At the end of 2022, as production shifted to Kazakhstan, Ural quietly retired the cT. For years, the lower-spec Ural had labored along in obscurity in the shadow of its larger, more capable, more popular sibling, the Gear Up. I always liked the cT, and preferred it over the 2WD-equipped Gear Up because I figured the kind of riding I did—city errands, commuting, and paved-road touring—didn't require the Gear Up's off-road bonafides. Sadly, though, when I went to buy my Ural there were no cTs to be had and I ended up with a Gear Up anyway.
The switch to a single production bike—instead of one wildly popular one and one slow seller that was just different enough from its more popular cousin to complicate production—made sense for numerous reasons. It did, however, leave an entry-level-shaped hole in Ural's lineup that the cT had so nicely filled. Ural has now refilled that hole, as it were, with the new Gear Up Base.
The Base is a Gear Up in its purest form. It's a stripped-down, no-nonsense bike that retains all the Gear Up's necessary features, including the rugged two-wheel-drive system, but removes all the accessories included with the standard model. Gone are the extra lights, bumpers, spare tire, heavy-duty luggage rack, and stepped seat. You get a bench seat, the basic, standard equipment, and that's it. In essence, it's a blend of the old cT and the new Kazakh gear up and, honestly, I dig it.
In addition to being a simple base model, Ural envisions the Base as a kind of blank slate upon which Ural owners can express themselves using the company's broad collection of aftermarket accessories. In the video above, David takes his new Base into the shop for a little light customizing to show off what a new owner can do with their new Base and access to the parts catalog.
Now, obviously, bike customization isn't new and it's not even new to Ural. Having a dedicated customization platform just to fulfill your own, personal Ural dreams is kinda new, though, and I'll take it.
