Complete the Rally on a beautiful, comfortable, old style, bucket seat, 650cc Ural, which in their heyday, were used by the military in Vietnam.

These motorbike are custom built and have a great Red Army feel to them. They are simple and robust with a long history in Vietnam, and are the perfect bikes to explore the remote villages, mountains and valleys found on the remnants of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Ural side cars were developed in the run up to the German invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII, and in October, 1942, the first of its predecessors, the M-72, were sent into battle. Over the course of World War II, almost 10,000 M-72 motorcycles were delivered to the Eastern Front for reconnaissance detachments and mobile troops.

The original Urals were based on an early model BMW side car, which the Russians managed to buy five of through an intermediary in Sweden before the onset of hostilities. They were then completely reverse engineered and adapted to harsher conditions. Fearing that the factory would come under air attack, the entire complex in Moscow was moved to the town of Irbit, set behind the protective shield of the Ural mountains.

The Urals used in the Rally are the M67 models and date from the mid 1970s.

The Rally organisers have arranged so that 25 such motorcycles are available for the Rally, with their sidecars removed. They have been thoroughly modified and improved with modern electrics, front disk brakes and strong suspension, which insures a safe and comfortable ride.