Ultimate Survival Dirt Bike?

fuel is lighter than water so it would still provide some flotation. don't know if it would be "enough" tho.

the 2WD team PD race bikes are nice, but like the diesel KLR not available at any price. at least not currently.

the price tag on the civilian diesel KLR was going to be roughly FOUR times the price of a new gas KLR, and with almost $15,000 in price difference you could buy the gas version and take it round the world for the MSRP of the still unavailable diesel bike. the price difference alone should cover the fuel costs.
 
So, how exactly does the wheel fuel/water storage work? Do containers slide in and out of the wheel or do the storage tanks stay attached?

I'm curious about the prospects of getting foreign matter into your fuel or water supply.
 
The wheels are welded aluminum and the central container section is completely sealed. The tires and their air chambers are mounted outside of the sealed central container portion of the wheels. There's a large filler/drain hole on the side of each wheel with a substantial plug you unscrew. Unless the screw-in plug is compromised, nothing will get into the container portion of the wheel. There should be some photos at www.rokon.com.

DancesWithKnives
 
I have a Russian Ural with sidecar. These were copied off the Germans in WWII, and production continued after the war up until now. It is as tough as nails, has plenty of storage, and is easy to work on (The AK47 of bikes). Some versions have engageable 2WD via a second drive shaft to the sidecar wheel.

A bunch of us with Urals had a little campout in NH recently, and we PUNISHED them on some serious offroad, powerline trails, etc. It is amazing where you can take one. It was awesome!
 
I (and I'll bet, some others) would like to see that Ural if you have an image handy. If not, I'll just Google it. Sounds cool!

DancesWithKnives
 
Pritch said:
I'm a little skeptical about the air in two ATV tires being sufficient to float the bike, especially fully fueled. If it can, I'm curious what precautions would have to be taken to keep water out of the exhaust and carbs, and from messing up the battery/electrical.
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The air isn't what keeps the bike afloat in the water, it's the gas in the sealed wheel tanks. Gas is lighter than water, so the 9 gallons and air in the tires does the job. If you search there's plenty of vids of people doing it. That's what Rokor makes them for.
 
333rm said:
The air isn't what keeps the bike afloat in the water, it's the gas in the sealed wheel tanks. Gas is lighter than water, so the 9 gallons and air in the tires does the job. If you search there's plenty of vids of people doing it. That's what Rokor makes them for.
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Gasoline is lighter than water, but not sufficiently to add any positive buyancy to a several hundred pound motorcycle. If we fill the chambers with helium, with the bike fly? :D

I've seen some video of the bikes floating, but was looking for confirmation that they maintained positive buyancy with fuel or water in the wheel resivoirs.

DWK2, Is there some built in sealing mechanism for the air intake and the exhaust? It seems if "floating" the bike is promoted as something the Rokor is up to, I'd sure like to restart it when I got to the other side.
 
I'm not aware of any sealable or elevated air intake. The Rokon will run through 2 ft. of water but if you try to "walk/float" it on its side through 4+ ft., I don't know how you keep the air intake and ignition dry. Perhaps it is explained in one of the many internet videos. I never thought I'd consider that maneuver so I never researched how to do it.:o The pictures I've seen show a guy keeping the wheels in the water and sort of tilting the upper part of the bike up at a 45 degree angle as he waded it through 4 ft. of water. Looked awkward and risky to me.

DancesWithKnives
 
Honda CT110 - no maintenance, low fuel need apparently can run on chip oil, most mass produced bike in the world - so a few parts available.
Over here there is a Posite (110) rally they go 1000's of km on them get up to 80km sustainably. Used on lots of farms though more pwoerful bikes and quad bikes have takein over.

Won't do as much but would last longer and is very robust - I know mine sits outside, unused for months and generally kick starts after a few curses
 
333rm said:
The air isn't what keeps the bike afloat in the water, it's the gas in the sealed wheel tanks. Gas is lighter than water, so the 9 gallons and air in the tires does the job. If you search there's plenty of vids of people doing it. That's what Rokor makes them for.
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ohhh. logic failure detected! :eek:

so, if the bike does NOT have gas in the rims, but lighter, more buoyant air it will sink? don't think so, but that seems to be what you're suggesting. :rolleyes:

i've seen pix of the Rokon floating with the owner swimming beside it. it was tires up, with the top of the bike slightly lower in the water.

the air filter is oiled foam, IIRC so you may have to remove it and squeeze it out. you'd probably need to drain the float bowl on some crossings... and you might even need to pull the plug and pull the starter a time or two to get any water out. but there's plenty of clearance to get to the plug if needed. the Rokon has a pull starter like a lawn mower or chainsaw. no kicker, no magic button.
 
Well, I'm not trying that with my Rokon. It works too well with the top part up in the fresh air!:)

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2 said:
Well, I'm not trying that with my Rokon. It works too well with the top part up in the fresh air!:)
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you'd probably have to take it to Walker Lake or Lake Tahoe to do more than get the tires wet! :D

i've heard of some people extendint the intakes and exhaust with snorkels on some bikes and actually riding the bike on the bottom under water. if course, the rider actually needs to breathe too. and i've seen plenty of dual sport bikes fording 2' deep or deeper rivers. no problem unless you stop or drop it. then you'd better be fast getting ti the kill switch! :eek:
 
jca21 said:
if the world ended i'd rather have one of these than a dirt bike.


Maximog%20-%20Unimog.jpg



then again, i dont know how readily available fuel would be.
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Forget the end of the world -- I need one of those now!

We got almost 6 inches of snow in Spokane last winter, which clearly justifies my need for this vehicle.
 
That's an extremely cool looking ride! In the past I've also been enamored with the Unimog and Pinzgauer vehicles.

With regard to water, Topaz Lake is the closest water of significant depth. However, one of my property lines runs down the middle of an irrigation canal that might be 4+ ft. deep at high water and I have a pond that's probably 6-8 ft deep when full. But you guys still aren't baiting me into floating the Rokon "wheels up" in any water!;)

DancesWithKnives
 
I have a KLR 650. I'm gonna throw my vote in. Big gas tank. Decent top speed for what it is. Decent off road for what it is. I have a trunk with a few good knives and my tools, some add on tool tubes with paracord, zip ties, fire steel, first aid and survival kit, and my fishing rod is always on there (a cheap telescoping rod, not a good one).

Diesel would be nice, but I am poor. :cool:
 
For those interested in streeting the Rokon, a little searching will show that some states will allow you to register the Rokon in their state no matter what state you actually live in. (money apparently does talk) From there it's simply a matter of taking your 'new' registration papers to your DMV and transfering the title to your state and tagging it. Bingo, street legal Rokon!

I did the research when I was expecting a raise that would allow me to buy a Rokon. Alas, the state plead poverty and no raise appeared.
 
I have a CRF 450R and have ridden most of my life. I would like to check the bike out, but would never seriously consider purchasing one. Absence of suspension, the most important component of modern dirt bikes makes it all but a novelty.

For those interested in 2wd, Christini has the best AWD for dirt bikes http://www.christini.com/
 
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