What is an Ural sidecar without an Ural motorcycle? Evidently, in the hands of the right customizer, the sidecar is an ideal platform for a miniature hot rod. At least, that's the conclusion Mad Badger Garage came to when they built the "Siderod." Based on the wild idea of adding an engine and four wheels to a sidecar, the Russian hot rodders built one of the sickest sidecars ever seen. And thanks to social media, this no-frills build has been getting the attention it so rightly deserves.
How A Ural Sidecar Became The Siderod
The project started with the purchase of a bare Ural sidecar tub in August 2019. From this cleanest of slates, Mad Badger would slowly construct what was needed to convert this shell into a rolling chassis. As for the side-mounted engine, the crew at Mad Badger opted for a small V-twin, specifically a Kawasaki Vulcan VN400. With the addition of a front end, steering wheel, windshield, lights, etc., the Siderod began to take shape.
That shape is clearly inspired by the hot rods of the past that frequently made use of old Model T tubs (and the like) to use as the basis for a custom car. Hot rodders have long used parts and pieces that are readily available and by modifying them, these often mundane items transform into imaginative works of automotive art. Old Ural sidecars are likely plentiful in Russian junkyards and barns, so Mad Badger is merely showing a resourcefulness that has a history in the car scene. The same applies to their choice of engines. American hot rodders gravitated towards the surplus V8s that could be found in junk cars, but for this smaller application, Mad Badger turned to a motorcycle with a long model run. The Kawasaki Vulcan VN400 was produced from 1986 to 2004 and after a nearly 20-year presence in the market, older VN400 engines are available on the cheap. So, combine these various automotive artifacts together and the result is a cool little rat rod.
What You Need To Know About A Ural
While Ural has been around since 1941, export outside of Russia has varied during that time. The development of the initial Urals took place based on a military need during WWII. Seeing the technological superiority of the German BMWs, the Soviet government opted to replicate the motorcycles being used by the Nazis. The state-run effort eventually set up shop in Irbit, Russia, near the Ural Mountains (thus the eventual name) in Siberia. With the fall of Communism in Russia in the 1990s, Ural would eventually be bought by private investors and would no longer be run by the government. Since that time, Urals have become more readily available in the United States and have undergone significant upgrades, such as fuel injection. They are now popular machines among the ADV crowd thanks to their durability and two-wheel drive.
As a custom platform, Urals have not been readily used by builders, but based on the reaction the Siderod has received on social media, that may be changing. Mad Badger has recently announced that they plan to sell the Siderod and move on to other projects, but it is likely that their creative custom will inspire others to seek out Ural sidecars to do the same.