Alaska mods

My OH are off to Alaska in June. I'll admit The Lord and Master has done a great deal of research into appropriate mods for his Triumph Tiger 1050, and has come up with a frighteningly long wish list. I am riding my R1200GS, and have, so far, come up with improved ... luggage! (Well, what do you expect?) Being serious for a moment, we are both considering dual-purpose tyres, engine bars and headlight protectors, but John is getting a rad and oil cooler cover, belly pan, upgraded headlight, hand guards, and a bigger HORN!

While Milepost and other respected tourist info would have you believe that you need to carry a trailer's worth of spares to cope with gravel roads, unpredictable weather, "washboard" surfaces, and construction, can someone WHO HAS ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED THESE ROADS give me a clue as to what mods/spares/equipment are actually necessary, and what advice is aimed purely at the averagely lame American RV'er.

May I be so bold as to suggest the advrider forum. You may get a better input as they're closer to home...

Done. Thanks.

Don't forget ...

... a Deer whistle, or maybe even Moose Whistle over there ! Do a search but basically it works like a silent dog whistle and keeps them from under your wheels. Unfortunate side effect is that you won't see much wildlife while riding

A beer whistle? Great idea!

oblertone said:

... a Deer whistle, or maybe even Moose Whistle over there ! Do a search but basically it works like a silent dog whistle and keeps them from under your wheels. Unfortunate side effect is that you won't see much wildlife while riding

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Got a Moose whistle on my 1100 and they work. Rode 6500 miles across the US and Canada last August and never saw one feckin Moose

No need to go completely overboard on prep but I would advise the following for dirt:

Oil cooler guard is an absolute must.
Headlamp protector
Engine guards
Throttle lock (the roads are very long)
Autocom or Starcom for music
Standard Vario luggage will do but it`s very heavy. Metal panniers are lighter and much stronger and I would recommend Vern`s Worldbeaters because they are big, waterproof, very strong and very lighweight.
I wouldn`t bother with a light upgrade because DO NOT RIDE AT NIGHT There are a lot of big beasties wandering around and coming together with a 2 tonne Elk will only have one outcome

Having said all that, the standard GS will cope no problem and I would keep weight to an absolute minimum.

For info, I`ll be in Alaska in July and won`t be doing anything special to my 1100 which was prepped for the Trans America Trail last year. I`ll also run standard Tourance tyres which will do the job unless it pours it down on the Haul Road then may have to revert to TKC`s.

Sgt Bilco said:

Got a Moose whistle on my 1100 and they work. Rode 6500 miles across the US and Canada last August and never saw one feckin Moose

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Bet that'd work well this side of the pond as well

Bryn said:

Bet that'd work well this side of the pond as well

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Oh it does. Vern fitted one to his 1100 and hasn`t seen a Moose in 12 months......uncanny

Sgt Bilco said:

Got a Moose whistle on my 1100 and they work. Rode 6500 miles across the US and Canada last August and never saw one feckin Moose

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A moose whistle? Such things exist?

Sgt Bilco said:

No need to go completely overboard on prep but I would advise the following for dirt:

Oil cooler guard is an absolute must.
Headlamp protector
Engine guards
Throttle lock (the roads are very long)
Autocom or Starcom for music

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Well sorted with all the above except the throttle lock. Don't like them. Have ridden tens of thousands of miles on US highways and never felt the need. (Perhaps as I get older and more arthritic, I'll change my mind.) Oil cooler guard, headlamp protector and engine guards on order.

We both have Autocom fitted. Not only for music, but we both carry CB on our bikes. It is considered a bit freakish in Europe, but we find the majority of our American friends have CB fitted. Makes for some light-hearted banter and can be useful when one of the group falls behind, loses their wallet, luggage, or runs out of fuel, all of which seem to be regular occurances. They are not the most organised of riding buddies!

Sgt Bilco said:

Standard Vario luggage will do but it`s very heavy. Metal panniers are lighter and much stronger and I would recommend Vern`s Worldbeaters because they are big, waterproof, very strong and very lighweight.

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I did get a quote from Vern for his Worldbeaters, and I am tempted ... but they are HUGE and not desperately attractive. I know, if I ask him, he will make a custom set, but the jury is still out. My preference at the moment is to wait for the new Hepco & Becker Xplorer boxes to be available.

Sgt Bilco said:

I wouldn`t bother with a light upgrade because DO NOT RIDE AT NIGHT There are a lot of big beasties wandering around and coming together with a 2 tonne Elk will only have one outcome

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Dead right. We never ride at night in the US anyway. Even where live animals aren't a particular nuisance, there are too many rubber "alligators" lying in wait on most highways.

Sgt Bilco said:

For info, I`ll be in Alaska in July and won`t be doing anything special to my 1100 which was prepped for the Trans America Trail last year. I`ll also run standard Tourance tyres which will do the job unless it pours it down on the Haul Road then may have to revert to TKC`s.

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I had been thinking of getting the TKC 80's, but everyone says the Tourance will do the job. Not only that, but Advrider advice is that the TKC's won't wear as well. I know I am going to have to change a pair of tyres some way along the road, but I'd rather not have to do it twice!

Very grateful for all the advice. We paid our deposits yesterday, so we are definitely a "go" for the US this summer, as long as neither of us comes seriously adrift on the Off-road Skills course in April ....

Bilco, according to our current itinerary, we are in Vancouver 23rd June and make our way slowly up to Alaska via Watson Lake, Whitehorse and Dawson City, crossing the border on 2nd July. You going to be in the vicinity?

Gonna be in Alanta during that time on a Rally, pity it's not so near...

Will be leaving San Francisco around 4th July and aim to be in Coldfoot on or around 14th so will see you somewhere when you are heading back south

Hi,

I was up in Alaska in 2005 and did a fair amount of riding whilst up there. If you don't intend to go up to Prudoe Bay on the James Dalton Highway, or use the Dempster Highway or the Denali Highway then all the roads we covered were normal paved roads as in the UK and the Tourances will be fine. If however you wish to ride on any or all of the above I would recomend using a TKC80 at least on the front and possibly a Tourance on the back as they are all gravel/dust roads which can get in a mess if the weather has been or is bad. Do a search on the Dempster when the weather has been rough and you'll see what I mean. If you look at John and I's photos of the James Dalton on this forum under Mike & Johns RTW Adventure - Alaska-Prudoe or Fairbanks you can see what the track was like.

When John and I rode the James Dalton they were spraying a mud/calcium slurry on the highway/track to keep the dust down. The effect was that it was like riding in a slushy ice and I wouldn't want to hit that with Tourances front and rear. Grant Johnson, the owner of Horizons Unlimited and Kevin Saunders who runs a tour company running trips from Alaska to Argentina and both generally recommend using a TKC80/knobbly on the front at least to give you the best steering chances whilst maintaining the best life in your driving wheel. I used TKC80's front and rear and the mileage on an F650 Dakar wasn't that different to a Tourance.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mike

ExploringRTW said:

Grant Johnson, the owner of Horizons Unlimited and Kevin Saunders who runs a tour company running trips from Alaska to Argentina and both generally recommend using a TKC80/knobbly on the front at least to give you the best steering chances whilst maintaining the best life in your driving wheel.

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Thanks for your input. Interesting idea, "mix n' match" tyres. Not something I would have thought of. Anyone else got any experience of this? We do plan to ride the Dalton, but most seem to think that the Tourance will do fine and give better wear overall.