Hey, sorry to be so slow in getting back to you all...things have been pretty busy around here. Ok, to answer some of the questions:
1. Yeah, the 2 through Alberta certainly wasn't all that exciting, but it was fast and I really needed to make some good time at that point in the trip. Also, I needed a new rear tire and a 16000 mile service and Edmonton was the best place for that. Plus, I've been through Banff and Jasper so I could feel a little bit better about passing it up this time.
2. The mystery program I mentioned is iGuidance. www.on10.net is a Microsoft deal and I didn't know at that point in the interview if I was supposed to mention non-Microsoft programs or not...thus the cryptic reference. iGuidance is good but for usage on anything other than a PDA you need to use it in concert with iGmod (which you can find info on at mp3car.com).
3. Power. The bike's battery/stator gave me less problems than my car does. Plenty of power.
4. Services. I bought Streets and Trips. I bought iGuidance. Everything else came in the form of free downloads or webservices, many of which I found through mp3car.com. GPSvisualizer.com was cool. Video was shot with Capture! (search on mp3car.com) and edited with Windows Movie Maker. Blogging was done with PostXING and Subtext.
I hope that all helps. As far as words of wisdom from this trip... Honestly, I'm sure many of you have many more miles on a bike under your belt than I do, so I feel a little silly throwing out my ideas on roadtrips, but here are a few things I learned from this trip:
1. If you have the Yamaha trunk box, make sure you bring the allan wrench that tightens those bolts down. The ones in your bike kit don't fit those bolts...strange.
2. If you're going to have gear on the back seat, get a waterproof gearbag. I used trashbags, which worked but was a bit of a challenge. Anyways, I would shove all of my stuff into the bag and then you a tie-down to strap it into place and a bungie net to keep it from moving around.
3. Bring water. I used a camelback but didn't actually wear it. I had it under the bungie net and would guzzle every time I stopped.
4. I had a little fuel cell that I bought at REI, but I never needed it. The FJR goes a long way, as I'm sure you all know. The furthest I went on a single tank was 285 miles and that was only because I wanted to see how far I could go....and I'm sure it would have gone further had I let it. Canada does a good job of letting you know how far it is to the next service. The US just puts gas stations everywhere (including inside of our National Parks, which I think's a little silly) so you should be fine.
5. Bring bear spray and nothing else. Canada doesn't allow any sort of personal, concealable weapon. No guns, no pepper spray.
6. There are plenty of camping spots along the way...you don't need to plan all of this out unless you're picky on where you stay.
7. Bring your FJR up the Dalton Highway only if you don't really like it that much and you're OK with beating the crap out of it.
No kidding...that road loosened fairing screws and luggage mounts, broke two of the keys off of my computer keyboard (which was inside of my top box), and shook all sorts of screws and connections loose inside of my computer. I think it shook a few things loose inside of me, too. Bring a flat tire patch kit and an air compressor. I got a flat and another guy I road back down with got a flat...my kit worked in both cases and it was a cheap one at Walmart. Another guy on a Harley took a rock in a bad spot and started leaking oil. Another guy went down in the mud and cracked his handlebars. Speaking of mud...the mud will get into your radiator and might cause you to overheat. I didn't, but guys on other bikes were having trouble with it. Anyways, all that to say that it's a rough road...worth it....just rough. (There's plenty more to say about it, but I don't want to go on and on...let me know if you have specific questions about the Highway.)
8. Bring two jackets, depending on what time of year you go. I saw windchill temps of 31 and desert temps near 110. I also got rained on...a lot. Plan for that.
9. Bring shower shoes and a travel towel. (Seems common sense...but I forgot the shower shoes).
10. Have an internet help desk. My girlfriend worked great....she found me so many camp sites and hotels. Really great.
11. Get a throttle lock like the one's I got at Throttlemeister.
Ok, I guess that's it for now. There may be some other things that I put up on the
website that I'm forgetting here, but I hope this helps everyone. Man, it was such a great trip.
