1976 Rokon RT-350 II - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1976 Rokon RT-350 II - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
ROKON RT-340-II
• The automatic-drive motorcycle is not
new, but it remains unique. It can't be said
that automatic drive for bikes is not a func-
tional concept. Rokon introduced their Sals-
bury drive automatic three years ago and
received raves from the motorcycle press
and front-echelon riders. Husqvarna has
recently made available their automatic dirt
racer, and Moto Guzzi and Honda have shift-
free road machines. Yet far less than one
percent of this country's motorcyclists have
ever ridden an automatic.
Much about Rokon is unique. The factory,
located in Keene, New Hampshire, is the
only U.S. manufacturer of enduro, moto-
cross and ISDT bikes. Their product is an
international medley of American, European
and Japanese components assembled into
an unusual, if not alien-looking, machine.
And the Sachs snowmobile engine, lashed
up to a Salsbury belt-driven automatic
clutch, with a Mikuni carburetor for going
and a Honda brake for stopping, seems a bit
like parts-shelf engineering.
Even a brief ride on the RT II leaves one
with a less-than-jaws-of-death sensation;
just get on, yank the cord, twist the throttle
and go. It seems too pleasant to be effective.
Real enduro bikes, after all, have recently
become powerful, nimble, sudden and ex-
plosive. The Rokon hardly imparts those
sensations.
In Cycle’s April, 1973 road test of the
original Rokon, the staff was awed by the
overall capabilities of the bike to motor up or
over any imaginable obstacle. The fact that
Cycle's most abysmal dirt-slingers could tra-
verse anything covered by an expert lead to
the following statement; "By the mid-1970s,
we feel every front line off-road bike man-
ufacturer will offer a system similar to
Rokon’s”.
We bombed out with that prediction, and
we remain puzzled as to the industry’s lack
of confidence in the concept. But the rea-
sons motorcycle makers have not exactly
swarmed to the automatic dirt bike concept
are manifold. Tightening economies have
meant lower development budgets; conven-
tional drive systems are less costly to pro-
duce; high priority concentration on other
areas (suspension, chassis, engine) has re-
duced the impact of auto-drive; and Rokon,
while more than passably successful, has
not exactly dominated off-road racing.
The new RT-340-II Automatic Enduro is
fundamentally (but unofficially) a replica of
Rokon’s ISDT bikes used in the U.S.
qualifiers and 1975 Six Day. Its riders have
competed even-steven with this country’s,
and the world’s, best, bagging 12 golds in
the ’75 qualifiers and two bronzes in that
year’s Six Day.
Everything about the Rokon is unconven-
tional. Its appearance is stark and agri-
cultural, but few flaws are apparent in the
concept or execution of its design. The
position, angle or shape of every piece has
been specifically designed for function.
There’s no slap-together engineering in, or
on, the Rokon. The welding of every joint
and gusset of the stout double-cradle frame
members is perfection. All the frame mem-
bers are 4130 chrome moly steel, MIG
welded. The steering head angle is 30°, the
fork offset produces 4.75 inches of trail and
the wheelbase is longish at 57 inches. Full of
gas it tips the scales at 278 pounds, which
doesn't make the RT II a featherweight.
Saddle height is tall, to compensate for the
long-travel suspension, and the handlebars
are intentionally left too wide to permit trim-
ming to suit personal likes. The original
bulky fiberglass gas tank has been super-
ceded by a semi-clear ABS plastic-type. The
only fiberglass that remains is the air box.
A new approach must be taken with the
Rokon right from the beginning. There is no
foot-operated kick crank on the Rokon.
Snowmobile riders will recognize the hand-
pull starter on the engine’s right side; others
might trace its familiarity to their Briggs &
Stratton lawn mowers. To start the engine
the push-pull (no reserve) petcock must be
switched on, the Mikuni choke rod lifted
(when cold), throttle left shut or opened just
slightly, front brake lever pulled in (to pre-
vent the bike from lunging forward when the
engine starts) and the pull cord handle
yanked aggressively. Generally the engine
will fire in one to three pulls.
The starter mechanism is a simple set of
four nylon pawls that ratchet out through
eccentric movement of a cam plate and
centrifugal force. The tips of the pawls then
bump against the inside of the flywheel. As
soon as the engine starts the pawls fall away
from engagement. The engine is a common
industrial-type constant-speed snowmobile
Sachs motor. There’s nothing trick or spe-
cial about it; out of the frame it would look
identical to any two-stroke single with the
transmission cut away. As is common with
European two-strokes, the engine has a
generous number of large cooling fins.
The Bosch electrics consist of a simple
points ignition and flywheel generating coil,
all tucked in behind the right-side flywheel.
On the left side, shielded behind the elon-
gated Gl helmet-type steel cover, is the Sals-...
13653-AL-7605-04