Rear and side views of the Russian-made Ural Tourist. The motorcycle’s origin dates to the late 1930s and Joseph Stalin’s efforts to modernize the Russian army.

The Providence Journal / Peter C.T. Elsworth

WEST KINGSTON Arthur Bouthillier is slowing down.

The 62-year-old retired millwright has given up smoking and drinking and now owns a sidecar motorcycle instead of one of the regular motorcycles he has ridden all his life.

“I’ve had a motorcycle on the road since I was 16,” he said. “A couple of (Harley Davidsons), three BSAs until I couldn’t find the parts to fix them and a couple of Honda (Gold Wings).”

And he’s never been happier. Well, almost.

“I gave up smoking and didn’t want to drink any more,” he said in a recent interview at his daughter Denise’s house. “It upset me. I lost two things at once.”

But he is happy with his sidecar motorcycle despite its modest speed of 65 mph. Any faster, he said, and the wind resistance makes it uncomfortable to handle.

“I enjoy it, I really enjoy it,” he said. “I’m not interested in going fast.”

Kathleen Bouthillier is also happy.

“I love it, I don’t have to hold on,” she said referring to years of sitting behind her husband. The low-slung cabin has the feel of an open British sports car — cozy and close to the ground — and even includes a 12-volt power point.

“This is a Cadillac,” she said, pointing out the leather side panels and rose conchos that she has added. Leather work is a sometimes paying avocation. And she is particularly happy about the small trunk that sits under a spare wheel at the rear of the sidecar.

“We can stop at yard sales now,” she said. “(Arthur) always used to say no because we had no room.”

Kathleen used to be a professional cake decorator before she developed carpal tunnel syndrome. She currently works as a security officer at Citizen’s Bank.

Bouthillier said he’d always wanted a sidecar motorcycle, finally buying his Ural Tourist model in Florida a couple of years ago. The couple recently moved back up from Florida and are building a house.

He said he and Kathleen use the 750 cc bike for “knocking around,” noting he has only put on 4,600 miles in two years. The longest ride they have taken was about three hours, he said.

“It’s very reliable,” he said. “It’ll run 50-to-55 mph all day long.”

The story of the Ural sidecar goes back to 1939 when Nazi Germany and Communist Russia signed a non-aggression treaty.

However, Russian leader Joseph Stalin felt the two nations would soon be at war and wanted to modernize his army.

He took advantage of the treaty to get five BMW’s R71 sidecar motorcycles delivered and used them to develop the Russian M-72 sidecar motorcycle for the Red Army.

The modern bikes are derived from the M-72. They are manufactured in Irbit, Russia, and distributed in the United States by Irbit MotorWorks of America. Local dealers include Canton Cycles, in Winsted, Conn., and URAL of New England in Boxborough, Mass.

The Tourist model runs about $11,500, while the more rugged Patrol model, which includes a gear that allows both rear wheels to be engaged, runs about $13,000.

Ural sidecar motorbikes have appeared in a couple of recent ads on TV, including one for ATT featuring software scientist Bill Curtis and another for Travelocity featuring the Roaming Gnome.

One interesting feature, unlike regular motorbikes, sidecar motorbikes have reverse gears.

“Art and Kat,” as they are known, met at the Squash Inn, a since-closed bar in Moosup, Conn., in 1983.

“He asked me if I could handle money and I asked him if he could cook,” said Kathleen.

Arthur said his wife was indeed tightfisted with money — “If I’ve got it, I’ll spend it,” he said — and she confirmed that he was a good cook.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “I used to be skinny.”

They moved to Palm Bay, Fla., in 1989 and were married in 1990. They each had a daughter from previous marriages and now have seven grandchildren.

“I thought it was too cold up here,” Bouthillier said when asked why he had moved to the Sunshine State where he worked on the machinery in a ship yard and on an orange grove. He added that Kathleen’s parents both live there.

Asked why they returned to Rhode Island, he said it had gotten “too hot down there.”

“The summers were getting hotter,” he said. “When we first went down, there was one week in the summer when it was over 90 degrees. Now there are four (weeks).”

He said they plan to build behind his daughter’s house on the nearly four acres of land that the family — Denise, husband Andrew and sons Bobby and Emmitt — owns. Andrew owns Exeter Auto on Route 3.

And as Andrew and Denise each own Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Art and Kat will have plenty of company on their travels around New England.

For more information, go to:

www.ural.com

www.cantoncycles.com

www.uralne.com

Auto Biography tells an interesting story about a car and its driver. If you think you have a newsworthy story to tell about your car, write to Auto Biography, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St. Providence RI 02902 or e-mail projocars@projo.com. Be sure to put “Auto Biography” in the subject field.

The car doesn’t have to be a classic or expensive, but it should be somehow unique. The driver must be willing to be interviewed by a reporter about what makes this car special and to be photographed with the car.

pelsworth@projo.com