Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Traded in my old Rokon.....and met the founder of the Rokon co.

for a NEWER one!!

I went to a Rokon ride in and campout two weekends ago with my 1984 Rokon Mototractor 2stroke unit. I have not been able to keep that 2 stroke motor going and running reliably. I just do not know enough about two stroke motors. Well, I took with me one of the old Rokon frames and tire / wheel combo's that I had up for sale here a while back. At the ride in I met and visited with ORLA, the founder of the Rokon co and a bunch of guys who LOVE Rokons (for good reason, IMV) including a guy who has designed and sells hydraulic brake kits for these units. Well, jumping to the current, I was able to trade my '84 2 stroke unit combined with the old extra frame and tire wheel stuff for a '97 Rokon with a 6.5HP Honda 4 stroke model WITH the hydraulic brake upgrade already installed! NOW, I have the off road critter hauler that Ihave needed. The founder of the Rokon Company is now 80 but still travels all over the country and camps out in the back of his Subabru 4x wagon and goes on all day backcountry Rokon rides. I hope I am as active and healthy at 80 as Orla is!!! A great weekend and trade for me. Dont discount a Rokon for your ORV if you live in an area with lots of trees to negotiate through or desire a vehicle that will not kill or cripple you if it falls on you. Great on sidehills as well!

They look like a fun, capable ride.

If ya want zoom zoom or fast, they are not for you. If you need to get right in there where Mr. Elky fell down they are more than capable. A different sort of horse, to be sure. I have always been curious as to why they do not sell a lot better than they do. It seems us hunter- fisher types would be all over 'em.

I've owned many of these and ridden 1000's of hours on them. Modified them, rebuilt them and hauled out more game for myself and others then you can imagine with them.

They are without any question the most go anywhere internal combustion machine of all time. However with that said I can tell you many reasons why they are not more popular.

First and most likely, for the same price or less you can buy a quad with several times more power, full electric start, lights, digital display, fuel guage, suspension, higher speed, greater hauling capacity, far better quailty, local dealers, experienced service folks, More dependable by a 100%, reverse gear, pushbutton 4WD-2WD-Low range,reverse, fully auto transmission. Comfort which cannot be compared at any level, and far easier and safer to ride.

The Rokon has non of those features or qualities. It's true you can haul a lot with a rokon but only if you have the perfect traction and acrobatic level of balance skills. Anyone can haul a 1/2 an elk on a quad, Not many people will haul a 1/4 of an elk on two wheels with their legs out as "outriggers" to balance the load. By the time you have gone a few miles your thighs will be buring and begging you to stop. I've hauled out whole wild hogs on mine. Up to 200 pounders, going up and down hills and across some tough bush. Every time I do I'm exhauseted and my legs are shaking. I've used a trailer, bought from another rokon owner. Now I know why he sold it! On anything other then level that trailer wants to slide down hill. When that happens you wish you had a quick release in a hurry cause the Rokon will likely be going with the trailer.

If you load it light to be sure you can control it........Whats the point? I learned to make several lighter trips with the Rokon over the years. That's the best plan of all. But at 4-5 miles in making 8 trips instead of 4 is a long days work. Without suspension each bump in the road wants to bounce the front end into the air. If the back is loaded heavy, it wans to point at the sky. The front end is like an under inflated basketball on each bump. Very tricky for the first time user. You eventually get the hang of it, but I've been scared out of my wits plenty of times hitting unseen rocks or limbs. No suspension means you gotta be able to react to everything you hit. Fortunately the 4 strokes only go about 25mph at high speed.

There is in fact places you can go with a rokon nothing else but a man on foot will go. They are just amazing to watch and ride. They are simple where the parts are concernend but assembled where lots of stuff needs to come apart to get at anything. It's what you get with that much capabilty in a 200lb package only 20" wide.

Some tips, Don't buy a new one. Buy one from 1999- to mid 2005 or so. Let somebody have worked out the bugs from the factory. Everyone I know who has bought a new one is really pissed with the QC and the fight with Rokon to get anything fixed. There is no functional labor warranty, only parts, and then you will be lucky to get them to respond or help. They sell replacement parts for about 1000% markup as well. You will become an Ebay expert looking for the parts you need.

The newer kholer engine is absolutely the only way to go. It's powerful and much quieter then the 2 stroke chrysler fuel sucking beast. The 2 stroke is way more power then the 4 stroke, I could ride wheelies with the 2 stroke, where the 4 stroke cannot even take the slack out of the sidewall of the front tire. But that 2 stroke will split your brain open it's so loud. Imagine running a 10HP chainsaw!

Over all a Rokon is a hella lotta fun, and a real mechanical education for those with the skills to work on them. Once the bugs are worked out and you have it set and adjusted proper, they are fairly dependable. I've never been stranded on mine or stuck so bad I needed another vehicle or assistance to extract. I have with every other vehicle I've owned!

You have it right about the thighs! And the noise of that awful 2 stroke. Yeah, it was powerful but at too high of a price RE reliability and noise. BTDT I am excited about using the newer 4 stroke version this year. The guy I got mine from is a real Rokon nut and did get all of the bugs worked out and all of the upgrades done. Rode it a LOT so it seems to be good to go. Maybe the thigh burn would not be so bad if I got some training wheels for it

Any other Rokon users, past or present, out there in campfire land?

It true that a quad will carry more weight easier....if you can get it to the elk. With Idaho's steep mountains, narrow trails, and big rocks, most elk habitat is closed by nature to 4 wheelers. Here in so. Idaho, many forest trails are open for 2 wheelers but not 4 wheelers.

I haven't packed out meat on a Rokon, but I have on several different motorcyles. It's not easy even when you have good traction. It's definitely hard on legs. On 2 occasions, I tried to pack deer on a Honda Trail 90. It's a great concept but so underpowered that I ended up carrying out both the deer and the bike. The same design with a 150cc or 175cc engine would have been ideal.

Dick

Don't mistake my comments as anti-rokon, I'm not. I would not have been using them for so long if I were.

However the folks looking at the hype in the ad's would believe that you just hop on and zip away into the bush.

That's about like saying since you can ride a bicycle you can hop on a dirt bike run up a launch ramp and jump 20 cars at the state fair!

Hauling meat over about 80-100 pounds on a two wheel bike is not gonna be done by just anyone. It's a very difficult job, maybe harder then just packing it out.

I used a Honda Fat Cat too. The front wheel on that was nearly impossible to keep on the ground. Any bump bounced it straight in the air. I layed that thing over a 1/2 dozen times in the first 4 miles with a load of bear meat and the hide. Never took that in the bush again after that trip!

The Honda Big red was a wonderful machine. Wish they still made that one! My Honda trail 90 with dual range was also awsome, but way to hard to steer, and balance. The Power in low range was Ok, but the bike iteslf was very heavy.

Maybe a Rokon with two rear wheels about 12" apart would be great, split the difference between a two wheeler and a three wheeler.

The problem with most bikes is that they're designed to put the load on top. That makes them top heavy and very hard to handle. They're even hard to load for 1 man, let alone drive. The load needs to be hanging low on the sides. On most bikes, that puts the meat against the muffler and in the chain and spokes. You get your burger ground and smoked in 1 easy operation. The Rokon's side racks are the only one's I know of that allow low loads like that.


Dick

I've never seen low hanging side racks. They must have been for the 4 stroke only? the two stroke has that huge muffler going straight up along the side. It's hotter then hell too. I can't imagine having meat anywhere near that pipe! On the 4 stroke the muffler is under the seat, still hot but out of the way. Unfortunately the 4 strokes pipe exhausts to the side which would be right into a side mounted carry basket. I suspect you could mount them rather far forward on the 4 stroke and it would be fine. But for the two stroke you're out of luck. The pipe takes up all the room on the left side.



175 pound wild hog which was weighed on a hanging scale. I drove this out for miles. Although easier then packing it, it was still rather complicated and very tricky driving. Acrobatic balance and thighs of steel would be a great benifit for this work!

Oh yeah, one other comment. You might notice that I have 12" wheels so that I can use common ATV tires. I chose these Maxxis Bighorns because they are radials and improved the ride and provide some suspension effect. I have only 2.5PSI in them
These tires are the best I have ever used on a Rokon or an ATV

You've got those 'ladder' racks on the side. Cut porky in half and hang a half on each side, the lower the better as long as it's high enough to get down the trails without hitting rocks & stuff. Having the weight low makes a big difference when climbing. Also, getting it little more forward helps a lot on uphills. Whether you can do that depends on how the bike's designed. The more weight you can get in front of the rear axle the better.

A couple pieces of canvas are very useful this way to keep the meat clean.

Dick

To All,

Lots of very true comments have been made.....especially the ones regarding the purchase of a Rokon w/o any help afterwards...hence a web sight dedicated to helping Rokon owners do their own repairs. It's a very clicky place as well.

WRT balancing and the bike's suspension.....Mine (a Trail Breaker with 12" rims) is the drum rim type that allows gas or any other liquid to be stored INSIDE THE RIM !!!. IIRC, it's about 2 and a half gallons and doing that really changes the way the Rokon handles.

The leg cramps just tell me the rider isn't in the best of shape. I keep my feet on the pegs as much as possible which is something that only comes with experience.....especially when going slow. It's very easy to over steer in rough country when going slow so if you keep your feet on the pegs you can stand up on the pegs. The shock absorber is next to useless as it comes from the factory. I weigh 185 pounds and the tires took all the bounce so I drained the oil out of the shock and found the spring alone works better.

I have yet to carry an elk quarter out and would first attempt to drag it out to a trail wrapped in a heavy tarp and then tie it on the rear.

One thing I'll say about the Rokon is there are very few people hurt riding one and from what I hear the ATV guys have more than 5 K accidents each year. Last year a friend was carrying out a deer and tipped over.....life flight was sent in to the rescue. Had he not had insurance the trip would have cost him thousands of bucks and not buck deer !

I love my Rokon and have had to teach myself to be a 'wrench turner' and that's OK. I want to be able to rely on myself in a fix. I'll take a Rokon any day over an ATV. A Rokon will do anything you ask it to do IF YOU HAVE THE KAHONAS TO TRY IT. Remember they only weigh 200 pounds so IMO, I'll take the lightness over the 600+ pounds a 4 wheel ATV needs with all its gadgets.

P.S. If you hunt chukars your legs won't burn when you ride a Rokon. I just wish there were more Rokon owners to ride with. The Rokons are not compatable with any 4 wheelers as the latter can't go on the same trails. Both are good types....just different uses.

With the risk of sounding cocky here I'm gonna tell you that few people will keep up with me hunting period, it's my living. I ride a Mountian bike between 200 and 400 miles every month since college and was a college Hocky player taught how to train properly. I've run 6 marathons and been in two triatholons which I have completed. My leg strength and endurance is not a question. I've had about a half dozen people walk all day with me that have had no complaints. most were Professional Athletes. The finest was a woman Professional Tennis player who walked with me all day hunting in hot weather and never complained. Yet another Football player had leg cramps, blisters, and raw thighs trying to do the same thing. I have to be in top shape, I cannot have hunters waiting on me to get to the top of a hill, getting within range of game before dark, or struggling to pack out their game and gear.

I would challange you to ride out with 175 pounds on the back of that rokon on game trails and bush. It's easy to talk about what else you can do, but unless you have ever had 175lbs or more on that bike (dead weight not another rider) and ridden it with your legs as outriggers for balance trying to make it back to camp many miles up hill and down you don't know what your talking about!

I've owned Rokons for 20 years and put thousands of miles on them. I'm in agreement it's the most versatile machine ever made, but it's got limits that must be recognized prior to purchase.

The factory shock is worthless and should be about 30% less to have any function at all. I put the shock from a Free ride Mtn bike on mine and it worked like a dream( highly modified mounting brackets too). It has compression dampning, and rebound adjustments that can be set for your exact weight. That was the single best comfort idea ever! The radials were the next great improvement. Mine has 12" drum wheels as well. I also had the spoke wheels, they were really bad. Countless sticks would get into the spokes and whack your legs as the wheels rotate.

You obviously think there's few equal or better than yourself and I'll let you continue your anthropomorphism. I don't have anything to prove and won't brag about my accomplishments. I will stand on my statements; thank you very much.

Your exact comment was this

"The leg cramps just tell me the rider isn't in the best of shape"

Do you think you're the only one fit enough to ride a Rokon?

yet you assume this without knowing anything about me! You live in Idaho( I assume) I live in Wa. State most of the year. Mountains are no different between Idaho, and Washington. At least not enough to matter for fitness.

The difference is that I train for fitness for my living, not just hunting chukers as you suggest. There are tons of very fit people, I never assume anyone is over weight and out of shape. That was your mistake!

FWIW, I didn't say you were out of shape. Frankly, I'm not interested in wrestling with you so go kick your dog and get in a better mood.

If it were not for this quote there would be no issue, but you clearly contridict your own statements now!

"The leg cramps just tell me the rider isn't in the best of shape"

"FWIW, I didn't say you were out of shape"

Huh??? Are you kidding me or just being silly now?

May I be ever so polite to suggest you take a look again at Rock Chuck's post again. It speaks volumes.

Personally, I would NEVER attempt to put two hundred dead pounds on TOP of the rear seat as your picture of the hog shows. IMO, that's just plain crazy. No wonder your legs are shaking. Mine would very possibly be in the same condition. Notice I said possibly. There have been times early on when at the end of a dangerous ride my legs were worn out. When I took my first ride I wrote about it here, BTW. Side hilling a game trail with a drop off that if you happen to make a mistake, you're going to be bailing off to save your hide. The bottom is a looong ways down.

I've hunted many places in the world and can say that Idaho has the roughest country I've hunted generally. Don't know a thing about Washington so I can't say like you did... they're similar.

However, my wife hunts chukars with me ( 5'-8" tall and weighs 125# ) and I've hauled her up lots of steep WIDE bumpy dirt paths. The narrow paths are a bummer too often. But like I said, the key to saving your legs is to keep your feet on the pegs. It takes alot of practice as the temptation is to do like so many do and use their legs as outriggers.

I've been riding dirt bikes for a very long time and the pegs were put there for good reason. Many a time I have to go up mountain creeks for as much as 50' with rocks everywhere and it's a son of a gun for me to NOT want to put my feet down. And I must admit I get my feet wet when the water gets deep. The speed is the factor here. You want to go slow but if you go too slow you'll be in trouble.

I like to sew (yes, some guys sew) and hope to make a pair of canvas panniers like you see on horses and mules before the elk season starts. If you keep the center of gravity as low as possible on your Rokon you'll find hauling out game is a lot easier. I'm kind of surprised you haven't discoverd this yet. Maybe you have by now but I don't recall.

I really almost can't imagine why you're so 'testy' and quick to draw. We who are self employed tend to (at least I used to be that way) not take any 'guff' from anyone. No offense was intended to say you're out of shape. However, if your legs are burning from riding a Rokon you are not using it in the way it was intended to be used or you're out of shape. Keep you feet on the pegs. And if you can't then make some changes.

It's like the teacher who taught for twenty years and had one year of experience. He kept on doing the same thing.
So if your legs burn after this explanation, then I just feel sorry for you. Surely you're smarter than that.

Back peddaling is much more complicated then a simple apology for saying something in poor taste. Sometimes when you find yourself in a hole you should put down the shovel!

Good Lord. Go get a new life. You don't realize what you are but lots already do. Posturing like you do really feeds your insatiable ego.

You must be self employed as you'd not last long working for someone else. Seen your kind before and you're no fun to hang out with. Mr. Kahuna Know It All. You're on my list, thank you very much. Now go kill something and feel better.

There will be no further comments to you from me. So fire back and let more see what you really are. I'm not interested in reading garbage.