Forty-three thousand kilometres , four old wheezing Ural ’ s . Drum braked , rusting and tired , a ride from Germany to New York across Russia , Siberia , Mongolia , and Alaska , five artists on an epic adventure . 972 Breakdowns .
The trip by five artists on four Urals is a high-quality production . This is the most interesting adventure travel movie created in recent times . The challenges of shooting whilst on the road hasn ’ t diminished from a movie with impressive visuals including clever graphic animations that are linked to the soundtrack . It all combines for artistic fabric of visuals , music , and adventure .
The ride includes crossing Mongolia with gravel roads and camping in the cold and rain as well as meeting many interesting people . There were many challenges including riding the infamous Road of Bones . The name in reference to the hardship and suffering during the construction of the roads . The route includes crossing the tundra of the Siberian region of Russia to the sub arctic frontier city of Magadan in north-east Russia . The ride passes Lake Baikal where hardy souls ride their Urals across the ice .
Many of us know the feeling of getting scruffier and scruffier on a long hard ride out in the elements . This ride takes it to another level .
“ There are another 140 rivers coming up ”, a passing comment in the story that indicates the struggles faced , the viewer becomes a part of these intrepid travels wanting to know whether the river crossings are conquered .
972 Breakdowns ? Indeed , all put down to the difficult terrain , and all dealt with through a key ingredient of chocolate as well as easy to work on engines , spare parts , and ready access to welders . These riders really did live the ride . It all provides an easy flow throughout the movie .
The Ural sidecar is a logical choice for such a trip . The bikes are an uncomplicated design , easy to repair and having the sidecar or ‘ outfit ’ provides greater stability in conditions such as mud and snow . The extra capacity allows for carrying supplies and spare parts . These bikes are particularly suited for the rough , muddy Russian roads . They are a heavy-duty steel sidecar .
Back in the 1940 ’ s these bikes were developed to protect Russia during World War II . The Ural was developed as a copy of the late 1930 ’ s 750cc boxer twin BMW R71 . Over the years there has been some suggestions that the Russians copied a captured BMW . It seems more likely that they were given BMW R71 ’ s as part of a Treaty of Non- Aggression .
They then commenced copying , or reverse engineering , the BMW ’ s , to create the Ural and used them successfully with machine guns fitted to the sidecars . These sidecars were particularly useful for chasing their enemy over the
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