I have owned a TrailBreaker since 06 , goes almost everywhere, goes where motorcycles, side by sides, or quads wont dare to go.. Had fun watching Dave ride his Trail Breaker, reminded me when I was a new-be rider. These machines are truly amazing with a experienced rider. Sacramento CA.
Great video. I remembered seeing these in the back of popular mechanics and hunting magazines when I was a kid. A couple of years ago I got serious about looking into them, did a ton of research and checked them out at a dealer. I liked the look and the setup but was still not convinced. Then I actually test drove one through the woods, trails, hills, water etc. and couldn't believe it. Unstoppable and extremely stable at low speeds. That night I purchased it on the spot. I have roughly 100 hours on it in all terrain including snow. If you are thinking of purchasing one you really need to test drive it in the environments in which it is designed to operate and you will be impressed.
You are living a dream Dave. You are very fortunate to live the way you do. Enjoy, I would love to be able to live the life style that you do. The American dream and frankly, the way we all should live. Like we used to, clean, honest, simple, hard working and God, family. That's it. !!!!! Enjoy, God bless
Hello Dave Canterbury, very pleased, my name is Carlos, and I would say that I am a fan and I watch all your videos, learned a lot from their advice, most of buchcraft and survival techniques I know, I learned from you, admire their work and thank you for the initiative to want to pass that knowledge so simple but yet so important to people, knowledge that were used in the daily lives of our ancestors, that even avendo modern means those techniques can still be used once again thank and I hope to continue doing this important work.
Dave, we have had our two Rokon's for 12 years now, got ours before they became all fancy. To date, aside from normal maintenance, we have only had to replace the tires as we wore em out. We added a vertical rifle rack, chainsaw and woods tools rack and a set of saddle bags we got from Sportsmans Guide. Change the oil, use good gas and gas line antifreeze in the winter and this thing will just keep going. Good video.
My having only 18 acres is a mere pinky nail to the likenesses of what you and Cody own and need to manage. If I cant make it in my Jeep then I go home and get my horse. I tell my kids that the nicest gift they could ever give me is a Batman suit. Not because I'm a super hero, it's for that day when I wake up, see the suit hanging in my closet and say to myself " Wow, did I really do all that ?" With 1 in college and one in high school 7200.00 is like 72000.00 right now. Common man dreams of being Captain Kirk and blazing new trails where nobody else has been before, but settle's into the fact that there was a time we could do a back flip with a double can can on our pedal dirt bikes. Let's not forget why we hunt, fish, or fix our broken tools.
I been riding Rokons since 1978. It takes a little practice when you first start riding one. Since the front tire pulls, you steer in stead of kicking the rear around like a regular bike. Another thing, try to keep your feet on the pegs as much as possible, Keeping them on the pegs directs more ground pressure to the tires so you don't loose traction. Welcome to RokonWorld.
Dave I like the older two stroke bikes. they are lighter and I can lay it down in the bushes for days, then pick it up and she starts right up with no smoke from oil in the cylinder. my bike is a 83 Brush buster.
David, actually the front wheel drive disengages under sharp turning, or else you would drop the bike. Rims hold 2.5 gallons each, and don't forget to get the fuel transfer pump. Get the single track trailer, then you can haul up to 800 pounds of gear on that thing. I suggest welding on ammo boxes on front and side rack's for storage, as they also aid in floatation. You can float that thing across a river carb side up and on it's side. Watch the video on RU-vid called "Rokon Single Track Trailer". You have around 7 horsepower, but you can triple that in reliable power by switching that Koehler out for a Yamaha go cart racing engine. You can get those engines up to 25 H.P, but they won't be as reliable, and you don't need that much power anyway. I would not go over 18 H.P. A sprocket switch and the 18 horse motor should allow you to do around 55 and still be able to climb anything in the woods.. The bearings and stuff are interchangeable, and a good part of the parts can be had at the local hardware store, but do get a few extra bearings and store them on bike. If you stick with the factory engine, spare parts can be found on a Koehler pressure washer or gen set engine, as it should be the same engine. You can do more than move gear with that Rokon, you can get attachments to pull logs, even a harbinger plow, too many accessories to list.
True the Rokon is 2 Wheel Drive but NOT full time. When you crank the wheel all the way left or right the front wheel drive disengages so the bike won't pull you over. Rokon is badass.
In my opinion - as a forester...My Kodiak quad can get through some pretty tight spots and with a snatch block and winch, I can move some pretty large logs out of the way. Plus I can carry saws, tools, gear in milk crate racks, etc. I just can't see using anything different, although this bike is pretty damn unique. Plus I paid less than half than this Rokon costs (used). If things get too crazy for the quad, I should be walking anyway!
Hi Dave, I bought the Trail Breaker 10 years ago, for deer hunting in W VA. A major deficiency was the lack of a parking brake which made it very tough to park it on a hill, the kick stand was worthless on a hill, which meant I had to lean it on a tree. The foot peg position is too far forward for climbing hills so your legs will be hanging off most of the time which is hard on the jewels! You can't transfer your weight to the rear wheel when you really need it. Hope you don't mind revving the piss out of the engine to get the torque converter to speed up for traveling. Shifting the transmission is a joke. My opinions are 10 years old and hope Rokon has made improvements since then. Good luck, but that money was poorly spent !
Just this morning I was telling my wife how I always wanted one of those and that one thing that looks like a six wheeled bathtub, they used to advertise them in the back of outdoor magazines when I was a kid and I thought they were so cool.
I really like the Rokon. Being narrow, it can go through thickly wooded areas, that a four wheeler won't fit through. The thing climbs like a mountain goat too. I think you're going to have a blast with it.
Cool machine. I'm also from the Appalachian mountains, and I can see where a rig like this could be more beneficial in a lot of cases than a four wheeler. Keep up the good work Dave. Thumbsup
Honestly I don't really get bikes in the woods. I've ridden bikes all my life and I've been in the woods with many of them and I just don't see the value. You're much faster on foot in almost 90 % of the cases. At least in the type of wood areas I'm close to. It also brings noise and takes away from the experience. So out of curiosity what do you people do with bike in the woods? Am I missing something? I mean there has to be something too it that I'm not seeing as it's such a popular hobby.
Great video, can't wait for the rest of the series. These are often overlooked, and truly not very expensive given the overall capabilities of these machines.
I've wanted a Rokon since they came out. Glad to see you giving them a little publicity. They are 2 wheeled tractors. Plus they're made here in New England. Dave, when you coming up to the western mountains of Maine?
***** Yea I know that, but I just said that mainly because if you use the single track trailer designed for it, you know it will work good off road, if push comes to shove can use tire from trailer on bike and leave trailer, and finally the single track doesn't increase the width between trees.
***** Yeah makes sense, dont get me wrong I think rokons are super cool with all the shit you can get for them, the 7k pricetag still makes me really sad though. I think they would be way more successful and sell more units, more profits etc if they lowered it to a more realistic pricepoint. I get it though, it is what it is. Those moto-mules are over a grand, but thats just cottage industry for you, one guy makes them all in his garage and I've watched him build his brand over the years. I respect that a lot.
HannesFury It is, the other thing people don't know is they are not made on an modern assembly line like everything else is, the are each hand crafted with hand tools, and I think that is why they have to charge that much.
You should check out the Honda trail 90 or 110. They are cheap reliable and can go anywhere. Also they get about 100 miles to the gallon. The bike also has eight gears with high/low selection.
The thing is pretty darn cool. I'm interested in them because they're only a couple hundred pounds they'll fit on a class 3 hitch carrier! Try doing that with a quad! You could probably toss a pair in the bed of a truck even! Cool lil' bikes, been around since the 50's I think.
The yellow "Tygon" line that was on the fuel tank vent was there due to its ability to resist fuel/fuel vapors. Your tubing might very well have an adverse reaction following contact with raw fuel.
Nice Dave! Looking forward to this series. I've always thought a dirt bike of some kind is a great addition to any survivalists gear. I recently bought a Kawasaki KLR650 Dual Sport for use on the highway as well as offroad but I looked at the Rokons too.. definitely looking forward to seeing how you outfit it and utilize it for survival!
They are fascinating bikes, I ride Woods in the rockies here a lot on a full 2 stroke dirt bike, it was really neat to see you crawling over deadfall like that no problem, wet wood I"d just spin and spin, the motor makes 12.5 ft lbs of Tq at only 2800rpm, perfect for crawling with a torque converter, also 8" wide tires is fantastic! what a cool machine, I sure agree with you that 35mph is plenty fast for even fire roads, I rarley go over 5mph when doing woods work on my 50hp bike, great video!
The first Rocon was a 1969 two wheel drive Sax two stroke engine we use to jump off the trap house it too could go anywhere this one was very fast great power band the guys got a real kick out of it at the Skeet shoot .
I remember these (or a variant thereof) being used by some U.S. Cavalry units in Europe during the late 70's. What was really impressive is how quiet they were.
I love Dave, been an original sub for like 5 years, probably more. I have to ask though...what is the advantage of that vehicle vs like a KLR or Enduro type bike for the trail?
Great video. I have a 2005 Rokon Scout. Yours and mine look very similar except I opted not to get the hollow wheels. Also mine is started t he old fashioned way: With a rope. Love these bikes they do go virtually anywhere.
Never been a motorbike fan but enjoyed watching this. Looks like a lot of fun. I can see a pile of add ons coming out of your workshop Dave. I bet you could come up with a trailer easily.
Dave, You deserve a hundred or so thumbs up for the vids you do. Thank you and you know, I think I may look for one of these until I find a fixer-upper...I currently have a 60cc 2-stroke on a mountain bike and i does pretty well off road but has no ass to get thru thick stuff...thanks man.
Sweet! I always wonder about how easy to replace the tire to the wheel. Some of these vehicles are almost impossible. Also, is the spark plug out and easy to snap on brush or is it pretty well covered? Is there an extra spark plug on the single cylinder? I had a Husqvarna that had that extra spark plug feature and it was sweet. If you snapped the drive one and did not have time to change it, you could just switch over to the other plug.
One special feature folks might not notice, is the leading link front forks. Unlike the usual motorcycle forks, the leading link forks make the handlebars RISE when going over a bump, instead of making the front end tend to dive. Now days, a good bike can have anti dive fork system to counteract the effect, but BMWs and old Japanese bikes,etc., had versions of the leading link technology. The forks feel heavy,but in the woods, having the front end go up instead of dive when you hit an obstacle is worth it. I think they are heavier and more sturdy than modern motorcycle forks, but appropriate for hauling most of an elk back from the woods...,
I have been thinking about whether to buy a Rokon because it is low to the ground allowing me to touch the ground without having to stand up or dismount making it easier to control. It can go on trails atv's can't. I dislike the noise though and I do not like to wear ear plug or headphones. That can be said about other outdoor equipment too. Why can't they make silencer mufflers for these devices?
Well, I certainly can't afford a Rokon. What would, in your opinion, be a good Tote Goat style bike or that size 2 X 2 bike with a market style luggage frame that you could strap, rope, or clip stuff to it plus tow a wagon or trailer?
Cool video series Dave ! my channel is mostly on ATV'ing so I love stuff like this, could you show how the 2WD system works? that thing seems like it can go anywhere! it will be interesting to see some over night'er videos with it. Thanks for sharing !
You mentioned the rims hold water or fuel, but you didn't say if you'd put anything in them for your test. I'd think that would make a difference in the handling?
Wow, a lot of information really fast. Had to stop several times. I love the 14 inch clearance. I am curious where the fan cooling is and how it is protected from brush and water. Time to check the website.
interesting, but it looks more like an assisted walking/hiking machine. ultra slow, riders feet were always down dragging and holding the bike up. he looked really tired in one scene driving up to the camera. it really didn't look at all as if he was riding this thing
Glad you made a video of this. Just watched another video of yours and it was in the background. Was scrolling down to ask about it and seen this video. Seems to be a handy bike.
It's hard to beat one for extreme offroading where size and weight do matter. You should check out a BOB offroad trailer for hauling stuff in it. Due to the low road speed; You could even buy the Mountain bike specific BOB. The BOB is a single wheel suspension equipped trailer that can lean and flex behind your bike.
For hauling I could understand, but tbh I would prefer to go with a fat bike mid drive bicycle, with auxiliary batteries on a pannier rack, main battery in-frame, mountain bike gear set, runs through the drive chain, full suspension, allround better solution for camping, bushcraft, ect. Plus if you run out of power you just pedal, better for hunting too as its quieter. About £2000 if you want every possible bell and whistle and do I yourself.
Hi Dave, Good looking bike, looking forward to seeing more. I do have one concern about your replacement tube. I'd keep your eye on that, the gas fumes and any gasoline exposure to that tube may accelerate the deterioration. The yellow tube I'm betting has a resistance rating similar to that of a plastic jerry can, while your rubber tube may absorb the petrol and it could dissolve it like gasoline in a regular milk jug... That would end up defeating the dual purpose of your tube. Thanks for reading and keep being great...
