Sidecars are kind of timeless, aren't they? That's for good reason, too. Walk into a dealer that sells new Urals and you'll find the kind of classic styling you expect with a 2025 model year on it. And, of course, a very modern 2025 MSRP, too.
Modern safety advances are fantastic, with braking systems in particular making significant advances in the decades since people first started building sidecar hacks. But still, with the rising cost of everything, it becomes more difficult to justify scrounging up US $20K or more to spend on all but the most essential of items. Even then, it's hard. $20K may not be what it used to be, but $20K is still an awful lot to think about coughing up on a whim.
In 2025, that's the MSRP of a base Ural Gear Up; $19,999. That's before taxes, destination charges, title and registration fees for wherever you live, and all the other bits and pieces that generally go into your new vehicle purchase. You're paying for styling, as well as being the one guy to show up at your local bike meet with your dog (and his Doggles) in the chair. Except, of course, if another guy does the same thing in a Ural of a slightly different color; and yes, I have personally witnessed this happen.
If there's one thing to know about IMZ-Ural, it's that it's not one of those companies that doesn't know how to read the room. That's why it moved its motorcycle production to Kazakhstan as Russia became increasingly hostile toward the Ukraine. And now, it seems, it's making yet another move to put its quirky charms into reach for a greater number of riders. But will it work?
As Ben Purvis writes over at Cycle World, Ural has now contracted with Chinese company Yingang to produce an entirely new, budget-focused sidecar line, complete with more modern ADV styling. It'll be released under the new sub-brand Ural Neo (not about Keanu, but about newness, apparently). Due in 2026, the Ural Neo 500 will be based on the existing Yingang SUV500 Mk II, which is the company's most recent modern ADV-styled sidecar rig.
It's unclear whether Yingang has any relationship with Changjiang, which alongside Ural, gained fame for making a slightly different (and yet, licensed!) sidecar based on the BMW R71. If it does, the existence of Changjiang's V 750 Defender design from a couple of years back would make this partnership even more interesting. But I digress.
Ideally, the Ural Neo 500 should hit the market at around US $15,000, which marks a significant price drop from the current cost of the base Gear Up. It's unclear at this point whether tariffs will play a role in either jacking those pricing intentions to the heavens, since that information seems to change from day to day and sometimes hour to hour.
Are you interested in a less expensive sidecar with more modern styling, even if you have to give up 2WD to get it? Let us know in the comments.
