A Soviet Sidecar, Formula SAE, And More: Members’ Rides

Happy Monday! Last week we met Sid with his fantastic classics (which gave me an excuse to sneak in a picture of my car which I was grateful for!). Spring is here, which is the time of year I always remember how much I miss having motorcycles. To help me live vicariously through him, today we are going to take a look at Sam’s collection.

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I get to show off something I had never heard of until a couple weeks ago! Did you know there was a Soviet Union motorcycle manufacturer that was not Ural? Meet Sam. Sam lives in Wichita Kansas and works as an aerospace engineer which means he is way smarter than me! More importantly for our purposes, he has a three-piece garage including one of my all-time favorite luxury cars, an awesome naked sport bike with my favorite number of cylinders, and the aforementioned bike that I had no idea even existed until he posted about it in the discord.

How did you get into cars?

I’m into almost all kinds of vehicles, particularly weird ones. I’ve always been passively interested in cars but getting involved with Formula SAE back in college exposed me to the joys of wrenching and racing sketchy vehicles and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Formula SAE? What was that like?

Any fun stories from your time there?

A funny but tragic story from my time on the team is from Michigan in 2019. We were competing at Michigan International Speedway with the previous car, Ocelot. Somehow despite the car being an absolute mess (as FSAE cars often are), the team finished the endurance event and secured one of the best overall results we had seen. Fresh off the high of success, we packed up and headed home to celebrate. That’s when the wheels fell off the operation – literally. Pulling the truck and trailer into the gas station, one of the trailer wheels rolled off into the sunset. I guess the hub on the ancient, poorly maintained trailer finally gave up the ghost. In the confusion of dealing with that, the diesel truck got filled with gasoline (thanks BP for making your gas handles green!) which was only realized a few miles down the road when the truck started running rough.

We ended up parking the truck and trailer overnight at a hotel, where it was eventually towed to a diesel shop. Because competition happens in late May, all of this was happening as the team was trying to take finals and finish up projects – that meant everyone needed to get back ASAP! The car and all the gear we could fit was crammed into a rental box truck and we cannonballed our way back to Kansas to try and salvage the semester while we could. Eventually we made a rescue mission to pick up the repaired truck and trailer, putting a lid on the dumpster fire of an ending to the competition. But hey, at least we finished endurance!

What’s currently in the garage?

• 2001 Lexus LS430
• 2024 Triumph Street Triple
• Model year unknown Dnepr MT-11

How did you find a pristine low-mileage LS430?

A friend of my Dad’s bought it new in 2001. Back in December 2023, I heard he was thinking of selling it and immediately made him an offer. I had been hunting for an LS for a while so when the opportunity came, I couldn’t pass it up. It currently has 123,000 miles on it. The original owner put just 116,000 miles on it in the 22 years he owned it.

What’s your favorite thing about it?

It’s incredibly well built. I’ve been inside cars 20 years newer that had more squeaks/rattles than the LS. It’s got a lot of impressive features for a car that old (auto wipers, surprisingly good stability control that operates individual brakes), but the feature that takes the cake for me is the oscillating air vents. They sweep back and forth to fan the car. It’s so extra and I love it. I plan on driving the wheels off of it. It’s such a dependable and comfortable car that it frees me up to work on projects.

Have you had any issues with it?

It’s a bit unwieldy to park, it’s a surprisingly long car! I replaced a variable valve timing solenoid, and it needs new front brake rotors sometime soon.

What car did this replace?

A 1996 BMW 328i – a very fun car that I learned to drive stick on. I sold it to a friend right around the time I bought the Lexus.

Interesting. What made you want to go from the small BMW to the big Lexus?

I made the decision to switch after looking realistically at what I wanted in a car, namely something reliable and comfortable that would be great for commuting and highway miles. For now at least, I get my excitement and wrenching needs fulfilled by the bikes, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. We’ll see if that ever changes though!

Any similarities between the two?

The E36 328i and LS430 are very different cars, and I appreciate both for different reasons. Both represent what their respective brands were aiming for at the time. BMW wanted to sell the “Ultimate Driving Machine” and Lexus’ goal was “The relentless pursuit of perfection”. The 328 had a really engaging driving experience with great feedback and a fantastic 5-speed manual that I still miss. The LS is a lot less exciting to drive and yet I still enjoy hopping in every time because of how refined and comfortable it is.

The difference in build quality between the two is honestly shocking for being only 5 years apart. Lexus in the 90’s and early 00’s was gunning for the European luxury automakers, and they came swinging! The quality and fitment of the plastics and switchgear seem to be an order of magnitude over that of the E36. The car’s been on the road 24 years, and everything still works and looks great. Admittedly, the two occupied very different segments and price points so I’d absolutely love to try a 7-series of a similar vintage to see how it stacks up! I think I have a thing for presidential land yachts after owning the LS.

What made you decide to snag the Triumph Street Triple?

I’m a sucker for sporty naked bikes and my Formula SAE team used Triumph 675 engines in our cars. I’m definitely a touch nostalgic for that triple sound and feeling. Triples have the punchy low-end torque that makes twins fun, but they can rev higher. It makes them a perfect middle ground in my opinion, plus the sound is intoxicating.

How long have you had it?

Just picked it up in October of last year. So far I’ve put 1300 happy miles on it.

What bikes have you had prior to this?

Just one! Before this I had the street triple’s little brother, the Trident 660. It’s a smaller displacement derivative of the previous Triumph 675 motor. I learned to ride on that bike and put 10000 miles on the clock before upgrading to this.

What prompted the upgrade from the Trident?

I think Triumph rather strategically created a lineup that offers clear upgrade paths. Each type of bike has an entry-level model at a reasonable price point and more upmarket models in a familiar package. For me, it made a lot of sense to take the things I liked about the Trident (nimbleness, sweet triple sound, sharp handling) and take them a step further.

Are they pretty similar or not so much?

From the outside the bikes seem fairly similar, but the Street Triple is quite a bit more performance-oriented than the Trident. The 765 engine puts out 128 bhp to the Trident’s 81 and everything from the riding position to suspension is a fair bit sharper. That said, it’s familiar enough that it never felt intimidating to make the jump up. The Street Triple also includes a suite of electronic rider aids like lean-sensitive ABS, wheelie control, and cruise control which are great and make the bike feel a bit like a spaceship.

Anything you miss from the Trident?

As far as things the Trident had over the Street Triple, it was a touch more comfortable on longer rides due to its more relaxed riding position and it also got significantly better gas mileage. I also think the retro styling is a lot more appealing to some people than the praying mantis look of the Triple. I admit it was an acquired taste, but it grew on me fast.

What do you love about this?

Definitely, the giggle factor is off the charts. A lot of people buy bikes as an emotional purchase and this never fails to make me feel something when I ride it. Riding out of town and finding some smaller (ideally twisty) two-lane highways is fantastic. I’m hoping to go back to Tail of the Dragon with this since I took the Trident last year.

OK seriously, what is a Dnepr?

I think I felt the same when I first saw it! It’s a bike and sidecar made by the now-defunct KMZ factory in Soviet Ukraine. They were a sister company to Ural and between their civilian and military models they made over two million motorcycles! It popped up on Facebook marketplace in a tiny town four hours away. As soon as I saw the pictures I knew I had to have it.

Were you looking for it?

Not at all. I’ve been interested in Soviet vehicles for a while, but these had never been on my radar. I had been looking for a project and I knew I wanted something unique. This ticked both of those boxes in a big way.

You mentioned that it’s hard to figure out the year on these. Why is it so difficult? What’s it titled as?

Weirdly enough, it’s titled as a 1993 Ural. Fortunately for me, inspections in Kansas are fairly lax and it has an assigned Arizona VIN that matches the title.

It’s hard to nail down a date because the KMZ plant never really added identification numbers of any kind. At their height, KMZ was making 80,000 bikes a year which is insane! This model in particular was made from about ‘85-’95 but even that is fuzzy due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Overall the best way to tell is to look at the individual components to help determine the year. I found a 1992 year marking on the tail light, so I’m thinking it’s a ‘92 or ‘93.

What condition was it in when you got it?

The bike was complete but in pretty rough shape. It had sat since at least 2005, and the engine was completely seized. I think the floats in the carbs got stuck and emptied a bunch of gas into the cylinders and crankcase causing it to seize up. On top of that, the paint was pretty far gone. Then the sidecar was covered in surface rust.

What did it take to get it back on the road?

There have been two stages to the restoration so far. The first involved a top-end rebuild, replacing all fluids, installing a new wiring harness, and repainting all the bodywork. It also needed new control cables and the clutch discs were stuck together which I freed up.

I got it running and driving pretty well and took it around town several times which was a blast, though that turned out to be short-lived.

More recently, I had to completely rebuild the engine after it started knocking. I never tore into the bottom end on the first go around which was a mistake. When I inspected the damage, I found one of the rod bearings was from a BMW airhead and therefore the completely wrong size. As a result, it completely chewed up the crankshaft and I decided to do a full rebuild which I recently completed!

How do you even go about finding parts for something like this?

At first it was kind of daunting, but once I knew where to look, I found that parts are widely available. Everything comes from overseas and I think my mailman is starting to wonder what’s up after delivering several packages from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Estonia, and Poland.

What do you still need to do to it?

I’m pretty happy with where it’s at for now, but I need to continue breaking in the rebuilt engine to give it a fighting chance at staying alive longer this time. Down the road, I’d love to install the 2WD system off the Dnepr MT-16 if I can find one.

What engine is in it?

It’s a 650cc overhead valve boxer twin good for about 32 whole horsepower at 5300 RPM. Oddly enough, you can trace the lineage of this engine back to the BMW R71 flathead engine from WW2.

The engine is mated to a standalone 4-speed gearbox with two neutral gears (one between 1st and 2nd, another between 3rd and 4th). It also has a reverse gear which is incredible and a semi-automatic mechanism that actuates the clutch lever when you shift gears for easier shifting.

Any idea how or when it came to the States or any of the backstory on it?

From everything I’ve read the bikes made after the fall of the Iron Curtain were largely made for export to get foreign currency. There were various gray market exporters who imported them to the west but I’m not sure exactly how this one got here. It has an Arizona-assigned VIN, and the last registered owner on the title is a guy from California who I’ve been trying to track down to no avail.

Is it weird having a flat engine? Like does it pull one way or the other like some are known to do?

It does pull on acceleration and braking but mostly due to the drag of the sidecar wheel. The biggest quirk of the engine is the offset of the cylinders. Looking at the engine from the top down, the left cylinder is forward of the right cylinder which makes the engine rock side to side.

How different is it to ride with the sidecar attached?

It’s my first experience riding anything like this, so the maiden voyage was really strange. The first thing you notice is that the steering is completely different. A normal motorcycle steers by counter steering to initiate a lean, whereas this has direct steering. Additionally, the sidecar makes it take left and right-hand turns at very different speeds. Taking a right-hand turn too fast causes the sidecar to lift up (known as “flying the chair”) which can be controllable and pretty fun.

Oh man, how long did it take to get used to that?

I’m sure I looked a little spooked on my first ride around the block! I don’t know that I’ve ever had to actively concentrate on steering conventionally, like a car, versus countersteering as you do on a motorcycle since it’s something your brain kind of handles automatically. Because of that, you get used to it pretty quickly – though I definitely notice how weird it feels whenever I switch between the two. A quirk of sidecar bikes is that they honestly feel more like a car than a conventional bike in some ways. Since it doesn’t lean, your body tends to roll to the outside of a turn as it does in a car which can be very unnerving at first!

What are your plans for it?

My biggest plan is to get it driving somewhat reliably and take it all over the place to various events. In particular, there are a few antique bike shows in the area that I’d love to visit (even though it’s not particularly old).

The sheer amount of smiles, waves, and questions it gets makes me hesitant to ever want to sell it, so I fully intend to keep it for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for sharing Sam! I am very jealous of that Dnepr!

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