Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Business
  4. Smart Home
  5. News

This coffee shop in a motorcycle sidecar could be the ultimate side hustle

Add as a preferred source on Google

How’s this for a winning combination: your own outdoor business that includes a motorcycle and guarantees an unending supply of fresh coffee. Dallas, Texas-based Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters has a unique way to deliver freshly ground coffee. The company shows up at local events on a converted Ural sidecar motorcycle coffee shop, as cited in Ural’s blog.

Both companies are committed to a single purpose. Founded in 2009, Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters’ commitment is reflected in coffee sourcing, the roasting equipment the company uses, and its roasting practices. Most of the business is wholesale to cafés in Texas. Oak Cliff helps coffee shops acquire and use the best café equipment to use with its roast-dated coffee beans.

Recommended Videos

On the retail side of the business, Oak Cliff has a fresh-roasted coffee home delivery subscription program.

Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters Subscriptions

In late 2014, Oak Cliff Coffee bought a Ural sidecar motorcycle specifically to construct a mobile espresso shop.

Ural Motorcycles’ commitment to a single business purpose began in 1942 with the company’s first sidecar motorcycle. Ownership has changed in the last 75 years, but Ural has sold more than 3 million motorcycles in that time.

Ural originally produced sidecar motorcycles for military use, but now focuses on what the company defines as “adventure-ready sidecar motorcycles,” with dealerships in many countries including the U.S.

Ural’s sidecar motorcycles are typically used for touring, camping, and road trips. The unique appeal of sidecars isn’t lost on the bikemaker. Most Ural models have pretty straight forward names such as the Sahara, aptly painted the color of desert sand, and the Sportsman Adventurer Camp Wandawega Edition.

The plainest, least expensive, and least equipped Ural sidecar motorcycle model is the M70, with a $16,500 starting price.

In 2015, Ural produced a special edition, called the Dark Force, with the sales call, “Come to the dark side … we’ve got sidecars!” The Dark Force even came with a light saber.

Oak Cliff Coffee’s plan was to convert the bike to what it calls the MotoKofe, Espresso on 3 Wheels. The espresso unit weighs 450 pounds but the Ural’s frame is reportedly sturdy enough to support weight as it moves around the area at speeds up to 50 mph.

The Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters Ural sidecar motorcycle coffee shop even has its own website with more photos and a location schedule so if you’re in Dallas you can check it out.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
Hyundai isn’t giving up on hydrogen cars, but don’t expect one in your driveway anytime soon
Hydrogen gets a maybe; hybrids get a warning.
Hyundai Ioniq 3 EV

Hydrogen cars have spent years in the same waiting room as flying taxis. They’re always almost here, but no commercially available product exists for interested buyers. So when a Hyundai manager pushed back on the obituary, I was immediately curious.

To be clear, Hyundai hasn’t announced a new car. The big news here is that its Australian arm says hydrogen is “not dead” for passenger cars. Apparently, the automaker is still evaluating a next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell car if it can find buyers (via CarExpert).

Read more
Ford says it doesn’t sell your driving data, but opting out comes with a catch
From vehicle diagnostics to location tracking, here's what Ford knows about your driving habits and how it uses that information.
ford-privacy-promise-featured

Your connected car knows more about your daily driving habits than you realize. This is why Ford unveiled its new Privacy Promise to keep your vehicle data safe and let you control what you share. It explains what information connected vehicles collect, why they need it, and how owners can manage their privacy settings.

What information does Ford collect from your car?

Read more
Xpeng just launched a $20,800 electric SUV, and US automakers should be paying attention
China’s $20,800 Xpeng Mona L05 makes the US EV price problem look even worse
Xpeng Mona L05

Xpeng has launched the Mona L05 in China with a starting price of 139,800 yuan (around $20,800), bringing a new electric crossover with up to 635 km of claimed range, an extended-range option and a technology-heavy cabin to its mass-market lineup. While the vehicle is not confirmed for the US market, its combination of pricing, range and features offers a glimpse of the competition American automakers face as Chinese EV makers expand overseas.

The five-seat mid-size SUV is available with fully electric and extended-range electric powertrains. The launch also comes as Xpeng looks beyond China, with the company targeting 65 countries and regions for the model.

Read more