Has anyone been to Alaska on a motorcycle? Any tips to pass on like length of time, best bike/tires, routes, available motels or do you have to camp, miles between fuel stops, rain/heated gear, do's and don'ts, etc.

 

Go to adventure rider forum and look at trip reports and regional Alaska threads. I rode a KTM 1290SA up there this summer. A Harley can easily make it but would not suggest trying gravel roads like the Dalton unless you don't mind trashing the chrome.

 

I followed this thread back in 2011. I found it well written and enjoyable.


http://www.alaskapade.com/


He also did a video that's linked in the upper right of the page.


I went twice (2002 & 2012). Had a great time. Do a search and you'll find much more info.

 

If you just want to add Alaska to your state bucket list, here's what I'm thinking of doing.

Ride to Vancouver, then up to Prince Rupert. Round trip ferry to Ketchikan. Spend the night there. Done.

 

I did the ride in 2009. I choose a Buell Ulysses XT adventure touring bike for the trip. One son did it on a Street Bob and the other did it on a BMW R1200RT.

We got the Mile Post a catalog with a listing of the services along the Alcan.

What I learned was that only motels and stations that paid the $1K minimum fee were in it. Just use your smart phone for the next stopping point and it will show all the services in that town.

One other problem during the recession was that the listed station/motel went out of business.

I carried 2 gallons of gas but never needed it. Don't recall for sure but I don't think we went over 150 miles without finding a service station.

I had checked with others that did it and their advice of taping the fenders, rock guard over the head light to protect from the rocks from semi's and motorhomes never materialized as there was hardly any due to the recession.

The views and road was an epic ride.

Bicyclist even do the route so any dependable scoot will do. I did see H-D baggers and Goldwings along the route but about half were adventure bikes.






The hot spot cafe is between Fairbanks and the Arctic Circle on the Dalton.

 

thank you very much for the info. I have a bmw800gs as well as street glide, and I think I will take the beamer.

 

One of my regular riding buddies used to live in Alaska. I asked him if doing the Alcan on a Touring bike was possible.

Him: "Sure. Of course, you'll have to sell it when you're done."

 

On a 2002 FLHTCUI, I started the trip with 12,000 miles and returned a month later with 23,000 miles. 6 years later I traded in the same bike with 135,000 on it. I rode from LI, NY, across Canada and up to that sign, about 200 miles north of Fairbanks, that says Artic Circle. Between going up & coming back, I think I rode all of the Alaskan Highway. It's amazing what a 800 lbs. Harley bagger dirt bike can do. The bike was fine except for a big paint chip on the front fender from a rock that my buddy's bike threw up. That and I don't think I ever got all the bugs and road dirt off of it again.

 

You didn't say when you're planning to go or what you will be riding.

I (we) left Michigan on June 5th and hit a lot of rain (5 days worth) going through Canada. At one stop we were talking to some folks and complaining about the rain and one girl said "last week we had snow"!
I'd suggest that for nice riding you should not go into Canada before mid-June and even later would be better.

I rode a 2000 Ultra and pulled an Escapade trailer (which was overkill) and they both suffered a lot of paint chips.
I pretty much stayed on the main highways and avoided gravel as much as possible, which is nearly impossible up there.

After riding up, I "cheated" a bit on the return ride and caught a ferry out of Hanes, AK down to Bellingham, WA. It saves you about 1,000 miles (or so) of riding and about three days on gravel road. You can check with them (Alaskan Marine Highway) on rates but I'd highly recommend a cabin (two bunk) which has a little bath w/shower.

Do a search on this site. There's lots of info on AK trips.

 

My youngest son and I rode a couple KLR's up there in 2014. No issues if you have rain gear and quality camping equipment. We camped most of the time except the time we stayed in Anchorage with people we knew and the ferry from Haines to Bellingham. If I go back I'll ride my EG and pull a camp trailer and rent a dual sport to hit some of the back roads and Dead Horse.