Dnepr Vintage - a farewell batch of heavy motorcycles from Soviet spare parts

In the Soviet Union, there were two main manufacturers of heavy motorcycles with sidecars - these are IMZ and KMZ. There was a time when other companies produced such models, but this was in the 1940s. Anyway, in fact, there was only one serial bike, honestly copied from the German BMW R71 and modified for Soviet conditions.


For a long time there is no such state as the USSR, and heavy motorcycles with sidecars continue to plow Russian and not only open spaces. The most interesting thing is that Ural brand bikes are still being made in Irbit.

The final assembly, however, was transferred to Kazakhstan at the end of April this year, but this did not affect the popularity of the model in Russia. Nobody bought these motorcycles from us anyway. Nothing strange - they have moved into the category of premium and are more expensive than a new budget foreign car. More than 95% of bikes are sold abroad, mainly in the USA.


As for KMZ, the last motorcycles left the assembly line there in 2008. Coincidence or not, but the Izhevsk plant also ceased to exist at the same time, releasing the last IZH Planet-5.

For a long time, fans of the Kyiv opposition hoped that production would resume. But this did not happen. But in 2016, a group of enthusiasts, realizing that it was necessary to say goodbye to KMZ, did it beautifully. They released a batch of motorcycles called Dnepr Vintage, or rather, Dnepr Vintage.

The most interesting thing about these bikes is that they are assembled from the same Soviet parts stored in the warehouses of the factory. And what happened with AUTO-Consulting Design, we will find out in today's article.

How is it different from the Russian "carriages"?

Naturally, it would be most correct to compare the Dnepr Vintage with the new Urals. It should be noted right away that in 2016, for a bike from IMZ, they asked from $ 10 at the exchange rate, and Dnepr Vintage was valued at $ 000.


If you look at the two motorcycles from the outside, it seems that the Dnepr Vintage should definitely cost more. No wonder - in fact, it is a custom manual assembly. But in technical terms, bikes from UralMoto are more perfect and, most likely, more reliable. Nothing strange - they have long been made using imported components, and not Chinese ones, but from leading manufacturers.

Dnepr Vintage was assembled, as already mentioned, from Soviet parts. They just got scrutinized. Every detail was filed, as were the welds. The result was a sparkling chrome and varnished motorcycle with a sidecar.

Differences from the serial Dnieper

Since the bike was made by specialist custom builders, they tried to fix all the design and external flaws of the model. In addition to processing parts and welds, it was decided to close the relay and battery. For this, regular covers from the glove compartments of single motorcycles were used. These were produced in small batches in the 90s.


An electric starter also appeared on the bike, and it is installed on the gearbox housing. This is also a development of KMZ - in the early 2000s they were put on piece batches of motorcycles.

Despite the fact that the weight of the Dnepr Vintage is the same as that of the old Dnepr-16 wheelchair - 380 kg, it looks somehow airy. This was achieved due to the silver frame, the mass of chrome and the beautiful bright colors of the body elements.

The stroller was taken from a conventional KMZ motorcycle. It was dismantled, all the details were perfectly adjusted, the welds were cleaned, the seat was altered. Since the Dnepr-16 was taken as a donor, the Dnepr Vintage received a drive to the sidecar wheel.

As for the headlights and lanterns, they tried to leave them with their relatives, plus they added a few additional lighting fixtures.

Technical features

The Dnepr Vintage engine is standard, one might say Soviet. It could not be otherwise - it was taken from the Dnepr-16 model, which served as the basis for the creation of a motorcycle. This motor debuted back in 1984.


The working volume is 649 cm3, the power is 32 liters. With. The power unit has one major difference from the Soviet models - it received an improved "proprietary" oil system from KMZ. It was installed in the early 2000s on limited batches of single motorcycles.

The main difference between the new oil system is the filter from VAZ cars on the side. The pallet has increased its volume by a liter and received ribs for cooling.

The engine was disassembled, moved, all parts were polished and adjusted. Installed Japanese battery and ignition "Saruman". To reduce fuel consumption and improve engine performance, the regular carburetors installed on the Dnepr-11/16 were replaced with Keihin.

The motorcycle starts with a button - there is an electric starter. This technical solution was also introduced at KMZ in the mid-90s.


Unfortunately, the Soviet spare parts in the KMZ warehouses were not enough for the full-fledged creation of the “farewell” series. I had to order the missing parts in a number of CIS countries and Western Europe, including Russia, Belarus, Japan and Turkey. Some came from China.

Real premium?

Since Dnepr Vintage motorcycles were produced more for fans, the manufacturer, or rather, the custodians from AUTO-Consulting Design, offered to equip the motorcycle with a number of options.

Among them were:

✅ Seven color highlights
✅ Additional lights
✅ Voltmeter
✅ Oil pressure sensor
✅ Acoustics
✅ Safety bars are naturally chrome plated

In addition, at the request of customers, the bike could get an individual design - any seat, both solid and single, premium leather, towbars for transporting bicycles and light motorcycles, and even trailers for water vehicles.


At the same time, the price for the Dnepr Vintage in the most “top-end” configuration was less than for the Irbit Ural in the database. It would seem that this is a chance for the revival of KMZ.

But Dnepr Vintage is far from a mass project. The farewell series was named for a reason - motorcycles are made from parts assembled "by the bottom of the barrel". Further production was possible only according to the standard customization algorithm.

This is the purchase of any old opposition, it does not matter, the Dnieper or the Urals, its complete analysis, refinement, search for the necessary details. The project is quite long-term and labor-intensive, each copy will take at least a month. And this is subject to the high skill of assemblers, established contacts for the purchase of parts.

How about on the go?

Dnepr Vintage not only looks festive, it also rides several levels higher than Dnepr-11/16. The first impression is that the bike is delightful.


This feeling does not disappear even when the bike is started. No need to pump anything up, jump on a kickstarter leg. It is enough to turn the "key to start", press the electric starter button and the motorcycle starts. Of course, it is desirable to use the suction at the same time, but the algorithm is the simplest - like on classic Japanese bikes.

Dnepr Vintage starts the first time, you don’t need to gas it up - the motorcycle keeps idling. When the engine warms up, you can remove the choke and get under way.

Thanks to Japanese carburetors, the bike accelerates more dynamically than Dnepr-11/16. The checkpoint operation algorithm pleases - due to the grinding of all its details, the gears switch clearly, like a Swiss watch.

Dnepr Vintage suspensions have become noticeably softer, although the shock absorbers and front fork are “native”, that is, Soviet. It was possible to achieve comfortable work by the simplest method - changing the oil to the “correct” Repsol.

Due to the installation of electronic ignition, the engine rumbles evenly and without interruption at any speed. Top speed has been increased from 95 to 110 km/h thanks to Japanese carburetors.

You can comfortably move on the Dnieper Vintage up to 70 km / h, nothing more. Then the motor starts to roar at high speeds, and the gearbox on the wheelchair clearly does not like this speed.


There are complaints about the brakes - they are not able to stop a heavy motorcycle quickly and efficiently. The bike also turns slowly - it is more suitable for moving in a straight line.

The motorcycle turned out to be interesting, but it is rather collectible. Thanks to the approach of the creators, the equipment is reliable and suitable for the role of weekend transport.

It is unlikely that you will be able to buy Dnepr Vintage now - this limited edition has sold out to private collectors. But the bike is unequivocally beautiful – a worthy farewell to KMZ.