time to talk to the two riders about their adventures.

If you are interested, you can own one of these beauties for 12 to 14 thousand dollars. That may be a pretty good deal. You know what they say...."The Ultimate Driving Experience". Well, that is what they say about a BMW. Would that apply to a Russian copy of a BMW? How about "A Reasonable Facsimile of The Ultimate Driving Experience"?