Ural's 2012 Gear-Up - minus the mil-spec machine gun mount.

When motorcycle sales are dropping, you wouldn’t expect retro sidecar rigs to see sales growth, but that’s exactly what happened to Ural in 2011.

The motorcycle industry is all doom and gloom talk these days, with many dealers unable to clear out showrooms. But in this climate, Ural managed to see 39 per cent growth last year.

If you think that’s astounding, consider this: Ural actually managed this feat in 2010 as well. And, when the company brought the M70 anniversary model late last year, they sold them all out in two weeks. Two weeks!

Of course, Ural’s numbers may be growing, but they’re never likely to challenge Japan’s Big Four for overall market share. Still, it’s nice to see that somebody’s doing well and selling bikes, even if the industry is in a bit of a slump, as a whole.

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