BC to Alaska

[Dave S]

I live in the Columbia River Valley near Radium. Always wanted to make a trip to Alaska by car/truck or bike. Since i have what the media confirms to be the best all round adventure touring bike, all that`s left is to plan the trip. A man would be a little crazy to set off alone on, but as they say there is safety in numbers. So heres some questions for this forum
1. Are any such trips in the planning stage for this year or next and looking for riders.
2. Are there any riders who want to work on an Alasaka trip plan (2011 or`12)
3. Any riders who have beendere dundat and would offer info for long haul newbies

dave s


   

[ajeli]

In the words of Alexander Supertramp (Chris McCandless)

 ""So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with the new experiences, and hense there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

Go for it. Theres nothing wrong with traveling alone. You can do it! And do it by bike, not cage. Yo can go as long as you want, stop when you need and eat when you're hungry. If you have any questions on gear or experience, PM me.
And don't forget your camera!
~~~~Alan

[damasovi]

DaveS

for a long ride you need to put attention more on the body that on the bike, specially if it is your first one. I am not an expert on long travel, but I have done 1 long trip and here is what I learn

1. Have your bike prepare, you know, tires, sprockets, chain and fluids in order.

2. How much and what gear to bring? that depends on were you are going and for how long. But if were to do my Baja to BC trip, I would pack half the clothes I had, replace several of the tools I had, like not having 2 of the same, having the correct ones.

3. The rest is up to your taste. I did not carry cooking gear because I don't cook, so I save some space on that. How many electronics? some people bring the biggest and expensive GPS, Ipods, IPADS and such, other we bring paper maps, and that is it!, no wrong one, just a personal preference.

4. Going in a group is nice, just make sure the group is like you, other wise it is so frustrating having to wait for the late running dude, you know, the one that is always late, or the one that has to stop every 40 miles because he is so tire from riding... So solo is also very nice

5. GO!!!

[PonchoV]

Start of w/ a wknd ride.   Work you way up to your big cross country.   

I went w/ a self called world traveler & after the first night he was in a motel everynight.   

If you start off w/ to much stuff, UPS some of it home while out there.   Don't carry 4 pairs of: sandles, shoes, hiking boots & your moto cross boots. 

You can usually buy anything you really need in the way of clothes.

But be sure to take you camera charger cord..... , otherwise it just didn't happen.

[Dave S]

Well its all good sound advice and much along the lines of what I have been considering. Thanx
Wondering if anybody has first hand experience with the Thermo Bob cooling system mods,  I expect a lot of the trip up and back will be in mid to lower temps (50 to 60 deg. f) is what I am planning clothing and gear wise. The bike is another question ... running for long hauls in cool temps with the stock system ??? is that going to be a source of problems?? So far I have been pretty much a warm weather rider and even at altitudes this summer in Rogers Pass, the bike ran in the lower temp range for most of the climb up and down. I went through a bit of oil on that round trip but it also could have been due to flogging it along at 5k rpm for most of the two days ride between home and Osoyoos and back.

Any of the western/northern Canuk KLR owners want to jump in here and offer up some suggestions (uh about the cooling system okay).


suitcase

[swjohnsey]

Expect boughts of freezing, near freezing weather even in the summer. Lots of wet weather. Stock cooling system works well in cool weather.  Don't  be scared of riding alone. Accomodations along the Alaska Highway and in Alaska are few, far apart, expensive and crappy. Camping gear makes lots of sense.

[Jettn Jim]

Although Gunny has given you great info on the TBob, I can say that I've ridden in Mucho cold temps for many many miles without one.
Whether or not it has done engine I'd have to do more research to determine.   
Back to the trip....DO IT MAN and alone for me has always been a great way to see the continent.  You make all your own decisions without interference and people seem to find you more approachable, and will invite you into their world alot easier!   

[dogger54]

Go for it Dave….the people you meet are the greatest and for me are the highlight of the trip.

Sasho and I rode BC, Alberta, the Yukon and Alaska for four weeks starting May 14 of this year. We had only done a couple of two and four day trips before this so we were a bit naïve but luck was with us. Good road and site information can be found in the "Milepost". We spent a lot of time making sure our bikes were mechanically sound, check everything closely and make sure you make all the upgrades that affect basic reliability. We bought tires that were supposed to get great mileage so we could do the 7500 mile trip on one set, NOT! We had to replace the rear when we got to Fairbanks after 3500 miles. Lucky for us there’s a fellow in Fairbanks who carries a good selection of tires and had some unspoken for tires on hand, best make arrangements ahead of time if you think you’re going to need tires. The second rear was dead by the time we got home so pay special attention to the tire issue. Try to do some riding with a fully loaded bike, all the extra crap moved my center of gravity up high so I had to be very careful during slow speed turns. I also carried a couple thickness of wood pads to place under the kickstand to keep the bike at the right angle. I connected the pads with a length of cord so that I could pull them out from under the kickstand after I had mounted. Mounting and dismounting can be a real challenge and you may need to work on your flexibility. 

Watch the time of year when you go. Because we left fairly early in the year we cut it close in a few instances. The ferry at Dawson City just started operation a week before we got there. The border crossing on the Top of the World Highway opened the day after we got to Dawson City. The dorm rooms at the University of Alaska Fairbanks didn’t open till May 26 so we traveled the Kenai before riding to Prudhoe Bay. If you want to fish make sure you’ll be there during the season. During the last weekend in May there’s a Little League baseball tournament in Fairbanks and the dorms fill up so call ahead for reservations. The tour at Prudhoe Bay only started a few days before we got there so if you want to see the Arctic Ocean make sure the tour is running. The Arctic Ocean was still frozen June 1. You need to give the folks at the Caribou Inn in Deadhorse at least 24 hr. notice if you want to do the tour so they can run a security check, the tours leave from the Caribou Inn. If you want to stay in Deadhorse, reserve a room at one of the three "motels" before you leave for Prudhoe Bay as you’ll be competing with contractors and tour busses for the rooms. Starting our trip when we did was about perfect because we beat most of the tourists and "snow birds" and didn’t have a lot of competition anywhere we went.

We took one change of cloths. I wore synthetic compression shorts under my cloths, found them to be the most comfortable in the long run. I wear wool hiking socks and hiking boots while riding and I never had an issue with my feet being too cold or too hot from sub freezing to 90+ F and they were comfortable to walk in. I kept them well greased in case of rain. We were prepared for riding in most conditions but we did end up spending an extra day in Deadhorse due to snow. We tried to leave while temperatures were near freezing and there was a light wet snow coming down and found our gloves were totally inadequate, we had snow sticking to the visor and had to keep wiping which got the gloves wet so we were miserable after 30 miles and decided to turn back. We had waterproof gloves and used them the next day but the fingers still got brutally cold. The fingers were the only things that got cold, though, so a set of heated gloves or inserts would have been nice, as well as a squeegee thing on the gloves to keep the visor clear. My sister-in-law bought me an Air Hawk cushion before we left and I’m very grateful she did.

We camped most of the time. Split a $109 room three ways in Whitehorse, YT one night, one night in an open camp in Wonowon, BC at $80 for two….food included ,three nights in the University of Alaska Fairbanks dorms at $46 per night for the two of us and two nights in the Deadhorse Caribou Inn at $190 per night for two. We only had rain one night and managed to find cover so we were very lucky. Watch the camp grounds, some can be very expensive just to pitch a tent. We only carried enough food and drink to snack on during the day and ate our meals in restaurants.

I carried a cheap 3/8" metric ratchet set that covered 6mm to 19mm and included a 6mm allen head for the drive, a phillips #2 and straight blade screw driver, a spare clutch and brake lever, tire patch kit, a small bicycle pump, a couple spare tubes, three tire irons, a small bottle of dish soap, a 10" cresent wrench, a telescoping pole to set the bike on in order to get a wheel off the ground for changing or to rotate and lube the chain. We used WD-40 to lube our chains which we did daily, it’s easy to come by. We each brought an extra filter for an oil change along the way and an extra quart of oil to top off. We bought oil and did the changes at Wal Mart and an auto parts house using their catch pans and they disposed of the oil. Also, TP and hand wipes come in handy. I probably went a bit overboard by carrying a canvas bucket, a small foldable camping shovel, a folding tree saw, a hatchet, matches in a waterproof container and a water purification pump, but they don’t take up much room and I like being prepared. Most of the tools were used. I gave a fellow biker one of my tubes and some patches so it was good I had those. We brought bear spray and did see a bear a couple hundred yards from our camp but luckily we didn’t need to use it. Of all the wildlife, I think we saw more bear than anything else.

I didn’t at the time, but I now carry a master link and a spare clutch cable. I broke the master link in Alberni, BC and lucked out when a passing biker had one; I guess that was "biker karma" for the tube I gave away. I also now carry a small inexpensive multimeter, troubleshooting electrical gremlins without one is a real challenge and there were a few times when one would have come in real handy during the trip.

I traveled with a hand held gps but could have gotten along without it. I added a 12V outlet to my instrument cluster to keep the gps and my extra camera batteries charged. Make sure you’re able to keep your camera charged, I was constantly charging batteries and shot well over 2000 pictures during the trip. My cheap "pay as you go" cell phone worked most everywhere but in the Yukon. I had a netbook that came in handy for making reservations and keeping in touch. I also carried a Spot Locator….it worked great for keeping my wife and friends up to date on our location and was good piece of mind in case we were to get into trouble with no cell phone coverage.

[Dave S]

Nice info ... and thnx for it... sounds like like karma was in good shape for trip. I plan to camp out more than hotel/motel, so I will be packing tent,sleepingbag,tarp etc to handle over-nighting. Got the tool thing mostly figured out, I'll be piecing together wrenches n sockets from my double decker chest, and the multimeter was one I never thought of ... good idea!!

I just completed valve/cam clearances, (three outa four valves WAY TO TIGHT) and then got the doohickey with Mikes torsion spring done (OEM spring was broken) but the pieces were accounted for Pheww!! am now going over all my wiring, cleaning connections and dosing everything with di-electric grease. I will keep on wearing out the Metzler pavement only tires on the bike for now, and just before beginning the treck will put on some Mefos or Kendas with more knob... spare inner tubes good plan also 

Happy to hear from you and tnx again for sharing your ideas.... will post some pictures of the scoot before the trip... with any luck it will look the same at the end of trip only way dirtier.

ds

[Jettn Jim]

WoooHooo!   

[Dave S]

Got started on some of the final tweaks for the Big Ride. Made up a route map that shows towns villages and Prov. Parks at 160 to 280 km intervals and am adding confirmed fueling points to that sequential list. The idea being that if camel dung hits the ventilator I will know where the next location of food fuel, accomodation and services might be. I gave up on Garmin a ways back when it broke down and sent me on a 90 minute zizgzag thro Calgary ... so navigation on this trip will be old school. Theres only a few roads in the North and and not many towns to get lost in.... I might be ok!

Going to start shaking down the KLR soon and replacing some worn pieces ... namely rear brake pads, front and rear sprockets and a new chain.
I have to test the  "hang" and mounting of the Dewalt saddle bags with typical trip weight loads and adjust the monoshock for the added weight.

Throw in an oil change and two new tires n tubes an Bobs your Uncle. An early June launch looks good 10 9 8 7...

[Jettn Jim]

Got started on some of the final tweaks for the Big Ride. Made up a route map that shows towns villages and Prov. Parks at 160 to 280 km intervals and am adding confirmed fueling points to that sequential list. The idea being that if camel dung hits the ventilator I will know where the next location of food fuel, accomodation and services might be. I gave up on Garmin a ways back when it broke down and sent me on a 90 minute zizgzag thro Calgary ... so navigation on this trip will be old school. Theres only a few roads in the North and and not many towns to get lost in.... I might be ok!

Going to start shaking down the KLR soon and replacing some worn pieces ... namely rear brake pads, front and rear sprockets and a new chain.
I have to test the  "hang" and mounting of the Dewalt saddle bags with typical trip weight loads and adjust the monoshock for the added weight.

Throw in an oil change and two new tires n tubes an Bobs your Uncle. An early June launch looks good 10 9 8 7...

WooooHooooooo!   

[Dave S]

Woohoo ya ya !!! finally getting in some road trips in the valley, cool temps... but do-able. Went to town for supplies and loaded up both bags with food, approx. 15kg per side, just to see how they hung,   man they hung good!!! Needed a couple of minor tweekings on the hanger straps but otherwise part one of the shakedown is done. As soon as we get the first few days of double digit temps, I'll head up the valley to Kinbasket Lake for an few nites of testing my camp gear.

The 16 tooth drive sprocket, 43 rear and new chain are on order at Renegade Motorsports in Invermere. When that stuff arrives it will be wrenchin time, and with the rear section semi dismantled I'll be following the thread on this site for drilling and tapping zerks into the rear suspension pivots ......

Aside from the DeWalt Saddlebags (and the stunning paint job), the other most significant farkle is the tiny LED light on the front. Got it from ADV Monster, its 1500 Lumens, draws next to nothing and at night its so bright it whites out the stock Kawi low beam. Makes night riding way safer.

[Jettn Jim]

WoooHoooo and a YeeeHaaa    Man yer gett'n close! 
If your taliking about the shock to frame pivot... I just did mine today while swapping swingarms.  Two 1/4-28 short grease fittings worked great into the factory drain holes.  Which do nothing much as both cavities were full of water.   Just opened up the holes one size larger then tapped 'em.
The other Bearing and Spacers will stay nice n greased if ya do it every 15-20,000 miles no need to add zerks there.

Enjoy your preparation brotha... 

[Dave S]

JtnJim  Tnx for the nice pictorial on the pivots .... looks like you got your custom bike stand same place as me ... the lumber pile. When I get under way on the suspension I'll post a few pics of my Pioneer 4 piece Rustic Bike Lift...

[Jettn Jim]

JtnJim  Tnx for the nice pictorial on the pivots .... looks like you got your custom bike stand same place as me ... the lumber pile. When I get under way on the suspension I'll post a few pics of my Pioneer 4 piece Rustic Bike Lift...

Your  and can't wait to see the pics. 

[ajeli]

Jim that's a really good idea. 

And it gives me a reason to play with my new Tap and Die set.

 

[Dave S]

So as promised... pictures of my Genuine Rustic Pioneer Bike Hoist. Its all set up so I can install a new chain and drive sprocket (the rear sprkt looks like new, so it gets re-used) and while its airborne, I will be lubing the rear suspension lever, arms, pivots etc... including ala "Jettn Jim" .. zerks in the main lever housing for eternal greasieness. The big pivot bolt took a lot of blood sweat and beers to get out, as in 8 years and near 14 thosand KMS it has never been serviced. Bout time ya say !!!

The Wildwood trailer is my permanent home since I sold my house in  Ontario and moved to BC (for the second and last time in my life). Sleeps 8, fridge chills beer, and the local white tails drop their turds outside my trailer door. Hey any body want some chocolate coated peanuts  hummmm!!

[Jettn Jim]

  I LOVE it maaan!  Excellent set up... reminds me of pull'n engines outta ol' jalopies when I was a kid.
And ya gotta love the FREEDOM of living in that camper with NO mortgage hanging over your head!!! 

[ajeli]

 

I like your house Dave. And your custom cherry picker.

 

[MacGyver]