Moto - Russia: libri - storia e modelli

Motorcycles and Motorcycling in the USSR from 1939 - A Social and Technical History

This book is the first accessible English-language account of motorcycles in the Soviet Union. Focusing on the period from World War II to 1990, it explores Soviet motorcycle production, domestic use, and exports. It covers wartime production, different models, the social role of motorcycling, and Soviet motorsports.

Rather than following market demand, Soviet manufacturers based their designs on pre-war German BMW and DKW models, producing hundreds of thousands of durable, practical motorcycles. These were significantly different from the more style-focused machines in the West. Factories in Ishevsk, Kovrov, Moskva, and Minsk manufactured various models, while the well-known Ural and Dnepr brands came from Irbit and Kiev.

Richly illustrated with Soviet-era photographs, many from private collections, the book offers a glimpse into a lifestyle shaped by ideology and state planning. It also features images of popular imported models such as Jawa from Czechoslovakia and Pannonia from Hungary.

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