Motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide know Irbit for IMZ’s signature retro-style Ural sidecar bike. The company currently exports 99% of its production, mostly to the United States, where fifty dealerships cater to middle-aged bikers ‘seeking utility, not thrills or spills.’ ^[1] Established in Moscow during WWII to supply motorcycles for the Red Army, IMZ moved to Irbit in 1942 because it was less vulnerable to German bombing raids. The factory delivered almost 10,000 bikes to the front for reconnaissance detachments and mobile troops.^[2] After the war, it continued to produce sidecar bikes, catering to a domestic civilian market from the 1950s. By the 1990s, the company was manufacturing 130,000 motorcycles per year with about 10,000 employees. Today, only 150 people work at the plant, assembling five or six tailor-made bikes daily.^[3]

[1] Kramer, A. (2011) ‘Retro Russian Import Lures Older Riders,’ New York Times, 28 May.
Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/world/europe/29sidecar.html
Accessed: 8 April 2021.

[2] Ural Motorcycles Europe (2009) ‘History of Ural Motorcycles: The IMZ-Ural Story.’
Available at: http://web.archive.org/web/20010224082306/www.ural.com.au/history.html
Accessed: 8 April 2021.

[3] Ryabikova, V. (2021) ‘The story of the ‘Ural’, the USSR’s most popular motorbike everywhere… except Russia!’ Russia Beyond, 4 February.
Available at: https://www.rbth.com/business/333358-story-of-ural-ussrs-most-popular-motorbike
Accessed: 8 April 2021.