Whether it`s bobbers, excavators, spotlights or whatever, there`s a bike for everyone that fills the rider with freshness Steve McQueen or Peter Fonda who just sat on an engine with a can of gasoline between his knees and ran across the room while our brain whispers: “Bigger. Fast. Louder. But there is a motorcycle that rebels against the seductive power of speed and the Botticellian curves of our Freudian two-wheeled steeds: the Rokon Trail-Breaker, the antithesis of everything we have decided for the essence of a motorcycle. Off the road and back into the woods is amazing, but “someone needs to buy groceries, honey” and it might as well be you with a smile on your face. The Rokon Ranger will put that smile on your face, and you`ll likely find plenty of “creative” ways to get where you`re going. The Ranger offers the rider all the features and benefits of the Trailbreaker, with the addition of a Street Legal upgrade such as mirrors, turn signals, license plate lights, reflectors, horn, speedometer, odometer, daytime counter and improved headlights. The Ranger is also equipped with Kanati Mongrel 10 ply DOT approx. 8x12x25″ tubeless road tires that offer plenty of grip on and off-road. The Rokon Ranger is slightly higher, giving the rider a top speed of 37 miles per hour, while all other models have a top speed of 35 miles per hour. It`s great that this bike can also be used on the road! The museum also features an RT-340, Rochon`s foray into the enduro market in the 1970s. The RT-340, with its Sachs snowmobile engine, torque converter and two hydraulic disc brakes, looked like nothing else on two wheels at the time. In 1973, Popular Science asked if this could be the bike of the future.
Rokon has offered several bikes based on this platform, including a legal dual sport for the road, motocross, and my favorite, a flat tracker. Things were going well on the track, but development and production costs pushed Rokon into the red; RT-340 was discontinued in 1978. How is that possible? Like its 4×4 counterparts, Rochon`s two-wheeler system allows you to attack terrain that other bikes simply can`t attack. Power is transferred from a three-speed gearbox to a drive shaft that passes through the bike`s center tube to a universal seal on the handlebars, allowing the handlebars to spin while power is supplied to the front wheel. As a result, a set of gears rotates, which rotates an 11-tooth sprocket on the front wheel, which is connected by a chain to an 84-tooth sprocket attached to the wheel. The Rogon`s lightweight, hollow aluminum drum wheels can be filled with an additional 2.5 gallons of fuel or water. If left empty, they let the bike float sideways over otherwise impassable waterways. A simple, stripped-down Harley-Davidson inspired by the biker gangs of the 1960s.
This example (VIN: 1YJAT7019ER800190) could be even better suited as a working wheel thanks to the factory-installed custom sidecar. This is a legal demo model for the street that has about 100 hours – modifications to make it street legal include lighting, horn, mirrors, DOT approved tires, etc. Other extras include the sidecar, play stand and brush guard. Find this Rokon hack for sale in Port Angeles, Washington for $9,200 or the best deal here on eBay. Founded about 50 years ago, Rokon has become synonymous with two-wheel drive motorcycles that can go anywhere. Originally designed as a motorcycle/tractor, the Trailbreaker lives up to its name with incredibly low gear ratios that allow riders to climb steep hills at just 0.5 miles per hour. Rokon is the second oldest continuously operating motorcycle company in the United States, and the motorcycles they produce today remarkably resemble the prototype developed in 1958. For the uninitiated, the Trail-Breaker, Rokon`s original and best-selling model, is a two-wheeled mule of a bicycle.
With its squatting ATV tires inflated to just 3 psi, a 208cc 7-horsepower four-stroke Kohler engine, and a torque converter automatic clutch, it has a top speed of 35 miles per hour. In the history of mankind, no one has ever been laid down for riding a rokon. It is the bicycle of the bride and groom and the single. You won`t see this bike tearing up the track anytime soon, but with its ability to reach a 60% gradient, the Rokon dominates where no other vehicle can go. A dozen Rocon models are exhibited in the showroom. The room is bare, with a few advertising posters on the wall and a video playing on a small TV in the corner. One of the posters shows Tim Ralston of National Geographic Doomsday Preppers next to a rokon. Although hunters and other athletes are Rokon`s main demographic, they have entered the “prepper” market – those who throw away cans of Dinty Moore and AR-15 while waiting for the end of the world. It`s a common belief on internet forums and in prepper posts (some of which are spread out on a table in the middle of the showroom) that one of the best “bug out” vehicles for the upcoming end hour is a rokon.
When the zombie apocalypse happens, you might see me heading north at 35 miles per hour on one of them. The new models use a 208cc Kohler engine that produces 7 hp and 9.1 pounds of torque – which is never a good sign when you need to include decimals in your engine`s performance data. But, of course, that is not the point. You won`t go fast, but you can go wherever you want. Want to know more? Check out Rokon World to get as much information as possible, including a great story that dispels many myths about the birth of the Rokon Trailbreaker. By far, the coolest aspect of this bike is the wheels. Built like hollow barrels, they can store liquids such as extra gasoline or water when you`re on long trips. It doesn`t become much more useful – which is why they`re so well suited as farm/work bikes. Early on a warm September morning, we traveled east across the southern New Hampshire plain, from Keene – where the Rokon was manufactured from 1966 to 1981 – to Rochester, where the company is now based. We were on the road to see how this particular bike is made, who they make it for and how they have survived the last half century.
One of the keys to Rogon`s longevity was avoiding encroachment. Long before the idea of sustainable business models, Rokon cultivated its brand organically. They only produce six bikes a week, and the low production figures allow the bikes sold to retain much more of their value than if the company flooded the market. In the production area, the six Rokons that will be produced this week sit on elevators in the middle of the assembly. A walk in this region is like going back in time. There are no computers other than what Stephen, the production manager who gives us the tour, says he plays the music. All frames are welded, decallaminated and bagged by hand before being powder coated. In the center of the floor there is a manual tube bending machine, which is next to the device used to weld all the frames. While this may be called a factory, there is no sense of an assembly line; Every bike that comes out is proudly hand-built in America. Trail Breaker Features: • Front suspension • 12″ hollow aluminum 2.5 gal.
Drum wheels • 15″ ground clearance • 32″ height above seat • Required water depth of 24″ • Can swim (when wheels are empty) • Available colors: All • Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 8x12x25″ ATV tires • 0-35 mph • 12″ steel spoked wheels with 12x8x25″ tires • 51″ wheelbase • 13″ ground clearance • 31″ height above seat • 32″ wide • 79″ long • 218 lbs • Demanding water depth 22″ • Available Colors: All Speeds Increased – Drive the Ranger up to 37 MPH.