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Driving report Ural Voyager
Borderline case
Not only the desert, the taiga is shaking too: While German customers are still waiting for the Bavarian chopper, the Russian company Ural already has its counterpart called Voyager in its sales range.
Something of a scandal too: The R 1200 C rushes exclusively as the first series chopper with a boxer engine through the entire forest of motorcycle leaves, while a bike of the same type from the Russian Irbit has long made the taiga tremble. Motorcycles have been built there since 1942. Five BMW R 71 teams came to Moscow via Scandinavian front men, and they were hastily copied there. Manufacturing was strategically relocated to the Urals, out of reach of the German bombers, from where the vehicles and the company took their names. When it was converted into Uralmoto Aktiengesellschaft in 1992, it was of course necessary to open up new models for export.
When it comes to chrome, Urals debut named Voyager can keep up with its Far East and US colleagues: Wide, sweeping crash bars with additional headlights shine with the cookie jar-style air filter box. The stylistic conglomeration from the soft chopper era alternates with rustic details that are astonishing in this country: At the front there are two brake discs in a spoked wheel, at the back the Voyager rolls on a cast wheel. Intention? The exhaust manifolds lead into a huge, oval collector, for the space requirement of which the rear wheel swing arm with torque compensation – BMW’s Paralever sends its regards – had to be changed into a banana shape. In contrast to Japan choppers, the tall Voyager wants to be climbed. It starts, of course, in the western style at the push of a button, after the punched metal key in the lamp pot has been turned and both carburettors have been properly flooded with a swab. Thanks to the German 25 Ah battery, the starter, which is flanged in the center of the housing, does its job and shakes the rough 720 cm3 boxer journeyman awake.
B.When moving off, the second gear ugly amplifies the mechanical background noise of the air-cooled boxer, while the rev counter does not know whether it should not deflect at all or fully. The comfortable leather seat of the bike offers a positive surprise, which at least occasionally lets you forget the deficiencies of the suspension and damping. The Voyager drives relaxed and lazy as long as it goes straight ahead. It gets adventurous when tight corners have to be taken. Then the idiosyncratic steering geometry, the stubborn front fork and the apehanger play their game with the pilot.
Those who are used to tapping levers have to do at the stop sign: the perforated double disc brake on the front wheel requires courageous access. And even a kick on the foot brake lever in the best John Wayne style only ensures moderate deceleration. There is still a lot to do here for the Ural technicians. A borderline case does not make an export hit. And Voyager is supposed to be one, right??
Technical data – Ural Voyager
Engine Air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine, an underneath, gear-driven camshaft, two valves per cylinder operated via bumpers and rocker arms, wet sump lubrication, flat slide carburetor, 0 26 mm, electric and kick starter, 12 V / 25 Ah battery. Bore x stroke 80 x 68 mm, displacement 720 cm3, compression 8.5: 1, rated power 41 HP (30 kW) at 5500 rpm power transmission, primary drive via gears, two-disc dry clutch, four-speed gearbox, cardan drive with torque compensation, two spring struts, with adjustable spring base, double disc brakes at the front, 0 250 mm, simplex drum brakes at the rear, 0 200 mm, spoked wheel at the front, cast wheel at the rear, spring travel front 135 mm at the rear 100 mm tire size front 3.50-18 rear 4.60-16 dimensions and Weights Steering head angle 56 degrees Wheelbase 1600 mm Seat height 820 mm Weight fully fueled 225 kg Handlebar width 760 cm Tank capacity 15 liters Price on request General importer: Ural Vertrieb GmbH, Kolberger Str. 1, Paderborn, Tel. 05251/76 02 90
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