so whos been to alaska on a bike ?

[DaveO]

Thinking someday Id like to ride up there.
Dreaming mostly. Itll be at least a few more years before I can take off for a month.
You that have been ,what  bike  you ride ? Solo or 2 up?
Was the bike you took a good choice or were you wishing you were on something else when the road got gnarley.
Were there roads you wanted to take but didnt because you thought your bike would not be up for it?
Im all into having the right tool for the job.

[justbob]

 I took a (1 up) trip to Alaska in 2004 on my 1000 V-Strom, it was a great bike for that trip. I did 11,400 miles in 23 days, the only thing the bike required during the trip was a new rear tire, which I had planned on and had a tire waiting for me in Wasilla Alaska. We rode the Haul road to Prudhoe Bay but couldn't go to Inuvik or Chicken due to forest fires that year that had the roads closed while we were in the area.
I have a new Yamaha Super Tenere on order, due any day now and may take it up to Alaska next year

[DaveO]

sounds like a very cool trip Bob You really put on some  miles.
Yes, the v Strom has a good reputation  for reliability and as a practical workhorse . Come to think of it Suzuki  has made the most reliable bikes I have owned and that should be top consideration.
Probaby still a very good choice for a trip like yours.Just reading the specs on that bike and Suzuki did a fine job of design on that one and kept the weight down too.
I admit I didnt like the look of that bike when it appeared but now Im starting to "get it"
Looking foward to hearing all about that Tenere.

[valkmc]

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.

[SonnyC]

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 was a memorable trip and I will ride it again with my son or drive there with the wife.

[DaveO]

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.

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.

[DaveO]

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 was a memorable trip and I will ride it again with my son or drive there with the wife.

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?
Sounds like you had a great trip!

[vortex2]

I did it in 2010 on my '10. 11K miles in 15 days, NY to AK and back in a big loop. No problems
with the bike but there were times I wished I had my KLR.

[Two Skies]

AK Diane lives in Alaska, and owns a C10 Connie.  Apparently, though, she never made the transition to the new forum...

[jworth]

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.

[valkmc]

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.

In the lower 48 low class hotels went from $25 to $50 bucks. Found several motel 6 for around 30 with AARP discount. Forget it in Canada, cheapest I found there were in the 60 to 70 range and more when I reached Alaska. After Dawson Creek I camped all the way to Alaska, mostly $20 per night. I packed an equipment bag used for softball, 32 inches wide but very narrow with a small 2 man tent, a backpacker sleeping bag. a twin size air matteress with a hand air pump and an airplane pillow. It fit on my back seat across the top of the side bags. I also put a small extension cord in it, came in handy for charging the cell and ipod at night.

Compression bags bought at wally world for $13 really help packing. The roll up with whatever you put in them and force air out a one way valve at the bottom, makes your clothes and the pillow flatten right out. I only camp 3 days in a row and then hotel it for a night or two. I did stay a couple of nights in a hostel for $10 per night.

[valkmc]

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.

[SteveJ.]

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.

[alexx45]

Ain't made it yet but I have plans to make the trip in 2015.  I figure that will give me enough time to work out the details. 

[RIP50AK]

Have lived in Alaska for over 50 Years, bought a 2011 Connie new this spring. Have travel to and from Alaska via motorcycle several times over the years but it has been awhile. Most travel in State is pretty straight forward, if you look at a map you will see there are only so many places you can get to by road. Let me know if you have questions.

[DaveO]

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.

I think i'll just rule out sleeping in a tent if there is any remote chance of bears in the area.
Curious though ,what is bear spray and bear bangers?.

[DaveO]

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.

an 800 dollar ferry ride??
WOW!!thats one long boat ride.Sounds like fun though

[DaveO]

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'll remember that..

[DaveO]

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.

So how long is the ferry ride ? Does it make stops?

[SteveJ.]

I think i'll just rule out sleeping in a tent if there is any remote chance of bears in the area.
Curious though ,what is bear spray and bear bangers?.

Google is your friend.

2 1/2 weeks of tenting, no bear problems. Just have to be smart about it, and lucky.

Something else, it is about the RIDE to AK, kinda defeats the purpose iff'n yer gonna go for a boat ride, JMHO.

Another something else, stuff is expensive up there.

Try to get an old "Milepost" book, it'll clue you in a bit. FWIW, we rarely opened the book once under way, just kinda rolled with the flow, when we saw gas, we bought it.