From Russia
With Love: The Legendary Ural Lands in Eaton
Tucked away on the rural edge of Eaton on Quaker Trace Road just south of SR 122 is
one of Ohio’s
most unusual motorcycle dealerships. The unassuming white building, 3,300
square feet of office, shop and showroom, is the headquarters of Heindl
Engineering, originally manufacturers of motorcycle service stands and now home
to western Ohio’s
Factory Authorized Ural Motorcycle dealership.
“My brother, Matt, and I started building (motorcycle
service) stands and selling them over the ‘Net. It turned into a full time job
but we were fighting the Chinese market. We started looking to install sidecars
when we discovered the Ural,” relates Jon Heindl, the young president of Heindl
Engineering, LLC. Starting the company in 2003, by 2005 they had built the shop
on Quaker Trace Road
and, in 2006, became one of only 56 authorized Ural dealers in forty states
across the country.
Asked if there were any problems importing from our newest
industrial trading partners in the former Soviet Union,
David responded with a shake of his head. “We’ve got an importer who handles
that but once in a while a special order will get hung up at Customs.”
Family business that it is, it’s not an ordinary family business.
In the shop with Jon are his father, David, and his Uncle Carl. When asked what
it was like working among family, David replied, “some good days, some bad
days.”
“Dad works for me,” grinned Jon, “I sign his paycheck.”
“I just kind of keep an eye on the place,” admits Carl. With
Jon and David working on the incoming machines and Uncle Carl supervising, it
takes “between half a day and a day” to complete the final assembly.
If the family business arrangement is a bit unconventional,
so are the machines they sell and service. While Heindl Engineering’s
full-service fabrication facility still manufactures service stands and custom
sidecar mountings, much of their time and attention has turned to the Urals and
British Royal-Enfields, for whom they are also an authorized dealer. While the
Ural seems to be enjoying some of the kind of popularity that the Volkswagen
enjoyed in the 1950s, David was asked about the most important aspect of the burgeoning
business.
“Customer service is our thing. Folks like this old
nostalgic stuff that’s still being produced,” and the Heindl crew are eager to
satisfy. “Like it says on the website, ‘if they’re not happy, we’re not
happy’.”
The Urals themselves are meticulously
engineered and built. Their 749cc opposed twin “boxer” engine and Earl’s-style
leading-link front end are strikingly reminiscent of the classic BMW “R” series
and nearly as highly regarded. “These machines have been greatly improved since
the early ‘90s,” David announces proudly, maintaining that Ural dependability
equals or exceeds that of anything else on the road. “They come with a
two-year, unlimited mileage warranty.” Using the Internet as a marketing tool,
the Heindls have sold machines “from Virginia
to Kansas.”
Beyond the warranty, the Ural is singularly unique in a
number of respects. Ural’s five styles are versions of only three models, all
powered by the same motor, and all but one sidecar-equipped. Their lone solo, the
Wolf, the result of an arrangement between Ural and the Russian Night Wolves Motorcycle
Club, is available only by special order.
Among the remaining models, the
basic “Tourist” and the ‘50s-styled “Retro” are conventional rear-wheel drive,
while the solid-color civilian “Patrol” and the camouflage military “Gear Up”
have engageable dual-wheel-drive, with a CV-jointed live axle driving the
sidecar wheel. All sidecars have a three cubic foot trunk and baggage rack
mounted over the spare tire. Sidecars are also equipped with power ports for
operating radios, charging cellphones or aftermarket cigarette lighters.
“They just took the machine gun
mount off the Gear Up in ’06,” David reports, “but we can still order them from
the factory.” Other features on the Gear Up include a sidecar-mounted
spotlight, collapsible shovel and gerry can.
“It’s the world’s only sport
utility motorcycle,” explains David, “built by the only company to build both
the bike and the sidecar in the same factory.” Urals are, in fact, built in the
same factory in western Siberia (just east of the Ural
Mountains) where they have been built since before World War Two.
“Last July, this one
fellow, out here on business, came by and saw ‘em and called up his wife in
Kansas and said, ‘Honey, you gotta see this,” David recalls, “The two of ‘em
were back again a couple of weeks later and bought one on the spot. He didn’t
have a motorcycle endorsement on his license, so she drove it home. Took her
two days. They’ve been everywhere on it since, out to Carlsbad,
New Mexico, to Minnesota
and West Virginia.
Six tires later, they’re still at it.”
Those anxious to see a Ural up close are invited to stop in.
“We’re always glad to have people stop by and look around,” says David. “We’re
here nine to five and ‘til noon on Saturdays.”
An exotic imported machine with a limited number of
factory-authorized service centers could pose the possibility of some
problems.
“The closest thing
we’ve had to a problem is the ‘UDF,’ the Ural Delay Factor. It takes me twice
as long to get anywhere because everywhere I go, people are coming up and asking,
‘what is that?’ and wanting to talk about the machine.”
Like most bikers, the Heindls are active in community
affairs. Members of the Preble County Chamber of Commerce, they are involved
with the Preble County Bicentennial celebration and Eaton’s Downtown Days and
Old Fashioned Saturday Nights, as well as Poker Runs, bike shows and the Preble
County Historical Society.
In one way, Heindl Engineering’s marketing problems in the
global economy–having their prices undercut by Chinese manufacturers—worked out
well for them as they, in turn, discovered these marvelous Russian machines.
“People are becoming more attuned
to the world markets.” David shrugs, “they don’t all like it, but…”
Heindl Engineering will be sponsoring a Ural/Enfield Rally
at their 4440 Quaker Trace Road
facility on July 4th and 5th. Check them out at www.heindlengineering.com. Remember:
Look Twice: Save a Life. Motorcycles are everywhere.
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