We have seen a few Rokon 2WD motorcycles here on Barn Finds over the last few years, but no Trail-Breaker Mark IV models. These are the old-school Rokons, yet they had an important difference in having an automatic transmission. This 1974 Rokon Trail-Breaker Mark IV Automatic can be found listed here on eBay in Jacksonville, Oregon and the seller lists an opening bid price of $2,500.
I’m a huge Rokon fan and have told the long, drawn-out saga of my ’71 Trail-Breaker Mark III more than once. I can hear the collective eye-rolling and sighing now so I’ll spare you the details, but mine is very similar to this Mark IV other than having a three-speed shifter on the left side and an automatic clutch. You still have to shift it but you can stop while it’s in gear. This Trail-Breaker Mark IV has a fully automatic three-speed. The automatic Rokons are a bit faster overall than an older one like mine. At only 185 pounds, they’re pretty light bikes, they just look heavy because of the big wheels. The seat is around 30″ off the ground and these unusual bikes are really fun to ride.
1974 is when Rokon was transitioning from the Mark series to giving their 2×2 motorcycles actual names, under the “Mototractor” line, such as this Ranger model that we saw a few years ago here on Barn Finds. There was the Ranger, the Scout, and the Pioneer, all excellent names from the era when vehicles had names rather than numbers and letters, or made-up names such as today for the most part. The rims are hollow for either floatation purposes (lying it on its side and floating it across a pond), or they can be filled with water, gas, Bent Paddle Cold Press Black Coffee Ale, or whatever, up to 4.5 gallons per wheel.
You can see the new shoes on this Mark IV, those Maxxis Bighorn tires are popular replacements for the original Goodyears. You’d have to be the Sultan of Brunei, Jay Leno, or Elon Musk to have a set of replacement Goodyear tires hand-carved out of virgin rubber, they just aren’t found anymore. Mine is still wearing its original and very weather-checked Goodyear tires but with new tubes. With a top speed of 20-25 mph, there isn’t much chance of having issues with them. There is a tiny brake disc on the “miter box” just under the front rack which is what the lever on the right handgrip is for, along with a regular twist grip on the right and a kill switch on the left side of the handlebars. The miter box transfers the power to the front wheel via a hidden driveshaft running through the middle of the bike.
The engine should be a 7 or 8-hp Chrysler 134-cc two-stroke single and this one appears to only have a pull start. Mine has a kickstart also, which I use 99% of the time. It wouldn’t be long before electric start was standard along with a quieter four-stroke engine. You’ll be mixing your gas and oil for this one as there wasn’t an oil-injection system available. A spare gas can is a must if you’ll be out in the woods, or just fill one of the tires, what could go wrong? The seller says that this one runs fine and it looks good to me. I don’t see many with a silver frame like this, most of them are “body” color (yellow, red, etc.) but mine is also silver and I like that look. Have any of you owned or ridden a 2×2 Rokon?
My brother had one, I rode it many times when I was 13 or 14,way cool, especially back then
This seller also owns the Rupp from today.
No, but I have a good friend that writes for a well known automotive website,,,when Scotty bought his Rokon, I was elated, yet curious. I think we’ve all heard of them, but never any actual owners. Scotty is this kind of person. I don’t know about you, but riding on a machine with wheels full of gas sounds a bit risky, and the drive system is complicated, and many, I heard, removed the front drive. The motor is the tried and true old West Bend( Chrysler) “Power Bee”, and powered everything from ground pounders to motorized wheel barrows and rarely failed. While it does look clumsy, I bet this thing would go well in the hills, however, after falling off my bicycle, might BEE a while , if ever, I get back on 2 wheels. If it wasn’t such a hassle here, this is the only sane way of getting back where the Jeep won’t, but with a trailer, license, insurance, then there’s OHV( off highway vehicle) permits and probably some forest permit, they’re sucking all the fun out of it.
However, if Scotty says they’re fun to ride, you can bet they are. Cool find.
Come back to Badgerland, life is simpler.
Hi Herbert, well, that’s true, I spent 62 years there, still have family and friends, but I’m more of a Yooper fan, than Wis. Colorado has been very good to me, and unless something drastic changes, like total meltdown of society, I’d be a fool to leave. I know of some pretty nice spots in the UP, der hey, that will be safe when “it” does hit.
There’s absolutely NO way I could buy this and not just ride it all the time.
A wheel half-full of liquid would a personal vibrator! And little (or no?) compression braking. Rode an “auto” Husky … can see why they didn’t sell.
This one has a jack shaft and is a single speed with no transmission. It is one of the least desired models , only slightly above the Rokon 140 which is also one speed but no front wheel drive. It was a transition between the shift on the fly Albion 3 speed and the current plunger transmission 3 speed.
Auction update: this one sold with a single $2,500 bid.