Just got back, left on June 20th and returned July 28th, rode 10k and took the ferry from Juneau to Bellingham another 2k. Mostly solo. Wife flew into Vegas and rode to Florence AZ with me, then flew back to Florida. Bike was great for the trip, ran very little interstate, mostly two lane blacktop. Did not ride up to the Artic Circle it was raining and did not want to ride all those miles in the mud on my Connie. She was great in the mountains and I really pushed her. I rode long streches of twisties lasting 50 or 60 miles at a time. If you go make sure ride over the mountians into Skagway Alaska and be sure to bring warm clothes, I saw snow flakes in June. The Oregon and Northern California Coast were also great, loved the redwoods. I camped when possible and stayed in some real low class hotels to keep cost down. Have not figured out total cost but estimate about 4k. That includes being stuck in Vegas while final drive leak was fixed. If you decide to camp on the Alaskan Highway stop at RV parks they will let you throw up your tent for $10-$20 and have good facilities because they cater to the older crowd. All I can say is do it, I talked about it for 10 years and am glad I did it. I have posted pictures on this site.
Went last summer. Left San Diego July 3, 2010 with two other bikers all riding solo. I was on a '09 Candy Red Concours14 (ABS), 2nd rider was on a HD RoadKing, and the 3rd rider was on an '03 BMW 1150 RT. Our interstate route was on 15 up to Idaho and we started taking secondary roads. We took 75 to 93 to Glacier National Park, stayed at the Blackfeet Reservation and crossed over the border at "Del Bonito" agricultural crossing. Went to Calgary to Banff, then to Jasper in Alberta. We to Alberta 40 (AKA Alaska scenic highway) until Dawson Creek for the start of the AlCan. From there to Delta Junction to Fairbanks. We had several days of rain and portion of the Alcan were under construction. The Connie performed well in gravel, loose sand, mud, wet road etc... only stopped during a heavy hail storm in Montana (I'm from SoCAl and we can't handle that stuff on the road). Thanks God I had a radiator guard, fender extender and a headlight guard on my bike. Both side cases were full plus a full 50 liter top case, and a drybag and other stuff tied to the passenger seat. Even loaded, bike rode well when I pushed it to 120+mph for a few miles in Montana. New PR2 were great in the twisties. We did 9000 miles in 25 days. We camped weather permitting, hotel when we needed a hot shower/meal. Met numerous bikers...all of them friendly. Met many Europeans on bikes and bicycle on the AlCan...It suprises me to hear the c-14 did well in the mud and muck. How many miles of this stuff are you talking about?
It was a memorable trip and I will ride it again with my son or drive there with the wife.
Cool beans!
Probably how Ill do it ,camp when possible. How much cubic space does small tent reqire?
How much were you paying for the low class motels ?
It DOES get stressful in the evening on a long trip when you are not prepared to camp.
A guy I know went up there in a small group. He rode a KLR I believe. He did go up to the circle. He did say that if he were going to do it again, he'd ride to Washington and take a boat up to Alaska bypassing Canada rather than riding through it. Just passing on what he told me.
I went up in '04. Consider the Cassiar Hy in one direction. Nice, no traffic, short sections of good gravel road, mostly chipseal, with pavement after the Hyder/Stewart turn off. Stop and consider getting "Hyderized" in Hyder, AK. Very frugal(for Alaska) room rates at the Sealaska Inn there, low $40 in '04. Hy 37a is splendid road. Gas generally available every 100 miles on the Cassiar.
Laird Hot Springs in northern BC on tha Alcan. Cool place.
Canadians can camp for free on Crown land, foreigners are supposed to pay a $10 fee. Uncertain how the fee works, didn't know about it until we were out of Canada, on the return trip.
Bring bear spray, or get some Bear Bangers.
Do NOT bring a handgun.
Rode the ferry back from Juneau Alaska to Bellingham Washington, Cost about $800 but when you factor 4 night lodging and 2500 miles worth of gas in it is not as expensive as it seems. I took some beers on and a bottle of Baileys for my coffee and a few snacks. I set my tent up on the deck with all the other bikers so I had good sleeping arrangements. My tent was actually under an overhang so it did not get wet when it rained. The was a couple of places to eat and a bar on board also. There were about 25 or 30 bikes on board so there was lots of story telling. Had a good time and the scenery was fantastic.
A guy I know went up there in a small group. He rode a KLR I believe. He did go up to the circle. He did say that if he were going to do it again, he'd ride to Washington and take a boat up to Alaska bypassing Canada rather than riding through it. Just passing on what he told me.
Rode the ferry back from Juneau Alaska to Bellingham Washington, Cost about $800 but when you factor 4 night lodging and 2500 miles worth of gas in it is not as expensive as it seems. I took some beers on and a bottle of Baileys for my coffee and a few snacks. I set my tent up on the deck with all the other bikers so I had good sleeping arrangements. My tent was actually under an overhang so it did not get wet when it rained. The was a couple of places to eat and a bar on board also. There were about 25 or 30 bikes on board so there was lots of story telling. Had a good time and the scenery was fantastic.
I think i'll just rule out sleeping in a tent if there is any remote chance of bears in the area.Google is your friend.
Curious though ,what is bear spray and bear bangers?.