Going to Alaska in spring

[ridefast99]

Ok I have a 2012 super 10 with 6000 miles on iy I am going to the arctic circle in the spring..I change my own oil and final drive lube...I will be leaving from Connecticut on this 10,000 mile plus trip ...Question is there any thing i should have checked on this bike at the dealer before embarking....also need info a tires that last for highway use.....I have a high cee bailey but is there any other wind deflectors that can be bought ???.Thanks in advance ridefast99

 

[OldRider]

This a copy and paste from a post I made on another Alaska thread......
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My ride to AK was the first week of June and we didn't know how far we could go each day, so we didn't make any room reservations. As it turned out we stayed in motels in Revelstroke, Jasper, Ft. Nelson, Whitehorse, Fairbanks, Deadhorse and Dawson City. It was early June and we never had a problem finding a room. Rooms averaged about $125/night.

The roads will be better than what you hear about them.

Buy a GOOD rainsuit, you will need it. Waterproof boots and gloves too.

95% of my expenses were for food, gas and lodging. 22 days, 10,500 miles = $3300.

Don't settle for seeing the Artic Circle sign, go to Deadhorse.

Try to time your ride so as to be in Dawson City for the D2D ride. This is BIG. (see the Alaska section at ADVRider.com)
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=918710

Don't over pack with clothes. It's a lot easier to grab a six pack every 4-5 days and guard the washer/dryer while doing a load.

We shipped some TKC80's to Fairbanks and changed tires before heading North. The Dalton can be rode on regular dual sport tire,
but it was wet and I was very happy to have the knobbies on. We left the street tires at the motel in Fairbanks and carried them South and
changed tire back when the TKC's wore out.

The Dalton has it's bad places that need to be shown a lot of respect, but if the road is dry you can run 60mph on a lot of it. We left Fairbanks at 4 am and made it to Coldfoot in about 6 hours. The road North of CF was wet for the next 100 miles and then it was smooth sailing into DH. The trip up took 12 hours and the trip back South was 11 hours.

The main thing to watch on the Dalton is the color of the road. The hard packed part is a lighter color than the freshly graded part. They will take a section of road for a few miles and rip it up with those large graders with the big spikes in the rear. This produces a gravel surface with large chunks of rock that is almost impossible to ride on. Next they smooth out the large gravel part and they have long dump trucks that dump a long berm with a mixture of sand, chat gravel and calcium cloride down the side of the road. Next the grader will grade the berm out across the road and you have a surface that is a couple of inches deep in sand. Picture riding down a thick sandy beach. Hard to steer straight.

There is the wet Dalton and there is the dry Dalton, they are two totaly different roads. Be careful and don't ride over your head and Deadhorse and the Attic Ocean are worth the trip.

We had heard a lot of horror stories about the trucks on the Dalton, but our experience was all positive. I'm going to guess that we met a total of 70 trucks on the way up and back and all but two slowed down and gave us plenty of room. The two trucks that didn't slow down for us were both coming up steep inclines and it is understandable why they didn't let off the gas. We moved to the side of the road and gave them all the room we could.

As far as the Alcan goes, it's a nice big wide open highway. You will hit construction sites, but they aren't nothing you can't handle. If you can ride 500 miles a day across Kansas, you can do 500 a day on the Alcan.

#1 thing to me is good rain gear. If you stay dry and warm, you will have the trip of a lifetime.

 

[rem]

There are OEM wind deflectors available, as well as others. I have Cee Baileys. Big suckers. The Yamaha dealer in Whitehorse, Yukon, is a particularly good one. They carry a selection of tires if you need some about then. Let me know prior to your departure and I can give you some info as you get into northern B. C. and Yukon. If you're gonna motel, book ahead as much as possible. Use the Alcan one way, and the Stewart-Cassiar (#37) the other. Good luck. R ::008::

 

[Andrew]

I went last year, and grossly over packed - probably had 120 of stuff on the bike. I rode the Dempster rather than the Dalton, on 3/4-worn Battlewings; probably not the best choice of the trip! Dust to Dawson is a no-brainer; also, if you're camping, stay at the Hippie Yuppie (Robert Service) campground in Whitehorse. Further, Yukon Yamaha in Whitehorse was the host dealership for the first-ever North American Super Tenere gathering last year, and is very accomodating. I changed my oil in their parking lot, and they also carry Heidenau K60 tires in bulk (at least last year). Burn up your street tires on the way, and your new K60s will be heat-cycled and broken in by the time you get to the gravel.

 

[dirtsailor]

As far as cold weather and rain gear what is the best choice or what do you guys recommend? ???

 

[OldRider]

I took electric gear and I never put it on. Most of the days from the border North were between 55 & 75 degrees. Some of the mornings would start out around 40* but it would warm up quick. The day we arrived at the Artic Ocean it was 51*. I took five of each of the following, motocross type jersey, coolmax socks and underwear. I would take one of each and roll it up tightly in a gallon zip lock bag. It will roll into a very small package. That way each day I could grab one bag and have a clean shirt, socks and underwear.

Two pair of jeans and a pair of Firstgear overpants. A heavy sweatshirt and a Firstgear Kilimanjaro jacket. If it's warm I ride with just the jersey. If it gets a little colder the sweatshirt goes on and when that's not enough on goes the Kili jacket. One pair of light weight gloves, a pair of medium weight gloves and a pair of heavy waterproof gloves.

I like a two piece rainsuit because it can start and stop raining 10 times in a day. Leave the bottoms on and pull over and put the top on when the rain starts back up again.

A good pair of waterproof boots are a must and throw in a pair of sneakers to wear around when not on the bike.

I took some tire irons, a tire plug kit and a small compressor along with a tube for each tire just in case a plug wouldn't work. Take a small tool kit along with some wire, tape, zip ties and what ever you think you might need for small repairs.

You're never going to be alone up there for very long. Even in the remotest places we went to, someone would come by very often. People were real friendly and if we were stopped beside the road, they would stop and see if we needed help. Help will be every where, but the parts to make a repair with will be a different story.

You will hear a lot about how bad the insects are, but we never had a problem. There were some forest fires to the West of Fairbanks and although I could just barely smell smoke in the air every once in a while, it was enough to keep the insects at home. The only place we ran across any mosquitoes to talk about was at the Artic Circle and they were there by the millions and big enough to pack away a small dog.

Let me repeat, don't stop at the Artic Circle, go to Deadhorse. The run up and over Atigun Pass and up the North Slope through the Frozen Tundra was one of the best parts of the trip. Don't ride 5000 miles and leave off the best 300. JMHO

I have collected a few trophies and souvenirs over the years, but the bottle of water and rocks from the Artic Ocean are my favorite.

 

[Siseneg]

I went in '05. ::026:: on going all the way to Deadhorse. Don't miss that run. There were places where I just had to stop; you can either ride or you can gawk but you can't do both sometimes. Riding along the pipeline, there were times when you can see many miles with absolutely no sign of human intervention ... except for the pipeline. The Caribou are idiots; they will try to outrun you just to get across the road in front of you. We saw fox, moose, lots of rabbits (as a matter of fact I was the only one in our group that did not actually score a road-kill rabbit on the trip).

We went in mid-June and early July. 16 days, 8,500 miles. It rained easily 1/3 of the time until we got to Fairbanks, but then we had a good, dry (dusty) run up the Dalton. We ran the last 110 miles in temps down to 29 degrees and in fog. It was cold and wet, the helmet fogged up so I had to crack it open which only made it chillier. I had no electric gear except for grip warmers and they were life savers, Wearing three or four layers worked for a couple of hours but I was eventually cold-soaked because I didn't have the high-end stuff. My buddy had a 1 piece $700 suit and it worked fine for him. (I have since purchased heated gear).

We had a bit different experience with the mosquitos too. Maybe it is the particular year, or the particular time of year, but they were quite bad for us. 100% deet will burn the skin, 99% won't keep them off you I purchased a set of 'Buzz-Off" clothes that did indeed work (but I don't know if LL Bean or REI still sells them) and would do it again.

Our longest day was 465 miles. The last run is from Coldfoot to Deadhorse which is 240 miles without a fuel stop so additional fuel will be required. We went on three identical machines (KLR 650s) and had only a couple of mechanicals on the whole trip (water pump and clogged primary jet).

As mentioned, everyone we met along the way was friendly and helpful. We ran across on Harley rider that'd smacked his rim and was out of business so we rode with him for a few miles at 3 mph until he got to a pumping station. He had insurance which would come get him (wow...).

After a while, folks quit asking us 'where ya' headed?' and started asking 'where ya been?'

Don't know if it has changed in 8 years, but to get onto (or in to) the Arctic Ocean you'll need to be escorted by oilfield personnel. They required ID and pre-registration to get our tour. We coordinated all of that ahead of time through the 'hotel' there in Deadhorse and it came off without a hitch. 32 degree air and 31 degree water ... yeah baby .. You earn this Polar Bear certificate.

My brother and I are contemplating returning to check out some of the different roads and towns we missed, but it wouldn't be till summer again. And he's still thinking V-Strom, so until we're on speaking terms ... wait, never mind ...

Keep us informed!

 

[eemsreno]

I just love reading about you alls trips and the way it worked out for you.
Oldrider is so right, [don't stop going north at the Arctic Circle] go all the way. getting to the Actic Circle wasn't much of an accomplishment really, a Ferrari could make it to the Arctic Circle.
We went in the first of Aug. and no mosquitos at all once on the Alaskan highway and north .
Wear good gear and waterproof.
We had to run heat all the time north of the US boarder. Except north of the A.C. it must have been 75F at the Deadhorse. And the Arctic Ocean was warm to wade in.
If you get the chance though, The Dempster is the real deal for Adventure!!! Remote!!! Dangerous!!! Awesome!!!

Oh,,,, I would leave home with K60s on and they will make the whole trip no problemo.
Steve