2025 was a year full of firsts for me. First time riding a snowmobile, first time doing a track day, first time riding a BMW R 1300 GS (let alone learning how to ride off road on one), and more. Probably my real ECA for 2025 should be "trying new things," but that's a bit too nebulous to really write about.
Plus, it's kind of a cop-out, isn't it? I enjoy a lot of things, and I enjoy trying new things and having new experiences. Don't get me wrong; a reliable, everyday routine is nice, but getting out and having new experiences is one of the things that makes life worth living, in my book.
So, for this year's Editors' Choice Award, I'm choosing the once-in-a-lifetime experience of touring Twin Peaks filming locations on the Ural Neo prototype. Riding a prototype motorcycle (let alone a prototype sidecar motorcycle) was unique in and of itself, but taking it to see a place that's loomed large in my imagination for most of my life was truly on another level. It also didn't hurt that this was a self-guided tour, so I could allocate my time as I chose (within certain constraints; I still had to return the bike and go home, after all).
Bittersweet Then, Bittersweet Now
David Lynch died in January 2025, and I remember exactly where I was when it happened: In a hotel that I'd jokingly referred to as "not the Great Northern" the night before it happened to a colleague on a work trip. So when the opportunity to experience the Ural Neo prototype in person arose months later, I knew where I needed to go. And I had an unbelievably great time doing it.
Fast-forward to mid-December 2025, though, and it's bittersweet for a different reason. In case you haven't seen news about it, western Washington (and up into Vancouver, Canada) is currently in the midst of severe flooding, major damage, thousands of people under evacuation orders, and even the first confirmed flood-related death in Snohomish earlier today.
To put it in perspective, if you scroll back up to the image at the very top of this article, you'll see a photo of Snoqualmie Falls that I took during the trip I'm talking about here. That's what it normally looks like when it's not going through the atmospheric river-related flooding it's been going through in the past couple of weeks.
Now click through to this Weather Channel piece and watch their video comparing the state of the Falls now to how it normally is. (For Twin Peaks fans, you probably already know that's the iconic waterfall you see in the opening credits; and if you didn't, now you do.)
Folks in the area are hurting, and they need help.
Washington State currently has a Disaster Relief Center website set up for the Washington State Floods, and it has a helpful list of vetted resources if you want to donate and help folks who need it. Or, if you've been affected by the floods, there are links here you can reach out to if you or your loved ones are in need of assistance.
Let's Talk About The Ural Neo Prototype
I wrote a full review about it that you can read, and there's also an accompanying video on our YouTube channel. But now that I've had more time to think about it, I have a bit more to say.
Yes, Ural has a Chinese OEM partnering with the company on its new parallel twin-powered Neo line. That's not a rumor; that's a fact. Their name is Yingang, and back when I rode the prototype earlier in 2025, Ural director Ilya Khait told me they'd submitted over 120 pages of changes to Yingang as they went back and forth to whip the prototype into the shape that Ural wanted.
Before you start grumbling about how it's going to be terrible, I'd ask that you give it a chance and actually try it for yourself. Remember, manufacturing exists on a continuum; any automotive enthusiast, whether they're old enough to remember firsthand or not, can tell you about a time when Japanese cars weren't considered to be the pillars of reliability that many of them are in 2025. Also, Kia Boys thefts aside, recent entries from Kia and Hyundai are also leagues ahead of where they started back when those brands first entered the US, in terms of build quality.
Manufacturers can (and do) improve over time. If they're smart, they take in customer feedback and adjust and adapt accordingly. I'm not suggesting you go out and immediately plunk down your hard-earned money without taking a demo ride first. But I am suggesting that you take a demo ride, and then make up your own mind based on your own experiences, and not what I (or anyone else) have told you.
Since what I rode was a prototype, it's a safe bet that some things will change on the production bike, and I'll look forward to seeing what those changes are when it's out. One thing I can say that I appreciate is that this is very much an attempt to attract riders who may not previously have seen themselves ever riding a motorcycle, let alone one with a sidecar.
As I've said before and will no doubt say again, the motorcycle industry loves to wring its hands about how to attract new riders. This is Ural trying to do more than just talk about it, and I think it's a good and necessary move. We'll just have to see if riders agree.
