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 !
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.
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.
My neighbor in Idaho (a recent Alaska transplant) bought one this year and is using it this fall. He bought it to haul deer/elk parts out as he often hunts alone and is just shy of 70.
It’s a broken bone crash waiting to happen in the most remote area you can find. There is no suspension combined with low pressure tires just imagine the bounce you get at 20mph. I’ve owned two in my life. Much different models and options. Both had the same problems. It’s true it will get you into the back country further than anything else made. But when you do hit a trail that lets you get beyond 18-20 mph. It will bounce you to death and scare the life out of you. I’ve ridden dirt bikes much of my life and had my own motocross track with jumps on my farm. Bikes are not new to me.
I wanted the rokon to be what’s it’s advertised as more than anyone. However, it’s not going to be what you hope for until they find a way to install a front suspension. It is simply dangerous at anything above 12-15 mph.
If you pull it up to a tree or wall it will crawl straight up in low gear. It will climb over a 20-30” fallen tree. It will go through deep snow. But it will bounce you out of control and is scary as hell above 20.
And getting back down from up where it will take you is pretty hairy as well. I have literally been above and looking down on Dall sheep on mine. The descent was sketchy, to say the least...
And getting back down from up where it will take you is pretty hairy as well. I have literally been above and looking down on Dall sheep on mine. The descent was sketchy, to say the least...
I have one it has all the advantages and limitations that everyone has previously mentioned. Last I looked they can come with a Kohler or a Honda engine. Simple designs really but I believe they require more maintenance than the average 4 wheeler. American made, not a metric thread on the main bike (not that that really matters). I have mainly had to tinker with the chain drive adjustments and the carb a bit. I honestly think mine might get to 30 mph if I dropped it from the top of a tall tree .....
FG On mine which is a 2013 model. There is no gas cap breather tube. I believe this is due to carb { meaning stoopid fooking Cali regs }
At least I had the hottest DMV gal come out to inspect the motor sticker and check for the vent tube.
I'd read that the owner of Rokon had resisted the change with the breather tube and tank because it required state testing and substantial fees to get gooburmential approvial.
Thank God I'm back in Nevada but it seems I'm totally surrounded by Infidel Californians.
The wife and I each have 2005 trailbreakers. I also have a tow bar on mine, along with the side car. Several years ago, I skidded out two bull elk, from a clear cut, down to the utility trailer.....whole! Amazing what that little lawnmower engine will do. The sidecar is handy where ATV's are allowed. It is rated at a 60 degree climb angle, if you can hang on! Rock chuck is correct about crawling over blow downs. Traction is better with the after market grim reaper tires on them. Suspension consists of a spring over shock, under the seat and 7 psi, in the tires. Mine is mainly used for retrieving game, as I hunt on foot. Many a loaded pack frame has come out, in the side car. I figured it will gain me about 10 extra years of elk hunting/packing....next best thing to a mule, without the fuss and mess.
Andy 3
PS. The side car takes some getting use to. Left hand turns, no problem............right hand turns, if its empty, it wants to come off the ground and flip over you! Not an issue at slow speeds. The first time WILL get your attention!!! My bird dogs love to ride in it.
I figured it will gain me about 10 extra years of elk hunting/packing....next best thing to a mule, without the fuss and mess.
Most of the places we hunt are closed to all motor vehicles. I ended up with llamas just for that reason. They take up much less space than horses or mules although I do have to walk. I figure they added 5 or more years to my hunting career. I'm getting too old to be packing elk quarters on my back any more.
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It is rated at a 60 degree climb angle, if you can hang on!
that's 60%, not 60 degrees. BIG difference. 60% is pretty steep but 60 degrees is serious mountain goat stuff. A 60% slope is approx 31 degrees. This diagram is a 60 degree hill. If you lay it on it's long axis, that's 30 degrees, about what a Rokon is rated for. That's a pretty steep hill, too.
I would think that a sidecar would defeat one of the main advantages of a Rokon, namely it's narrowness. They will go vertical, but you won't. The first year I was doing more hill climbing up to my hunting area with the back wheel doing most of the pulling. I strapped a car battery to the front rack and then the front wheel stayed on the ground better. Now I have a 20# rubber coated dumbbell strapped to the front rack and I like the weight distribution much better.
Mentioned earlier was 18-20 mph through the woods! Say what? This thing is a replacement for legs through rough terrain that will go even slower than walking speed while carrying a load. I can't remember the last time that I even used third gear. It ain't a dirt bike motorcycle, it is more like a motor-tractor geared way down for low end, low speed tractable power.
fburgtx, where is that breather jet that gets contaminated with dirt that causes the rough idle? I've read that it is a simple thing to just run a wire through it, but I've never done it on mine.
FieldGrade, my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek instead of hanging out of my mouth with that earlier post about the gas cap. At my advancing age I think that I would rather ride the Rokon.
fburgtx, where is that breather jet is it that gets contaminated with dirt that causes the rough idle? I've read that it is a simple thing to just run a wire through it, but I've never done it on mine.
I take off my air filter housing (and I think choke pull) and the small fiberglass shroud between the gas tank and motor. Not incredibly difficult, but not something you want to do in the middle of the woods, either. You just wiggle a small strand of copper wire in there a few times, and that does the trick. No real predictability to it, it'll just randomly start running like crap one day, and I'll know it's time to do it again.
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