Ural
What tools do I need for a Ural?
Updated 2026-08-09
The honest answer for a Ural is short: metric spanners and sockets in 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm, hex keys in 4, 5, 6, 8 mm, a Phillips cross-head driver, and a tyre repair kit that matches your wheels. Wheels are tube-type on spoked rims, so the tyre kit is levers, a spare tube and patches — a plug kit on its own is useless. Final drive is shaft: no chain tools, but the final-drive oil level is worth checking before a long trip.
Metric, old-school spanner-and-screwdriver engineering — almost everything is roadside-serviceable.
Everything below is derived from that profile rather than from a generic tool list. The headline kit on this page is the road touring list — 36 items, 7.7 kg — because that is what most of this brand's range is built for; the four other riding styles are linked further down.
Fastener sizes on a Ural
Ural bikes are metric throughout. Sockets and spanners in 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm reach most of what you can realistically work on at the roadside: bar clamps, lever perches, mirrors, engine mounts and bodywork brackets.
The axle nuts are the exception to every generic list. They are usually the two largest sizes on the bike, they vary by model and year even within this brand, and without the right one you cannot pull a wheel — which means you cannot fix a flat. Measure both axles with a caliper before you buy anything.
- — Spanners and sockets: 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm
- — Hex (Allen): 4, 5, 6, 8 mm
- — Torx: barely used — skip the bit set
- — Cross-head: Phillips
- — Axle nuts: measure yours (commonly 22–32 mm off-road, 24–36 mm on road bikes)
Cross-head screws and bit drivers
Cross-head screws on a Ural are Phillips, so a standard Phillips bit is the correct fit and there is no JIS trap to fall into.
Most of the rest of the bike is hex, so a bit driver with a couple of cross-head bits plus your hex keys covers the bodywork.
Tyre repair: tubes, not plugs
Ural bikes run tube-type spoked wheels, so a puncture means pulling the wheel, breaking the bead and either patching the tube or fitting the spare. A tubeless plug kit does nothing for you here.
That is the heaviest part of the kit and the part people leave at home: two or three levers, a rear tube (it will fit a front rim in an emergency), a patch kit with glue that has not dried out, and something to lift the wheel off the ground. Practise the change in the garage once, timed — it is the difference between a 40-minute stop and a recovery truck.
- — Tyre levers ×2–3, ideally with an axle wrench on the other end
- — Spare rear tube sized to your tyre, plus patches and fresh vulcanising glue
- — Rim-lock spanner (usually 12 or 13 mm) and spare valve cores
- — Pump, compressor or 3–4 CO2 cartridges, and a pressure gauge
Shaft drive: less kit, one fluid to watch
Shaft drive removes the whole chain section of the kit: no breaker, no master link, no lube, no adjuster spanners. That is several hundred grams back.
What replaces it is a fluid check. Final-drive oil is a small quantity and it is easy to forget, so on a multi-week trip carry the correct grade in a small bottle and check the level when you check the engine oil. A weeping final-drive seal is worth noticing early.
What catches Ural owners out
These are the details that change what you pack, drawn from the same profile the kit builder uses.
- — Three interchangeable tube-type wheels including a spare — carry tubes and levers, and use the spare wheel.
- — Expect to tighten things constantly: threadlocker, spare bolts and safety wire are core kit, not extras.
- — Shaft drive with a final-drive oil level to check on long trips.
Do the five-minute audit before you buy anything
The sizes on this page are what Ural bikes typically use, not a promise about your specific model and year. Walk around the bike with a set of keys and a marker and write down what you actually find; it takes five minutes and it is what turns a 3 kg kit into a 1 kg one.
Then do a dry run: pull both wheels and adjust the rear suspension preload in the driveway using only the kit you plan to carry. Anything you had to walk to the toolbox for goes in the roll; anything you never touched comes out.
- — Front and rear axle nuts, and the pinch bolts that hold them
- — Rear wheel and final-drive fasteners
- — Bodywork and engine-cover screws — note whether they are cross-head, hex or Torx
- — Bar clamps, lever perches, mirrors and screen
- — Spark plug size, and the seat or panel bolts you remove to reach the battery
The kit for a Ural, item by item
Combination spanners — 8, 10, 13 mm
Two spanners let you crack a locknut; 8, 10, 13 mm covers most of them here.
Where to buy:Amazon
Spoke wrench
Spoked wheels loosen on corrugations; one loose spoke buckles a rim over a few hundred kilometres.
Spoked wheels only. Match the nipple size (usually 5.5–6.8 mm).
Where to buy:Amazon
Spare nuts, bolts and washers (your bike's common sizes)
Duplicate the bolt sizes your audit found most often on the bike.
Where to buy:Amazon
Threadlocker (small blue tube)
Blue on anything you refit at the roadside; vibration is what loosens a bike apart.
Where to buy:Amazon
1/4in ratchet + sockets (8, 10, 12, 13, 14 mm)
Load it with 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm rather than the sizes the set came with.
A stubby ratchet plus a short extension packs smaller than a full socket set. Add a 1/4in-to-hex-bit adapter to share the ratchet with your bits.
Where to buy:Amazon
Axle nut wrench / socket for your bike
The one tool you cannot improvise. Measure both axles on your own bike first.
Check both axles with a caliper before you leave. Combined tire-iron/axle-wrench levers save weight.
Where to buy:Amazon
Headlamp (hands-free)
Every breakdown eventually happens in the dark or under the bike.
Where to buy:Amazon
Hex (Allen) key set — 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 mm
4, 5, 6, 8 mm is the working range on this brand.
Ball-end long-arm keys, or 1/4in hex bits plus a driver if you already carry a ratchet.
Where to buy:Amazon
Pliers with side cutters
Cut safety wire, pull clips, and grip the head you just rounded.
Where to buy:Amazon
Reversible screwdriver — JIS/Phillips + flat
A Phillips bit plus a flat covers the bodywork and clamps.
A 1/4in bit driver with JIS #2, PH2 and a 5 mm flat covers everything.
Where to buy:Amazon
Tire pressure gauge
Cheapest handling and puncture-resistance upgrade there is.
Where to buy:Amazon
Tube patch kit + vulcanising glue
Repairs the tube you just removed so you keep a spare in reserve.
Include a scuffer/rasp and check the glue hasn't dried out before every trip.
Where to buy:Amazon
The same bike, five ways to ride it
Each list is already filtered for this brand's fasteners, wheels and final drive. The counts and weights below are what you would actually carry.
Questions riders ask
- What tools do I need for a Ural?
- Start with metric spanners and sockets in 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm, hex keys in 4, 5, 6, 8 mm, a Phillips cross-head driver, pliers and the correct axle wrench. Add tyre repair that matches your wheels, fuses, zip ties and threadlocker. The road touring list on this page comes to 36 items and 7.7 kg.
- Is a Ural metric or SAE?
- Ural bikes are metric. Spanners and sockets in 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 mm cover most roadside work, and you do not need an SAE set.
- Does a Ural need a plug kit or a spare tube?
- A spare tube. Ural bikes run tube-type spoked wheels, so you need levers, a rear tube and patches — a plug kit alone will not get you moving.
- Do I need a chain tool on a Ural?
- No. Ural bikes use shaft final drive, so a chain breaker, master link and lube are dead weight. Carry the correct final-drive oil on long trips instead.
- Is the tool kit that came with a Ural enough?
- Rarely. The OEM kit is worth keeping for the axle wrench and any brand-specific pieces, but the stamped spanners flex under real torque and the screwdriver slips. Keep those pieces, add a compact ratchet with the sizes above, a proper driver, pliers and tyre repair, and you have a kit you would actually be happy using.