rokon trailbreaker 2wd motorcycle

[Dirty Harry]

Mudbug3-
Thanks. It is a small, but damn-near unstoppable monster. I have yet to run out of power. Running out of traction is the biggest evil on this bike. You can compensate for that somewhat by filling the hollow aluminum drum/wheels with either fuel or water - they hold 4.5 gals which would give you a bit more bite. I'm seriously considering swapping out those 15" wheels & tires for some 12" Douglas solid dish-style aluminum rims and packing a pair of those new Carlisle Mud Wolf tires in 25x8-12 on them to see how well they scoot the Rokon along.


Larry-
Even though the pics were taken less than 3 months ago they look the way they do because I used an old, crappy Kodak 35mm camera on film that had been the thing for ??? years, opted for el cheap-o processing, then scanned them on an old scanner. I guess it's a miracle they turned out at all. LOL

The bike's a '97 that I bought new from the factory. The engine is the stock 134cc Chrysler PowerBee 2-stroke. New TB's use 6.75hp Kohler 4-stroke. A little less torquey (I'm told) but much, much quieter. I'd love to pick one of the newest Mk-IX TB2's one of these days. They've worked out a way to keep the front wheel drive while incorporating some sort of articulated suspension on the front end, so they probably ride more like a traditional motorcycle now, instead of a two-wheeled tank.

[Dirty Harry]

QUOTE=racerone3;48569]i really wish i'd been able to get the one i had posted about, but the guy was such a tool to deal with on the first Attex i never went back. i figure the stuff will still be there if i ever get desperate for a project[/QUOTE]

They are worth looking for. Gotta watch out though. The Rokon camp is as nuts about tracking down, buying & restoring old TrailBreakers as we folks are about our floaters!

Great thing about them is that as long as the frame is still soldi they are great to fix up. Lots of tech advice from the old timers who still have the waaaaay classic Rokons and several places to get stock parts and aftermarket, hot-rodded goodies (top ends, whole engines, carb work, etc.). They are fun and easy to work on too, since everything hangs out in the open.

[Dirty Harry]

cool YouTube vid

A cool video of a fellow up in Canada who gets paid to ride the trails around north/central Vancouver Island doing water sampling and fish stock assessment. To get where he needs to be he uses a newer Kohler-powered TrailBreaker pulling the factory-option Single Track Trailer. The trailer thing is sweet! I need to make me one of these things! LOL

Here's the vid:

[racerone3]

this was one of the threads that lost a bunch of replies over christmas. Mudbug and Dirty Harry, i think i had read most of your posts before they were lost. thanks for your interest in this project. i took it out for a first test drive today. luckily i went into this adventure without much expectation... this machine handles a lot different than anything i've ever played with. i can't wait to get it in the woods and see what it will do.
here is my photpbucket folder with all the rebuild pics. Rokon pictures by racerone3 - Photobucket hopefully i'll get some video of it in action soon

[Dirty Harry]

Man oh man, Brian! You have done an AWESOME job restoring that old TB!!!! I love the ammo can saddlebags!!!! And with everything painted to match, too! So very sweet! Hope you have had a chance to put her through the paces in the snow.

Glad to see you putting her to work already as well. I frequently use my Rokon as a mobile chainsaw shop, too. I have an old plastic milk crate I bungee onto the rear seat that carries gloves, gas can, bar oil, scrench tool, lopping shears for trimming unwanted small branches, a cooler for hot/cold beverages, and other misc. junk. I carry my saw up on the front cargo rack, with the bar slid down along chain drive side. Newer TB's have a fiberglass chain shroud which makes it safe to carry a chainsaw up front since the saw's chain can't accidentally snag on the Rokon's drive chain. Your older TB might pose a problem with the front drive chain exposed.

Regardless, I am very proud to see you took your TB ownership seriously and followed through to complete the machine's resurrection. (And in record time, to boot! LOL) They're lots of fun, but as you said, handle unlike most anything else you'll ever drive. Not bad... just... different. Certainly not much else is as nimble in the dense woods as a Rokon, that's for sure. Ride smart and HAVE FUN!!!

[Dirty Harry]

Upgrades! Upgrades! Upgrades!

Hey kids! I did a little upgrading to my '97 Trail-Breaker this spring. She's like a new machine now, and I've fallen in love with her all over again. Here's the scoop:

Not too long ago I read over at the RokonWorld site that Maxxis had just introduced a taller version of their "Bighorn" tire that would fit 15" rims that some side-by-side UTVs are sporting. It just so happens that's the rim size of the hollow aluminum drum wheels on the Rokon and... well... I just had to get a pair. The stock Goodyear may look classic but the traction isn't so hot, and is essentially non-existent while sidehilling. So anyhow, after I had got her some new shoes, I decided to really go whole hog and resto-mod the old girl.

I bought a pair of surplus 40mm ammo cans from Sportsman's Guide to convert into hard bags for my Trail-Breaker. I sanded them thoroughly inside & out and hit the outward-facing 3 sides, bottom and the entire inward-facing sides with 3 coats of Dupli-Color truck bed liner, (I had over half a can leftover after undercoating my Jeep Cherokee.) I painted the remaining portions of the ammo cans & lids with 3 coats of Krylon satin black, with a light rubdown of "0000" steel wool in between to help each coat stick.



While I was at it I removed the rear fender and stripped it with a wire-wheel and slathered it top & bottom with multiple coats of the truckbed liner stuff. It's hardened up nicely and should be fairly stone-proof now. I also whacked the edges of the rear fender outwards with a rubber mallet to accommodate the larger width of the Maxxis Bighorns (they're an inch or more wider than the Sure-Grips, and the actual tread footprint is almost 2" wider. I'm hoping it will reduce the mudslinging somewhat! When re-mounting the fender, I put little rubber washers between it and the mounting points to reduce metal-to-metal rubbing and help eliminate any rattling.



Using some lengths of scrap metal I found at work I fabricated mounting straps that utilize the stock rear seat mounting holes and these straps run the full height of the cans from top to bottom. During the assembly I again used rubber washers in between the cans and the mounting straps to help eliminate vibrating noises while riding. I used stainless steel hardware to help fight rusting later on down the line, plus I coated the threads with anti-seize compound for good measure.



In order to make the ammo can on the left side fit I had to modify the exhaust pipe. I took the whole thing into work one night and used the giant bandsaw back in our Fabrication Department to cut out the 45 angle, then cut a 4" length of heavy gauge tubing and slid it over the exhaust pipe, butt-welded the joints then slid the tubing piece over the seam and welded it all the way around at both ends. I shot the newly-chopped exhaust with 4 coats of high-temp paint and re-installed it.

While I had the side covers off I peeled the scuzzy stock decals off and removed the gummy residue left behind with Goof Off (smelly stuff, but it works great), then I sanded the covers just enough to remove a few rough spots and give the surfaces enough tack to hold paint. I applied 3 even coats of Krylon satin black. (K-Mart had a sale recently, 3 for $10.) I also bought a set of really nice die-cut decals off of eBay that are replicas of the old 60's/70's tank decals, and put 'em on. (I had to fudge the right side decal due to that cover's awkward shape & smaller size). They turned out really nice.

The other big money item came in the form of hydraulic brake conversion to replace the lame cable set-up from the factory. Hands down the best investment you can make to an older Rokon. I have stopping power out the ying-yang now! "Stoppies" are no problem for this beast. In fact, I decided to reverse the location of front & rear hoses because your first reaction is to roll off the throttle and grab a handful of front brake. These new units are so much stronger than the old jobs that I could probably catapult myself right off the bike if I do that! So now when I roll off the throttle I hit the rear and then judiciously apply a touch of front, as needed!

Well, with new Maxxis Bighorn tires, the re-done side covers, the hydraulic brake conversion and the 40mm ammocan saddle bags, the old girl has gotten a major cosmetic & performance overhaul. Doing all of these tasks was sometimes a real pain in the arse but it was a lot of fun, too. And as I said before, I am in love with this machine all over again!!!









The only downside to these fix-ups is that now that the Trail-Breaker is better & stronger than ever, I now have no excuses to put off several yard & woods chores the little woman has been nagging me to do! Oh well, at least they'll be a LOT more fun to tackle with my "new" Rokon!

[LarryW]

That rokon is awesome. I like the upgrades!

[Mike]

Those look cool. That is one mean and clean rokon.

[racerone3]

Well, the time has come to make some tough calls, and the Rokon lost the coin toss. I need to put some money back in the hold, and want to get the hustler rebuilt this summer. price listed on CL is $2500, but the 6x6 world member price is $2200 if anyone is interested. if craigslist ever gets done processing, i'll add a link.

[Dirty Harry]

Well, the time has come to make some tough calls, and the Rokon lost the coin toss. I need to put some money back in the hold, and want to get the hustler rebuilt this summer. price listed on CL is $2500, but the 6x6 world member price is $2200 if anyone is interested. if craigslist ever gets done processing, i'll add a link.

Sorry to hear you're getting rid of the old T-B. The good news is that you did a great job restoring it to excellent condition, which will make it a lot easier to move.

Did you also post a "For Sale" on Rokon World? Someone there might be eagar to take it off your hands. Good luck.

[jpswift1]

Brian was nice enough to let me ride his Rokon at Ashtabula and I have to say, that thing is awesome and it feels unstoppable. It ran like a top, fired right up, and it feels like you're piloting a monster truck/dirt bike/AATV hybrid that isn't afraid to climb anything in it's way.

[racerone3]

finally got a link to the CL Ad http://raleigh.craigslist.org/mcy/1820365959.html

[racerone3]

Rokon sold on the bright side, the hustler is almost done