Rokon motorcyles

[David_in_TX]

Rokon now has a front suspension option with 8 inches of travel:

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

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

 

[paulj]

I couldn't make out from the picture how they managed to drive this wheel, but the link describes it - a dual idler sprocket at the suspension pivot point on the other side. So one chain to the pivot, and other from the pivot to the wheel.

Years ago I experimented with a suspension on a bicycle, using pivot arms at the bottom of the fork. But with independent arms on each side that tended to wobble. This, with the U shaped lower arm, takes care of that problem. They also get by with just one shock, leaving the other size free for the drive system.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Very very rare to see a Rokon in OZ so I feel privledged to have had a ride. Lots of fun. Somehow he got it road registered. The owner who's a good friend / customer of ours says that it floats and you can swim a river with it as long as the carby side it up out of the water and once when he was riding on some mud flats he got off the bike and sank down to his knees in the mud.

 

[Stumpalump]

I bought an 02 Rokon with the Kohler 6.5HP engine. It was basically a generator and pressure washer motor with a terrible carb and little power. I loved it but it was lacking umph and throttle response. I found out that the Yamaha 200cc cart racing engine used the same block. Burris Racing developed the Yamaha 200cc cart racing program so I teamed up with them and developed a Rokon motor based on the Yamaha. We developed a cam, port work and a custom carb to go with the bigger bore and large valved Yamaha motor. Now we have a silky smooth 12hp engine that will snap to life when you need it like at the bottom of a ravine. I am finishing details on carb linkage this week and hope to have them for sale in a couple of weeks. These will only fit the Kohler bikes. If anybody is interested then let me know.

Thise things go anywhere!

 

[skysix]

Ecorider

The Scots have now got a diesel quad available - and will have a diesel 4x4 quad by late summer.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=374980

Wonder if there would be any advantage to having a diesel in the Rokon?

 

[FusoFG]

Wonder if there would be any advantage to having a diesel in the Rokon?

Many years ago the factory made some special diesel Rokons for a mining company in Mexico. It was either a Lister or a Petter engine

The factory says they are investigating adapting a new single cylinder diesel engine to the current model Rokons.

The advantage for me over my gasoline powered 2 stroke Rokon would be less noise, more torque and most importantly the same fuel as my diesel Mitsubishi FG 4x4 camper.

 

[Stumpalump]

Some picts from the Big Sky Romp this weekend in Montana:

 

[Stumpalump]

few more

 

[Stumpalump]

I put some 25.5x8R12 PitBull Growler XOR radials on the Rokon. They work great!






Old tire next to it was the stock Carlile bias 25x8x12. What a nice difference to smooth out a bike with no suspension. You can also see the Rotopacs on the back. They have been great also. One holds 2 gallons of water for the desert and one is the storage box. No fuel needed because it runs 5.5 hours non stop on a tank.

 

[Wyowanderer]

Rokon

I bought my 97 Trailbreaker in early 98, and have loved it every since.
I get left in the dust on fireroads, but when I turn onto singletrack and game trails, even the enduros are stopped. I've climbed 36" downed trees, gone through mud and sand that was impossible to walk through, and scaled hills that the enduros can't handle.
It's great for ice fishing (with tire chains) and fording streams- I've crossed streams that were four feet deep by floating it across.
It'll pull GOBS of weight; factory says 3000 pounds, though I've never done it. Still, it goes just about anywhere, it's reliable, and easy to work on.
Great machine.

 

[Oni]

While it's not a tractor like a Rokon, this company has been making a kit for modern bikes to convert to 2 wheel drive. Front engages only after the rear wheel spins. More race or sport than utility.

http://www.christini.com/index.php

Here is a review:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/179/6511/Motorcycle-Article/2009-Christini-KTM-300-XC-Review.aspx

 

[Bugspray]

My old man is a retired park ranger and when I was a teenager they used to do controlled burns on the open prairie areas to mimic nature's burn regrowth cycle. Anyhow they had a Rokon to carry the extra "pisscans" around to the guys to keep the fire under control, it was my "job"(I didnt get paid) to ride the thing around refilling the "pisscans". They had built mounts two on the rear and two on the front like saddlebags and panniers, the "pisscans" were 5gallons each so that would be around 160 lbs. plus me. That thing would go anywhere fully loaded at about walking/jogging pace, including up 45 degree loose dirt slopes. The park used a Jeep J10 with a large water tank in the back for the water supply and a Honda quad for toting water and gear. It was hot,dirty,exhausting work but an absolute blast! I wish I had pics of the whole operation....

 

[Wyowanderer]

I think the real question to ask would be: What can the Rokon do that a more modern dirt bike or ATV can't? My guess would be very little, maybe the deep mud as pictured or something else involving an extremely slow climb (where a more modern bike couldn't use momentum to get it over the hill.) Although as to slow climbs - ever see a Trials bike? They can go really slow and still get up the hill.

I think the Rokon is interesting but as near as I can tell the design hasn't been updated since the 1950's, while modern dirtbikes are head and shoulders above what they were back then. And I can't imagine that the Rokon is street legal, which would limit its usefulness to a lot of people (like me) who are interested in a trail riding bike but need to have the ability to occasionally ride on a paved road.

The Rokon seems more like an engineering experiment than anything else, i.e. something that somebody came up with just to see if they could do it.

It can climb over 36" logs on a singletrack trail and continue. I left several bikes behind near Steamboat after the blowdown that blocked many of the trails.
My Rokon is street legal. I had to add an electric powered horn and mirrors.

They're not for everyone, but I love mine; it's perfect for the trails I ride.
Just curious- you ever ridden a trials bike very far? Suspension or not, at least the Rokon has a normal seating position and can be ridden distances.

 

[David_in_TX]

And they float. Try that with any modern dirt bike :snorkel:

It can climb over 36" logs on a singletrack trail and continue. I left several bikes behind near Steamboat after the blowdown that blocked many of the trails.
My Rokon is street legal. I had to add an electric powered horn and mirrors.

They're not for everyone, but I love mine; it's perfect for the trails I ride.
Just curious- you ever ridden a trials bike very far? Suspension or not, at least the Rokon has a normal seating position and can be ridden distances.

 

[David_in_TX]