The Tote Gote is an off-road motorcycle that was produced from 1958 to 1970. It was developed by Ralph Bonham.
The Tote Gote is an off-road motorcycle that was produced from 1958 to 1970. It was developed by Ralph Bonham.
Bonham created the Tote Gote to relieve the exhaustion of walking through the Utah mountains while hunting. First called the "Mechanical Goat", it was renamed to refer to its ability to "tote" (carry) deer out of the woods while climbing inclines with the skill of a mountain goat.
The first Tote Gotes could reach speeds of only 5 mph (8 km/h), too slow for functional use, and the front wheel rose off the ground when too much throttle was applied. The design was eventually perfected in November 1957. The first Tote Gote was sold on 1 June 1958. After entering mass production, 3,700 Tote Gotes were sold in 1960. The second version of the Tote Gote entered the market in 1959, called the Model A or the "Scamp".
Ralph Bonham's father, Bond Bonham, became president of the Bonham Corporation while Ralph focused on research and development. Improvements were introduced, such as rear and side screens to protect the wild game and drivers, and lighting systems. New variants were also created, such as the Loadstar III, a three-wheeled Tote Gote for use in warehouses and plant nurseries; a street-based model called the Collegiate for use on college campuses; a minibike called the Mini Gote; and a shaft driven series called the NOVA.
After producing Tote Gotes for thirteen years, the Bonham Company closed in 1970 and sold its remaining stock of parts. A community of Tote Gote enthusiasts is still active.
Tote Gotes were painted with a low pressure flow of paint. The frames were placed over a large tub of paint with hoses on either side. The paint was pumped through the hoses while workers directed the flow of paint over the frame. Excess paint ran off the bottom and back into the tub. The frames were rotated while drying to minimize runs. Most were red, fewer yellow, and some green (mostly for the Forest Service). Novas were aquamarine. The paint used was lead-based Sherwin-Williams.
The first digit in each model number is typically the horsepower of that particular model; for example, Model 600 has six (6) horsepower.
Bonham made several one-off and rare prototypes, such as four-wheeled vehicles for military use and several prototype Tote Gote Trail Bikes. (The most recent Trail Bike was auctioned on eBay in November 2005.)
Among some of the photo advertisements there were images of Ralph Bonham on a Tote Gote shooting a rifle, a man jumping a Model B over a small sand dune, two Collegiate Tote Gotes parked on a lawn with people having a picnic in the background, and several other photos of people having picnics.
Advertising illustrations included a family on Trail Skeeters, and a man riding a Tote Gote Spartan snowmobile to a mountain cabin.
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