Tuktoyaktuk June 2018 " Tenere Trio "

towboatcrisco

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Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
84
Location
White Rock, British Columbia , Canada
I rode the Dempster with a buddy on an Africa Twin, July 20th all the way from Dawson to Tuk in one shot. We camped the night of July 19th by the cardlock gas station. The Dempster was blocked off and had an electronic sign saying it was closed due to mudslides. Yikes! The sign was still saying closed in the morning, but changed about 0900-ish. The road was in really good shape, except for the mudslide area which wasn't too bad. We got to Inuvik about 2300, decided to just keep going since the weather was good and the road was working in our favor.t Took about 3 hours to get to Tuk, my buddy was going a bit slow for me but probably for the best.....it was kind of loose gravel.

Camped on the ocean for a few hours, then got word of a big storm coming in. We decided it would be in our best interest to get out of Tuk before the weather so we didn't get to do any sight seeing or visiting with people. I guess we got lucky, talked to some people later who were stuck there for 2-3 days. We stayed ahead of the rain until after the first ferry. Camped north of Eagle Plains. My buddy crashed in some mud just past there and broke his hand. Then he got a flat tire about 20 miles after that. Damn long day.

I'm ready to go again!
So your buddy had an African twin he had an off and you were on the S10? Nice . You just never know with those 2 roads ( dempster and inuvik to tuk ) Both are very sketchy in the wet. Sounds like a power tour you guys had . We made same decision coming home inuvik to Dawson to stay ahead of the rain , it caught us around tombstone but the road get a bit better from there to the cardlock . You should post up some pics . Hope your mates hand is ready to go
 

tntmo

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Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
649
Location
San Diego, CA
So your buddy had an African twin he had an off and you were on the S10? Nice . You just never know with those 2 roads ( dempster and inuvik to tuk ) Both are very sketchy in the wet. Sounds like a power tour you guys had . We made same decision coming home inuvik to Dawson to stay ahead of the rain , it caught us around tombstone but the road get a bit better from there to the cardlock . You should post up some pics . Hope your mates hand is ready to go
He had the bike, but he didn't have any real off-road experience and he was also packed like a goon. Both of those factors led to his crash. The road wasn't in bad shape after the rain, but there were some pretty muddy/soupy spots. He went into one of those spots way too fast (30mph or so?) and got his wheels cross-rutted. If he had just slowed down it would have been fine.

We only had limited days to get to Tuk and back. I regret that we didn't spend more time, but it's just the way things go and I believe getting ahead of the weather was the wise move. The road up was in such nice shape and even on the way back until after the first ferry stop (I can't remember that town name?). I'll post a few pics later, great trip.
 

10éréRider

Active Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
161
Location
Cambridge, Ontario Canada
Since we're sharing, this is my video of my trip up the Dempster. The guy ahead of me in the video, I met in Dawson and we rode up together. My wife wasn't crazy about me doing the Dempster by myself so she was relieved knowing I would have help if needed. I was only a few hours ahead of Limey I think. Road had one muddy section heading north. I didn't go down but the guy on the Beull did. A very low speed baseball slide. No damage. It was an awesome journey! I feel I earned my "Adventure Rider " badge with this ride. My camera wasn't the best and I wish I had taken more footage.

10éréRider


 

SkunkWorks

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Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,733
Location
Colorado
Gorgeous scenery! (excellent choice of music too!)
This trip is on my radar............probably a couple years out, but I now have the bike I want to do it on!
 

gv550

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Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
1,334
Location
Listowel, Ontario, Canada
Since we're sharing, this is my video of my trip up the Dempster. The guy ahead of me in the video, I met in Dawson and we rode up together. My wife wasn't crazy about me doing the Dempster by myself so she was relieved knowing I would have help if needed. I was only a few hours ahead of Limey I think. Road had one muddy section heading north. I didn't go down but the guy on the Beull did. A very low speed baseball slide. No damage. It was an awesome journey! I feel I earned my "Adventure Rider " badge with this ride. My camera wasn't the best and I wish I had taken more footage.

10éréRider


Great video! Brings back memories. Interesting to see the belt drive Buell out there in the wild, that should quiet a few nay-sayers. I rode my belt drive Vulcan up the Alcan 4 times and across the Top of the World, no issues at all. But I am glad to have shaft drive now. :)
 

10éréRider

Active Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
161
Location
Cambridge, Ontario Canada
Great video! Brings back memories. Interesting to see the belt drive Buell out there in the wild, that should quiet a few nay-sayers. I rode my belt drive Vulcan up the Alcan 4 times and across the Top of the World, no issues at all. But I am glad to have shaft drive now. :)
The Buell did blow his fork seals. His response to that was "I always wanted anti-lock brakes". The belt was making alot of noise a few times but he made it. He made the journey a few years ago to Inuvik and wanted to try out the new road.
 

tntmo

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Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
649
Location
San Diego, CA
Those last couple pictures look like a huge whole lot of "Nope"!
Even during the rain, the road was pretty good in most places. Those really muddy sections were pretty small. I liked riding the road after the rain more than I did before the rain due to less dust. I'm willing to bet if/when I make it back there, it will be an entirely different experience.
 

tntmo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
649
Location
San Diego, CA
Since we're sharing, this is my video of my trip up the Dempster. The guy ahead of me in the video, I met in Dawson and we rode up together. My wife wasn't crazy about me doing the Dempster by myself so she was relieved knowing I would have help if needed. I was only a few hours ahead of Limey I think. Road had one muddy section heading north. I didn't go down but the guy on the Beull did. A very low speed baseball slide. No damage. It was an awesome journey! I feel I earned my "Adventure Rider " badge with this ride. My camera wasn't the best and I wish I had taken more footage.

10éréRider


I just saw your video the other day and posted a reply on it, we were on the road at the same time. Awesome.
 

Barrel

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
52
Location
Quebec, Canada
Awesome RRs, pictures, videos and trips folks !!!

I rode to Inuvik in 1987 on my R80 GS as far as the road went North at that time in the NWT!

4 x more beers plse!!

Cheers!

 
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