Tire pressure and tcs settings for the Dalton

Lonslo

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Looking for those with experience in slippery muddy conditions. I hope to ride the dalton in July on my s 10. Tires are new michelin anakee wild. Bike will be loaded heavy. What tire pressure should I run if the atigun pass is wet and slippery? Also should the tcs system be in setting 1 or 2 or even off. Lonslo
 

patrickg450

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I rode the road to TUK. The difference between GA mud and way up North mud is nodda. There are more rocks on the road, like gravely thick stuff.
 

tntmo

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I also took the Dempster to Tuktoyaktuk, I was running Mitas E07 tires that already had about 6000 miles on them. I decided to lower my pressure to 25 as a good compromise. I wasn't running a light load, I was packed up for 3 months of traveling and camping. I didn't want to have tires slipping on the rim or popping off the bead but maybe even going down to 20 could be safe?

It was really nice on the ride north but it rained on the way back and it was a slippery mess. I don't think any tires or pressure setting would have made it good in those conditions. Just slow down and ride at a safe pace. If you're in a hurry you might be quickly hurt.
 

magic

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I made that trip in 2016. I used Heidenau K60 tires and did not air down at all. You will encounter potholes lots of potholes and don't want to take a chance on popping a tire off the bead. I think I just left the traction control on for the whole trip. You will run into sections of mud, loose gravel and they coat the "road" with calcium chloride to bind the gravel and to try and hold down the dust. This all turns into a slippery mess when it rains. I was lucky and only rode in the rain for about an hour. Watch out for the soft gravel on the shoulders when you stop or pull over when meeting a truck.
 

OldRider

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I ran TKC 80's fully aired up. When people talk about the Dalton they usually only mention the worse part of the road they saw. The road will not be any where near as bad as most say it is. We rode it wet and raining going up and dry coming back South and except for places where they were doing road repairs we maintained a 40-60 mph pace, doing 70+ in a lot of places. We left all our gear except for what we needed for the two day trip at the motel in Fairbanks. We took 13 hours going North and 11 hours coming back South with plenty of scenery and rest stops.
 

jeckyll

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See my ride report from 2019. I had 'an experience' as I got caught in a rainstorm on the Dempster for 8 hours. I never air down when fully loaded YMMV
(ran K60 Scout front and a Tractionator GPS rear. 36 front, 39 rear as that GPS is bloody stiff :) )

Good luck, enjoy the north!
 

escapefjrtist

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Made the Dalton run in early June 2019. K60s front & rear with street pressures, left TCS in default position.

Had horrific rain and hail southbound at the southern end of the highway. Since we were riding through 2"+ of slop, we had to slow down but tires did their job and never slipped. Not an experience I'm looking to repeat!

~G
 

Cycledude

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Been there done that, I prefer to run the tire pressure that Yamaha has printed under the seat, it rained on us all the way up there and snowed 6 inches overnight so we shipped our bikes back to Fairbanks, it was a lot of fun and everything turned out great. Traction control I have never needed to monkey with that.
 

jeckyll

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Oh, I missed commenting on the TC.

This bike runs best for me on TC2 on the street. Offroad if easy, TC2, if hard TCoff, if knarly the front ABS sensor is disconnected, so it's all up to me anyway.
 

liquidsmile

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I road a Honda Valkyrie up to Prudhoe in 2006, 65 MPH with a car tire on the rear. Watch out for truckers, chuck holes, areas where they are laying down shot rock, and creasote soaked hills. Most of things are easy to spot. Riding it on a Tenere would have been a dream by comparison.

Valkyries in Prudhoe.jpg

My bike is on the left, that is my dads on the right. Little bit of creasote on them.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Never crossed my mind to air down the S10s when my wife and I rode the Dalton. Best dirt road I've ever seen in my life. Wide and perfect. Didn't hit any rain that ride, but I've never aired down ever so wouldn't have mattered.

I always preferred TCSoff in the dirt, but would have my wife in TCS2 for anything sketchy.

Have fun. It's a great ride.
 

Lonslo

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Thank all of you for some sound advice. I have ridden heavy cruisers, mostly harleys several hundred thousand miles but am a newbe on the s10. At 69 years of age I need all the help I can get. I do rodeo competitions on my harley popo roadking and do very well, especially for my age. I have found that my slow speed skills help some on the yamaha but I still have much to learn. My biggest concern on the dalton is the slippery mud and calcium that I have read so much about. At my age I dont mind going slow. I will be leaving the last week of June and should be in AK by July 4 headed north. thanks again, Lonslo
 

OldRider

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Thank all of you for some sound advice. I have ridden heavy cruisers, mostly harleys several hundred thousand miles but am a newbe on the s10. At 69 years of age I need all the help I can get. I do rodeo competitions on my harley popo roadking and do very well, especially for my age. I have found that my slow speed skills help some on the yamaha but I still have much to learn. My biggest concern on the dalton is the slippery mud and calcium that I have read so much about. At my age I dont mind going slow. I will be leaving the last week of June and should be in AK by July 4 headed north. thanks again, Lonslo
It will be easy to find other riders in Fairbanks that will be heading up the Dalton same time as you are. You won't be alone out there. I would try and take the Top of the World highway over to Dawson City while in the area. I really enjoyed a couple of nights in Dawson City.
 

Cycledude

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It will be easy to find other riders in Fairbanks that will be heading up the Dalton same time as you are. You won't be alone out there. I would try and take the Top of the World highway over to Dawson City while in the area. I really enjoyed a couple of nights in Dawson City.
Yes Top Of The World Highway is definitely worth the extra time !!!
 

patrickg450

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Shit......


If you are a guy that can do the RODEOs, you are a way better rider than most. I love watching those guys .

Good luck man
 

limey

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Absolutely no reason to air down on this big pig. Honestly I would skip the shot hole of Deadhorse and ride to Tuktoyaktuk. It’s the only road that you can ride to the Arctic Ocean in NA. And you can spend time with the locals.
 

jeckyll

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Absolutely no reason to air down on this big pig. Honestly I would skip the shot hole of Deadhorse and ride to Tuktoyaktuk. It’s the only road that you can ride to the Arctic Ocean in NA. And you can spend time with the locals.
And if Tuk is too much, ride to Tombstone. It's 100 km or so from the main highway and gas, the road is easy to there and the views are stunning. From a pure sight seeing perspective, it's the thing to see. It's a gavel highway, the first part :)

YMMV of course
 
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