So what does a Ukrainian-made motorcycle look like today? Who buys them? Are customers satisfied with what they get? What about export?
These and other questions start swarming in my mind as I pass along Melnikova Street in Kyiv, where the 28 hectares of imposing edifices and large shops that comprise the Kyiv Motorcycle Plant are located.
On the square just in front of the plant's nine-story administrative building, in keeping with tradition, a motorcycle with a sidecar is displayed on a raised tubular platform. This is the legendary Dnepr K-650.
The basic but popular model started being mass produced in 1967; however, the history of the Kyiv Motorcycle Plant begins at the end of the Second World War. It was in 1946 that the plant launched its first motorcycle, the Kievite, which looked more like an old fashioned moped. Its two bicycle-type pedals allowed a motorcyclist to switch to leg power if his engine went dead, or he could simply use them to jump start the vehicle. The Kievite had a two-stroke carburettor and a 2.2 h.p. engine, which could reach a maximum speed of 50 km/h. Between 1946 and 1953, the plant produced about 30,000 Kievites.
Soviet production of the famous three-wheeler, with it heavy frame and powerful engine, didn't start until 1952. The M-72, as it was called, was equipped with a sidecar and a 650 cc-engine. The design was based on a BMW used by the German army during its eastern campaign.
In 1956, the plant's engineers developed the new K-750CM, for road transport, and the M-53C dirt bike. The Kyiv production facility even had its own racing team, which drove the M-53C to win various races at home and abroad. It was the pride of Ukrainian automobile technology. But throughout the post-war period, the plant was concerned primarily with making bikes with sidecars.
Then in 1967, the plant got an urgent governmental order to develop a specialized two-wheeler to be used by the Kremlin to escort motorcades. Within two years, 25 such bikes had been produced. By this time, 50 h.p. engines, electric starters and special tires had been introduced, which meant that one could ride one's motorcycle in winter, navigating slippery roads at up to 130 km per hour.
These high-performance single-seaters found themselves a niche among other distinguished customers and went toward improving the plant's overall image. More importantly, as one design led to another, technical innovations followed.
This in turn opened the way for exports to other Soviet republics or satellite states. In all, the Kyiv Motorcycle Plant exported to 43 different countries.
In 1967, the plant began to use the new trademark "Dnepr". By 1979, it had produced its millionth motorcycle. A decade later, the figure was two million, with an annual output of up to 100,000 bikes. Then the plant issued stocks, all of which were transferred to Kyiv's municipal authorities in October 1989. But with the break-up of the USSR and subsequent declaration of Ukraine's independence, the painful, drawn-out period of stagnation in the country's motorcycle industry began.
The network of component production, distribution and delivery was disrupted, as the entire regional economy went through the throes of centrifugation. Not many people could afford to buy a motorcycle, and if they could they bought a foreign one. The idea of owning a motorbike with a sidecar became old fashioned if not odd. The Kyiv plant's assembly line ground to a halt. The machinery therein stood idle and soon became obsolete. The workers and engineers either retired or sought employment elsewhere. At the same time, various commercial ventures came along to rent available space on the Melnikova Street premises.
The plant has still not completely gotten over the consequences of that tough period. Nevertheless, in February 2001, a new director, Ihor Kutashev, was appointed. He immediately set to work modernizing the Kyiv facility's production and commercial capacity. Kutashev said his goal is to revive the plant's reputation for building basic but reliable two and three-wheeled transport at a price you can't beat.
In 2002, the newly established marketing department started conducting research into the demand for bikes with sidecars in Ukraine and abroad. As a result of that research, the plant has introduced the Dnepr-11 and "Dnepr-16 models, which features a sidecar that can go in reverse and additional drive to improve off road capabilities.
Then, designers developed the fashionable Dnepr-303 three-man, which can carry two passengers plus the driver. It can be used by a small family that prefers open-air motoring, for example, in the country, as well as for carrying heavy loads back and forth in rural areas (e.g. near one's dacha).
The newest Dnepr-3OO cargo tricycle, with a freight- capacity of up to 300 kg, is even better equipped for hauling. It was designed for use by postman, farmers and, after a few modifications, even as a fire engine. Armed with accessories like fire extinguishers and spades, firefighters can access the most difficult sites of a forest fire.
Then there is the Dnepr Solo and Dnepr Chopper, intended for younger bikers. These models can additionally be customized to the buyer's specification. All bikes boast 8-liters per-100 km fuel consumption and maximum speeds of 125 km per hour (95 km for sidecar models). And what about the price? It can be anywhere from five to six times cheaper, the plant's management says.
Believe it or not, orders for Dneprs are filled in Poland, Germany and the USA - if only a dozen or so a year. Moreover, some of these buyers end up adding on their own parts or refitting the frame with foreign components.
But the plant's management is only encouraged by these humble beginnings, and determined to capitalize on them. In order to survive on the global market, they want to develop their niche, not abandon it.
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