Never ridden one but know a few folks who've used them. Bottom line is if you're using them in an area where the trails are so narrow you can't use a 4 wheeler or are transporting it in an aircraft, it's the only tool for the job. If however you can get a conventional 4X4 into the same spot, you can get a 400-500cc 4X4 atv that will do everything the Rokon can do, quite a few things it can't do for the same price.
I just don't see $7000 of capability in a Rokon, but your mileage may very.
I got mine because I had always seen them as a kid in the back of the outdoor mags. Just decided it was one of those "bucket list" things I had to have as an adult with some disposable income.
It's been very reliable. No serious issues. About once every 1-2 years, I have to run a little piece of wire through a jet on the carb. Not a gas issue, but a design issue with the carb on the Kohler motor that mine has. Other than that, it's been fine.
I have the Scout model. It didn't come with the water/gas tank wheels. I didn't want to spend the extra money, plus it was a lot harder to find 15" tires for those wheels(and the ones available were supposedly not good on side hills) vs. a huge availability of tires available for the 12" "spoke" wheels.
Mine only has about 6-1/2 hp. It's plenty for what the machine was designed for. The bike is all about low speed/torque/gearing. First gear only gets you up to a little over 5mph. It's for VERY rough terrain, or heavily treed areas where you're kinda making hour own trail. It's also very good if you have to go over a large obstruction or through a dicey area. You simply jump off the bike, and "walk" it along with the throttle. It won't go fast enough in 1st gear to get away from you.
Second gear is where the bike stays most of the time, and 3rd is for roads/trails. It'll only go about 25-30mph. You have to stop to change gears. It doesn't have a clutch or shift on the fly.
The brakes on the newer ones are much better. Mine work, but are mechanical disc brakes. Not that great on lots of steep hill riding.
They have a suspension front end available, now. Mine is solid in the front. The rear doesn't do much. For higher speeds, you kind of transfer your weight to your feet, like riding a horse, otherwise your butt bounces around all over and you rattle your teeth.
It's a neat bike for riding through "uncharted" territory, but if you have decent trails or roads, the Yamaha TW200 would be a better choice. The all wheel drive of the Rokon helps in bad stuff, but the TW would be fine in most light-mod mud.
As much as I hate to say it, they really are overpriced for what they are. If the Chinese had a mind to, they could easily build one in the $1500-$2000 range. I would have a hard time telling anyone that they are worth more than about $3500-$4000, even today. You've got a $300 roto tiller engine, a $500 frame, $500-$1000 worth of gearboxes, and the rest is about $700-$1000 worth of stuff (seat/brakes/tires/wheels/etc).
What you get on a TW200, for $3750-$4000, is better in every way, but you don't get the 4wd.
The Rokon is a simple, go-anywhere, reliable machine, but the price, which is comparable to a nice ATV, and even approaching that of some UTV's, has just about gotten ridiculous. It's almost akin to spending $400 for a break open H&R shotgun, when you can get a Browning BPS for $499.
I agree the TW is todays rokon , great little bike for single track areas .
In my youth I always wondered how the front wheel drive worked , never saw anything more than a small picture in outdoor magazines . Pretty simple and easy to see with the www. The price of the ''PREPPER'' model is crazy !
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I've had one for 20 years. Had lots of issues as it came, and the owner of Rokon was a total ass to deal with. Figured I could get to where the 4-wheelers couldn't, which to some extent is true, but overall, a waste of money. After I bought a 4-wheeler, the Rokon very, very, rarely is used. New price now is close to what I paid for my Grizzly 550. No question which one is the better choice, value and quality. Bottom line, they're a tiny-niche vehichle for use in unusual conditions, compared to a 4-wheeler, and don't have anywhere near the utility of a 4-wheeler 99% of the time. Now, if another company would come out with one for around 4K, they'd be worth taking a close look at.
I've had three of them and there is a Rokon thread running right now down in the ATV section. They are pretty crude compared to a four wheeler and I can't disagree with anything that fburgtx has already written. Mine always attracts attention if I park it somewhere on the trailer. I've had lots of rear wheel knobby tired dirt bikes and a buddy with one of those TW200 Yamaha bikes and there is no way that any of them will go where a Rokon can when the going gets tough.
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I've had three of them and there is a Rokon thread running right now down in the ATV section. They are pretty crude compared to a four wheeler and I can't disagree with anything that fburgtx has already written. Mine always attracts attention if I park it somewhere on the trailer. I've had lots of rear wheel knobby tired dirt bikes and a buddy with one of those TW200 Yamaha bikes and there is no way that any of them will go where a Rokon can when the going gets tough.
When the TW200 comes up against a big rock or log, it stops and if you goose it, the back wheel will either spin or you do a wheely. The Rokon's front tire will just climb over it and keep going.
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