Has anyone made the ride to Inuvik, YT in Canada? I'm looking to make the ride this June 2017.

 

No but I did the Al Can in 09 to the Arctic Circle vix Fairbanks.

What route are you taking. Also are you looking for someone else to ride along?

 

That would be an interesting ride, something I have thought about a few times. Right now the thought that enters my mind is what would you ride on this trip. Big comfy ultra with all your gear, or a well tuned/modded Dyna now that would be a fun ride through the mountain canyons, but what happens when you hit the last 500 miles that is gravel?

 

That would be an epic ride! I hope you do it and report back.

How does Inuvik NWT compare to Prudhoe AK, as far as road conditions, gas availability, & lodgings?

 

One post and disappears?

 

I rode to AK in June, 2000 but I didn't go on the really bad roads.

When I was in Hanes, AK, waiting on the ferry back to the "lower 48" I met a guy who was waiting on his brother and another friend to return from Prudhoe Bay.
He told me that he was riding with them until the gravels go to be the size of "golf *****" and that was when he decided it was time to head south and wait on them.

If you go, use 3M protective film on your bike's painted surfaces and hope for the best!. I had a lot of paint chips (especially on my lowers).

I washed my 2000 Ultra every chance I got and it was still filthy by the time I got to Fairbanks and some the dust from the "silt" was still hiding in some crevices on my bike when I sold it in 2013!

 

We passed that turn off on the way to Dawson, it was tempting and still on my bucket list. I think it is the toughest road above the Arctic Circle and certainly a road that goes to nowhere.

 

I am contimplating Prudoe Bay as a part of Darlas Journey this summer. If so; it would be after Sturgis.

 

I rode to Deadhorse via the Dalton from my home in Central Illinois.

I would not take any motorcycle that I cared about the paint/chrome aesthetics.

Simply put - you will trash the bike from an appearance standpoint, or depending on your point of view you will certainly make the bike look well-loved.









I can't speak to Inuvik, but I will say that even going to Coldfoot and then on to Deadhorse: There is no "tourism" in these areas. It is not a tourist destination. You will be in the way of people that are working; the truckers etc, and you will be on roads that sometimes are just 2-3" gravel that has been beaten down over time by hundreds of thousands of heavy loads.

Nobody has a residence in Deadhorse; it is all workers who are there for x number of weeks/months and then head back south to their homes. Expect, at best, cafeteria food at the Yukon Motel, or if the cafeteria is closed it is vending machines.

The only other spot to visit is the post office / hardware store.


If you go, it is for the ride, not necessarily for the destination.

The road maintenance consists of motor grading and spraying with calcium carbide solution (I am told that was what was being applied). This treatment turns the road to SNOT, and you wind up clenching the seat with your buttocks while skimming the ground with your riding boots and correcting for the next wet rut that tries to high-side you.

I rode up with two other absolute loons, two of us on Kawasaki Concours (ZG1000) and one on a Honda Blackbird (!!).

All of the bikes looked like they had been through a war (kinda were) when we arrived back in Fairbanks and hit the pressure wash.







Note that for a trip of this length (9400 miles total for me) we planned a spot to do an oil change (In Palmer) and also had tires ready for us at a shop in Anchorage (Alaskan Leather to be exact).

During the oil change, I had to use a screwdriver to chip the cement that formed from the road dust and calcium carbide from the cooling fins on the bottom of my engine so I could get to the oil filter and drain plug. I am not exaggerating.

I am still finding gunk in spots on Fat Bastard. It is what it is, but as I like to say, "There are two kinds of motorcycle: Those that get dirty when it rains, and those that get clean". The only shiny spots on FB are the seat and handgrips. ;^)

All of that said - it was an adventure that I will never forget.

If I were to do it again, particularly a trip straight north from Banff etc., I would get a dual purpose bike as I am getting too old to wrestle a top-heavy 700lb sport tourer over those snotty-gravel roads.

Pictures of our trip can be found at the following link - I had my Nikon D40 around my neck for most of the trip, and as such you can see many pictures of the actual scenery from the seat of a bike on the Haul Road (Dalton). The Dalton starts around page 17.....

http://iammoon.com/albums/No%20Pansi...r/index17.html

best

mqqn

 

That must have been an amazing journey....something I would never do on a Harley.