I'm leaving NC July 30th staying at Buffalo Chip in Sturgis from 8-3 till 8-8.Leaving there and riding to Alaska.Gonna do a lot of sightseeing for about two weeks,then come back through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons and back home.Got a time span of 6 weeks.Any suggestions of best roads to take.Riding a 2012 Ultra Classic Limited and pulling a trailer with it so need the best roads especially in Alaska.

 

You will be fine in Canada and the "loop" in Alaska as well as the spur to Anchorage. The ride from Anchorage to Seward is awesome! I think most of the other roads in Alaska are suspect. I didn't ride them though so I can't speak to it.

That said several times you will encounter several miles of construction where you are riding on dirt/gravel. If you lose sleep over not having a pristine bike, don't go. I have a couple paint chips and likely some Canadian/Alaskan mud on the bike somewhere to this day. Adds character if you ask me. Sort of like battle scars.

The Halibut and Salmon are awesome. Reindeer sausage is yummy as well. If you stay in Anchorage try the Glacier Brew House.

Took about an hour to enter Canada. We didn't enter at a crossing that sees a lot of tourist, primarily semis. They didn't believe two people could do that ride without external bags or a trailer. It's called vacuum bags and laundry! Anyway after a more extensive background check and a bike search we were on our way. They were nice enough, just a long delay.

Take good rain gear and gear to stay warm. Weather wasn't on our side. Rained almost everyday at times with temps in the 30s and 40s. Don't let that discourage you. Luck of the draw. Change our schedule by a few days and it was probably perfect weather. We went in June. Don't consider anti-fog wipes an option. I've traveled to over 40 states and never used them before the Alaska trip. I went through several on that trip.

Once you are on the Alaska Highway buy gas when you see it and you will be fine. Make sure to get gas at Pink Mountain going up. After that is the longest stretch we had without finding gas. We only came across one biker that had run of out gas and he admitted to passing up chances to top off thinking he could make it to the next town. He was wrong by about 7 miles.

In Canada pay at the pump won't work. You have to go in and have them turn on the pump. It took me an international cellphone call to me credit card company to figure that out.

The link is an 11 minute video of some of our photos. Let me know if you want more information on something you see.

https://vimeo.com/99484397

 

I did the Michigan-to-Alaska trip in June, 2000.
Also on an Ultra, and also pulling a trailer.


My suggestions would be to use as much 3M protective film as you can apply to you your bike an trailer, especially to the lower fairings, saddlebags and trailer.


Dittos on keeping your tank "topped off" at every opportunity.
I never ran out of gas, but back then "premium fuel" was hard to find in most places so I had to use 89 octane many times.
Pack a siphon hose somewhere in your saddlebags along with a tire/plug kit and a mini-air compressor.
I (and most everyone else) packed more tools an gear than I needed, so review what you're taking.


Definitely a ride-of-a-lifetime, so take a lot of pics (or videos) as a keepsake.


Other than that, good rain gear and warm clothing and you'll be fine.