Rokon motorcyles

[Westy]

Has anyone ever had experience with these bikes?? I've always thought they would be awesome to really get back into the backcountry with.

Two wheel drive, low gearing, quiet running, stable, 15" ground clearance, wheels can hold gas/water/etc, less than 250lbs total weight, haul up to 1000lbs.
I've found a couple locally and its really sparked my interest again..

http://www.rokon.com/products/trailbrkr.htm

 

[Ursidae69]

Wow, dual wheel drive on a bike, never seen that b4. :smileeek:

 

[Scott Brady]

I saw two of those on Cadilac Hill on the Rubicon. They have no suspension, so the ride is a little killer. Amazing traction though

 

[upcruiser]

Yeah no suspension but they'll crawl through most anything. I haven't ridden one personally, but have seen one in action in deep snow and mud. The thing will climb through more stuff then you'll likely be able to keep on top of it for. What are those running new now a days? I think the narrower tires on these newer ones will make them easier to ride in general. They used to have pretty fat tires that made them cumbersome.

 

[60seriesguy]

One of the local pawn shops here had one for a LONG time, and I went to test it out and drive it in the parking lot. Interesting setup, it takes some time getting used to the way it handles, but I can see it being really useful out in the bush.

A long time ago I saw a Unimog-based expedition camper that had one of these Rokon bikes mounted on the back with a swing-out roof-mounted little crane, pretty slick setup!

 

[upcruiser]

I saw a picture of a Mog setup like that somewhere, probably the same one.

 

[CLynn85]

Wow that's very cool. Be great to take out and explore the areas you can't get into with your truck.

 

[Hltoppr]

I think those were used for a Darien Gap expedition, and they worked really well. However, I'll stick with a bike that can do 70mph to get where I'm going....

-H-

 

[paulj]

that brings back memories of browsing old copies of Popular Science/Mechanics as a kid

I wonder if these perform any better, or worse, than quad ATVs. If I recall correctly the hollow wheel drums allowed this cycle to float.

Their FAQ has an interesting comment on contact pressure - interesting in light of Scott's article on tire sizes:

Do Rokons really leave a track lighter than a man's foot print? There are many variables involved in calculating ground contact pressure, including vehicle weight, load, attitude, and contact patch size which includes the variables, tire size, tire stiffness, tire pressure, soil condition, and others. Here is an educated guestimate:

Force downward: rider, 200# + vehicle, 200 = 400lbs
Contact patch size at 3psi inflation pressure: 6 x 8 x 2 tires=. 96in sq

Ground contact pressure: F/Area=400lb/96in sq= 4 psi

By comparison, the 200lb man when on one foot, which he would be while striding forward, might have a contact patch of 32 in sq, depending on his shoe size, for a ground contact pressure of 6psi.

paulj

 

[flyingwil]

They have one up at the "ghost mine" in Jerome (I think it is off of Perkinsville Rd.) I talk to the guy riding it, and he said it goes just about anywhere you want it to go but don't ride it too long. I think he was referring to the suspension. (You know he was one of the hill billy guys )

Looked to me more like a cool toy than something you would want to go out on for hours, I am sure you could add a suspension though!

Edit: This picture cracks me up for some reason :smilies27 :

Wil

 

[paulj]

Changing that front wheel suspension would be tricky - notice the chain drive from the fork pivot down to the wheel. So a telescoping fork would not work.

paulj

 

[atavuss]

While I cannot tell you anything about the Rokon, I can tell you that a 4x4 quad will be easy to use in the rough........a few years ago there used to be a guy that rented 4x4 quads and would guide people backwards through the Rubicon. it was more fun on the Rubicon with a quad than it was when I ran it in my CJ7 (even though I did not have any trouble with the Jeep). I can remember one section the group of us (there was 8 of us on quads) had to pull over and let a large group of Japanese in brand spanking new stocker Wranglers blast their way through a rough section, must have been something that Jeep put together. these guys looked like they had never been off roading before and their method was to stand on the gas pedal. it was really comical to see them getting through, they were really having a blast too!

 

[gjackson]

Yamaha has a racing 2wd dirt bike with real suspension. They have won the Paris Dakar with it. Front wheel is hydralic driven and only gets about 2 - 4% of the drive, but it is really effective.

cheers

 

[rusty_tlc]

Dug this old thread up. I was thinking about these bikes today for some reason and wanted to see what was on the board about them.
One thing I noticed when I saw one at the top of Little sluice was that the front drive gears are noisy as hell, this is coming from a guy who drives an FJ40 with the stock gear box.

 

[LJRockstar]

If your interested in 2wd motorcycles check this out! Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac