Riding to Alaska on an FJR, Would you?

[Bionic Pelvis]

The hubby and I have riden ours all around Alaska and Canada, including up to Inuvik. Roads tend to randomly turn to gravel or shale or dirt or whatever is handy to make a road out of, but for the most part they are easy to handle. Neither of us had any trouble, aside from a whole lot of flat tires. My suggestion would be to bring lots of plugs & a compressor and have a great time!

 

[ahchiu]

I would go, if you plan it around September 9th-12th there is a weekend ride through Vancouver Island, you can ride on your way up to Alaska. If your worried about your plastic you can use electricical tape and tape up all the plastic that is prone to rock chip. leading edges of plastic, fender, 1/4 of the front faring, around the lights, mirrors, lower faring, just over lap the tape so when your done you have double thickness. there are a few guys with tire changers in the Seattle area you can arrange to ship your tire here and have them mounted before or after Alaska.

 

[el camino kid]

Hmmmm....I've been thinking of a trip to Alaska on my FJR too. It's just over 1k from my house and would be a good way for me to do my "iron Butt" maiden voyage & qualification. It's a long shot, but if our two schedules can be co-ordinated, maybe we could do it together. As my great grandad used to say..."Misery Loves Company"!

As far as trashing your bike is concerned, I don't think it would be a problem. You'll most likely hit some rain and construction sites along the way, but I believe the roads and conditions wouldn't be any worse than you'll find along the route across the U.S. from Fl. If you're concerned, Ahchiu had a good suggestion about the tape. Just put a roll or two in your luggage and if you need it, it's there.

Google "49n9.com" and you'll see a blog from a guy who drove a fenderless '32 ford to Hyder AK recently. He's got some photos of the car when he arrived in Hyder and although the car has some road film on it, but it certianly doesn't look "trashed".

Anyway, good luck with your plans. And remember....if you go, the bike will clean up. And when you're 85 years old and swapping stories with your grand kids & neighbors, how cool will it be to tell about the "old mans" Excellent Adventure!

Paul

 

[rockmurf]

El camino kid you are soo right. We shall see. It is just all that plastic.

 

[Heber Guy]

Went both in 2005 and in 2007 went 2 up. Just go it is great. More of the Haul road is paved each year so get up there while some gravel is left.

Have a great ride but don't miss Hyder.

Al

 

[bikerskier]

There is way too much negative mystery hype about traveling to Alaska. I have made the trip several times, lived in Alaska and Western Canada, and believe me. its just another road. Long, with construction areas, rough patchs, and incredible beauty in places. But no scary mystery.

 

[jwhite518]

That does it. I'm riding to Alaska.

Seriously, it's been one of my dreams for too long. When I bought my first grown-up motorcycle in 1997 there were two reasons I chose a BMW. 1) It would last 100,000 miles. 2) It would be reliable enough for me to ride to Alaska. Well, I did turn over 100K on that bike, but the Alaska dream remains unfulfilled. When my wife asked me what I wanted to do for my 50th birthday, first thing that popped into my head was ride to Alaska. Being that my birthday is in December, the trip might be more practical the summer *before* the big five oh. And she can still have a party for me on the actual day.

This thread is motivating me again. I have no reservations about riding up to Alaska and back...Anchorage, Homer, Denali, Tok, all the roads on the map. Maybe even take a peek at Hyder. However I am in no way interested in riding my FJR to Deadhorse. Maybe, *maybe* I'd ride it to Fairbanks and rent a KLR or sumpin'. Cuz yeah, Prudhoe is another motorcycle dream.

Summer of 2011. Who's with me? <g>

 

[Bogey907]

There is way too much negative mystery hype about traveling to Alaska. I have made the trip several times, lived in Alaska and Western Canada, and believe me. its just another road. Long, with construction areas, rough patchs, and incredible beauty in places. But no scary mystery.

May be, but I'm pretty sure I won't be eaten by a grizzly if I have to stop and fix a flat here in Alabama.

 

[Alex]

That does it. I'm riding to Alaska.
~snip~

Summer of 2011. Who's with me? <g>

Great choice. I rode my FJR Anchorage, and up to Fairbanks in 08’ My brother joined me on his GSA. The GS was much better at the rough stuff but the FJR did just fine. I covered every square inch of the front end with 3M Protection material before heading out. When returned 10K later I just removed the material and she was good as new. Well, um, except for the 2 rock dents in my windshield.

I rode on gravel fairly often by choice. We would ride into the woods to setup camp. There was a stretch of road just before arriving in Alaska that has some pretty knarly woops from the frost heaves.

Get yourself some extra memory sticks. You will need them on this trip! Fantastic views after every turn.

This was taken at midnight.

Campsite:

Getting there:

Bring your good sleeping bag if you are going to camp at altitude:

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[rockmurf]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ric in Sac]

Riding to Alaska on an FJR, Would you?

I would....

i would, too - we could walk in and surprise ric-in-sac.

Love to have you. It's a piece of cake. Especially if you stay on the main paven highways such as the Glen and the Seward. Haul road -- that's another story.

Rick in SAC, but really in AK (Anchorage)

 

[exskibum]

Rick in SAC, but really in AK (Anchorage)

Good to see you raise your head, Rick. Tits frozen off yet? With snow on the ground (we got 4" in Auburn yesterday), Sacto set a new low for the date this morning at 24 degrees F -- nothing compared to what you're now used to.

When do you next get to see the sun for more than an hour?

 

[dcarver]

Riding to Alaska on an FJR, Would you?

I would....

i would, too - we could walk in and surprise ric-in-sac.

Love to have you. It's a piece of cake. Especially if you stay on the main paven highways such as the Glen and the Seward. Haul road -- that's another story.

Rick in SAC, but really in AK (Anchorage)

Wabs says hi to cold Ric in Ak!

 

[DarylP]

I purchased a new 08' AE in March 2008 then rode it from Houston to Ozarks for a break in then in June rode to Valdez and back to Houston. No problems at all. I did install a plastic film kit over the plastics before heading out. I was going to ride my VFR as I was concerned about having problems with the auto clutch system but after putting 3,000 miles on it before AK trip I had confidence that it would be fine. Gravel roads were in good condition but it rained 3 days straight and was in the low 40's...Roadcrafter and electric jacket saved my life!

 

[DarylP]

I purchased a new 08' AE in March 2008 then rode it from Houston to Ozarks for a break in then in June rode to Valdez and back to Houston. No problems at all. I did install a plastic film kit over the plastics before heading out. I was going to ride my VFR as I was concerned about having problems with the auto clutch system but after putting 3,000 miles on it before AK trip I had confidence that it would be fine. Gravel roads were in good condition but it rained 3 days straight and was in the low 40's...Roadcrafter and electric jacket saved my life!

 

[user 17459]

That does it. I'm riding to Alaska.
Seriously, it's been one of my dreams for too long. When I bought my first grown-up motorcycle in 1997 there were two reasons I chose a BMW. 1) It would last 100,000 miles. 2) It would be reliable enough for me to ride to Alaska. Well, I did turn over 100K on that bike, but the Alaska dream remains unfulfilled. When my wife asked me what I wanted to do for my 50th birthday, first thing that popped into my head was ride to Alaska. Being that my birthday is in December, the trip might be more practical the summer *before* the big five oh. And she can still have a party for me on the actual day.

This thread is motivating me again. I have no reservations about riding up to Alaska and back...Anchorage, Homer, Denali, Tok, all the roads on the map. Maybe even take a peek at Hyder. However I am in no way interested in riding my FJR to Deadhorse. Maybe, *maybe* I'd ride it to Fairbanks and rent a KLR or sumpin'. Cuz yeah, Prudhoe is another motorcycle dream.

Summer of 2011. Who's with me? <g>

Great thread! I did the trip in '96 on my old FJ1200 and it was the ride of my life. Made it as far as the arctic circle north of Fairbanks, but didn't make it to Prudhoe Bay. I had planned on doing it last summer on my 650 Dakar, but finances got in the way :angry2: . The Dakar is gone now, but I'm seriously contemplating (dependant on finances) a 2-week, 4000 mile, one-way trip up next summer on the Feejer. It goes something like this:

- SoCal to Vancouver

- North on Vancouver Island to Port Hardy

- Ferry to Prince Rupert

- Prince Rupert to Hyder

- Alaska-Stewart highway (37) to Cassier

- Alaska highway (1) to Whitehorse

- Klondike highway (2) to Dawson

- Top of the World highway to Tok

- Alaska Highway (A2) to Fairbanks

- Fairbanks to Cantwell on Parks highway (A3)

- Cantwell to Paxson Lake across on East Denali Highway (8) **

- Down to Valdez on A4

- Ferry to Whittier

- Trip to Seward on Seward highway

- Back to Anchorage

- Ship bike back and fly home!

** Need to verify that this road is viable for FJR

I'm hoping that my wife will be able to fly in to Whitehorse along they way and ride the last part with me. So far, she's not too keen on the idea. Dawson City is awesome, as well as the ride across the Top of World Highway. It will likely be a solo trip, as none of my local riding buddies are interested. I'll 3M the bike as best possible and hope the construction zones don't do me in!

Rick

 

[rogerfjrfaster]

Toecutter is afraid of BEE's and what the hell is Ric in Sac doing in Alaska, 4 of us headed there in june 2010

rogerfjrfaster :yahoo:

 

[blufjr]

I too. Started thinking about a Alaska trip three years ago. I now plan to do so in June-July 2010. FJR all the way and about 14 days:

Vancouver, Wa to Whistler, BC

to 100 Mile House, BC

to Sikanni River, BC

to Dawson City, Yukon

to Fairbanks, AK

to Denali National Park/Trapper Creek

to Homer, AK

to Copper Center, AK

to Tok, AK

to Haines, AK

to Skagway, AK

to Upper Liard, Yukon

to Hyder, AK

to Prince George, BC

to Hope, BC

to Home 6050 miles.

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.2wheels2alaska.com/ Very nice Alaska Motorcycle Report, ridden for a charity. Same BMW as mine, F650GS Twin.

 

[Old Michael]

https://www.2wheels2alaska.com/ Very nice Alaska Motorcycle Report, ridden for a charity. Same BMW as mine, F650GS Twin.

Thanks, Papa Chuy.

Damn, I could read Alaska Ride Reports all day. That fellow had some very interesting things to say about

making the trek. We might discuss it further in DV, eh? ...if I can catch you sober for a few minutes.