Go-anywhere Russian motorbike.

[dwerbil]

http://www.dump.com/russianmotorbike/

[dwerbil]

Sum mo info....
http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx ... cleatv.htm

[melville]

It's almost, but not quite, a Rokon:

http://www.rokon.com/1_5_ranger.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQoaP68do8E

Like a Ural is almost, but not quite, a BMW.

[Garnet]

All you need is a Yugo to put it into.

My buddy has this Rokon, and it WILL go effen near anywhere.

[Duane Ausherman]

Will this turn out to be the AK47 of motorbikes? I know, I know, the AK47 can't be any good, as it isn't made in 'Merica. Dozens of firms make similar guns, but none have done nearly as well.

Were I still riding, I would want one of those bikes. I hope that it doesn't turn out as bad as the Ural.

Spent some time in Russia just when the wall fell back in 91. I was in 9 of the 11 time zones. Russia mostly can't make much of anything. They survive mostly because they are really stubborn and tough.

[Major Softie]

Will this turn out to be the AK47 of motorbikes?

I extremely doubt it. Along with being designed for easy manufacture, the AK47's greatest advantage is that, while it might not be the lightest or most accurate arm out there, it works: it always works. This is not a quality inherent in any previous Russian vehicle design, and I very much doubt it is a feature of this one.

[Sibbo]

Not so much design as manufacture.

[The Veg]

Will this turn out to be the AK47 of motorbikes?

I extremely doubt it. Along with being designed for easy manufacture, the AK47's greatest advantage is that, while it might not be the lightest or most accurate arm out there, it works: it always works. This is not a quality inherent in any previous Russian vehicle design, and I very much doubt it is a feature of this one.

I was in the US Army 1986-1990 and played with M16s a little during that time. Then in the mid-'90s I made an impulse-purchase of a Norinco NHM-91, which was a Chinese variant of the AK with a few notable differences (the biggest one being the larger butt-stock, making it much comfier to shoulder-fire by a big oaf like me). The M16 looked like a better piece of industrial work for sure, but right away I found that the NHM-91 *worked* better. I don't recall it ever jamming (M16 did more than one would expect, but at least it was easy to um-jam most of the time). And despite the front sight being stuck (preventing adjustment) right out the box when it was brand-new, I was still more able to hit stuff with the NHM than I ever was with the M16. Downsides? You bet. The NHM was heavier, especially with a full clip (of course it was larger caliber too, so that's a factor with a full clip). It also didn't automatically lock the bolt back when the clip emptied, making counting shots more important, at least in combat (no, I never saw combat...just making that observation).

From what I have read and heard, the AK works better than what I observed. All those people in the undeveloped world drag them around through the mud and rarely clean them and they just keep working.