The IZh Yunker (6.113-020-05) was a cruising motorcycle built by the Izhevsk works from 1999 and officially in series production from 2001 to 2005. Styled after American machines, it was the factory’s last new road model, and only 6,000 were made.
IZh Yunker at a glance
| Maker | Izhmash-Moto, Izhevsk |
|---|---|
| Factory code | 6.113-020-05 |
| Production | from 1999 in small batches; in series 2001–2005 |
| Type | cruiser, in the American style |
| Handlebar | high |
| Fuel tank | tank with the instrument panel mounted on it |
| Seat | two-level, the passenger sitting higher |
| Front brake | disc |
| Exhaust | new intake and exhaust system for lower noise |
| Footrests | moved forward for a relaxed riding position |
| Finish | metallic paint |
| Built | 6,000, including special-purpose machines |
The Russian article on the Yunker is short, so this page also uses the English article on the IZh motorcycle brand for the background of the works; the descriptions of the machine itself come from the Russian page. The factory’s own figures for power and speed of the Yunker are not given in the sources, so they are not repeated here.
History of the IZh Yunker
The last new Izhevsk road bike
The Yunker belongs to the final chapter of motorcycle building in Izhevsk. The IZh brand had been making motorcycles since 1933, first at the IzhMZ plant, after the war at the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant, and from 1996 at the company Izhmash-Moto; over ten million IZh motorcycles had been built by 1999, and the works concentrated on the 350 cc class. By the late 1990s that market had almost disappeared, and the factory answered the demand for Western-style leisure machines with a cruiser.
The Yunker was very different from the earlier series. Its tall handlebars, teardrop fuel tank with the instrument panel set into it, and two-level seat that raised the passenger for comfort gave it the look of an American cruiser rather than a Soviet road bike. It had a front disc brake instead of a drum, and a new intake and exhaust system that cut noise while giving strong pull at low engine speeds. The footrests were moved forward so that the rider could sit in a relaxed, lounging position, and the motorcycle was painted in metallic colours.
Small numbers
Production began in 1999 in small batches, and from 2001 to 2005 the Yunker was officially in series production. Some 6,000 were built in all, including motorcycles for special purposes. Those numbers were tiny by the standards of the plant’s Soviet-era output, and they mark the end of the Izhevsk motorcycle as a mass product: the works that had built hundreds of thousands of Planeta and Jupiter machines was now turning out a few thousand cruisers.
Design and features
- Cruiser style: high bars, a teardrop tank with instruments set into it and a two-level seat.
- Forward footrests: a relaxed, laid-back riding position instead of the upright Soviet one.
- Disc front brake: a departure from the drum brakes of the Planeta and Jupiter.
- Quieter, pullier engine: the new intake and exhaust system reduced noise and improved low-speed torque.
- Metallic paint: a finish aimed at the new leisure market rather than at utility buyers.
IZh Yunker versions
- IZh Yunker 6.113-020-05: the road cruiser.
- Special-purpose machines: included in the 6,000 built, though the sources do not describe them in detail.
The Yunker came from the same works as the IZh Jupiter and the single-cylinder IZh Planeta, whose last version was built until 2008. The IZh-56 shows what the same factory built in the 1950s. More are in the IZh collection.
Video: Izh Yunker 350
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Иж Юнкер, Russian Wikipedia: model code, design, production dates and numbers
- IZh (motorcycle), English Wikipedia: history of the IZh motorcycle works
