The 2021 Ural Gear Up GEO Is the Best Kind of Crazy

[Hugh Janus]

The 2021 Ural Gear Up GEO LE. (Ural/)

If you’re selling sidecar motorcycles in 2021, you have to be just a bit crazy—in a good way. So you’ve gotta hand it to Ural for acknowledging its mania in the best possible way: by building a limited-edition Gear Up model with serious suspension and a hand-done camo paint job that looks like something Tom Ford would design for Dolph Lundgren to wear to a Moscow discotheque. What’s crazier than building a type of vehicle that became old-fashioned, like, 100 years ago? Building one that costs almost as much as a new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, that’s what.

Limited to just 20 units and costing $26,999, The Ural Gear Up GEO LE is the latest model in the limited-edition series the Russian company releases each year.

Ural has really played up the wildness of the 2021 Ural Gear Up GEO LE. (Ural/)

Ural started with its 2WD Gear Up ($17,549) and thought, “What would make this thing even better off-road,” and then hit the parts bin. Remember, the Gear Up already has Brembo brake calipers, fuel injection, a reverse gear (which, if we’re honest with ourselves, many of us off-road pretenders would find very convenient on our big two-wheeled ADV bikes…), 6.8 inches of ground clearance, and 2.9 cubic feet of trunk space. With a generous permissible load of 1,325 pounds one can haul a lot of camping gear/people/vodka/dogs with this thing.

Those Nitron shocks look the business and are fully adjustable. (Ural /)

For the GEO, Ural added some key upgrades and convenience features. To increase off-road performance, it added trick adjustable Nitron shocks, Heidenau K 37 tires, and a GPR exhaust (approved for off-road use only). Delving into its own accessory catalog, it added a new spare wheel cargo rack, a sidecar nose rack, various crash bars, a headlight grille, and light guards. A 1.5-gallon Rotopax auxiliary fuel cell, a handlebar-mounted GPS top clamp, a skid plate, and dual USB chargers give some peace of mind when the pavement ends. Ergonomic additions include hand guards, an Enduro seat, and a tall windscreen.

The GPR exhaust is another legit add-on. (Ural/)

Yes, $27,000 may seem excessive for a vehicle that produces 41 hp (claimed), but it accentuates the whole contradiction of Ural-hood. On one hand, a sidecar motorcycle is an anachronism that some people will only view as a toy. On the other hand, it epitomizes utility. Sure, it’s hard to beat a car in terms of practicality, but unlike a two-wheeler, it has room for the whole family and a week’s worth of groceries and the ability to go off road to reach your off-the-grid cabin. For many, few vehicles are as disarming as a motorcycle sidecar rig. The Ural’s utilitarianism makes it more than just a charming oddity.

However, taking an economical, utilitarian vehicle and making it exclusive and expensive is a bit gratuitous—like using a carbon fiber and titanium walking stick on a hike instead of picking up a stick off the ground—but to each his own. Sure, it’s a little crazy, but it’s our kind of crazy.

Why 20? The Ural press release says, “Svetlana from the paint department said… ‘No more!’” I’m not sure if that’s a joke or not. | (Ural/)

Happily, we live in a world where there are people crazy enough to build exorbitantly priced sidecar motorcycles—and people who want to buy them. Well, about 20 people, anyway.

The Ural Gear Up GEO is available from dealers now.

Source

[Tym]

I;ll just buy one locally in Russia and ride it home, save 20 grand. 

[Grasshopper]

I want one......so cool.