Hey all. I plan to go to Alaska from NW Louisiana next summer. Want to go this year but Covid-19 has changed my plans for this year.
My question is how are the fuel stops from Russell, MB to Anchorage, AK. Is there any concerns as I plan to leave @ July 5th on a HD Ultra Classic.

Any advise is greatly appreciated

 

I'm not interested in riding to Alaska and have NO idea what the fuel situation is along the way. That said..I'm going to give you one more thing to worry about and this is based on my experience riding in some of the more desolate places right here in the "lower 48".
You may be able to identify a potential fuel stop on the route...but there's no guarantee it will be OPEN when you get there. In the Dakotas and also out in West Texas...a lot of places have fuel, but they're CLOSED late at night, or on Sunday.

 

Four of us went on this trip last year, and getting gas was mostly not a problem. I say mostly, because 2-3 times, when your GPS shows a gas station say 40 miles away, but when you get there, the gas station is and has been closed for years. But, in all cases, we found gas within 5 miles of where it showed on the GPS. Each of us had a spare can of gas on our bikes, but never used it. We eventually poured it into our tanks upon entering the US to lessen the weight. I would recommend getting a spare gas can just for the peace of mind. Here is what I had. $79 on Ebay. Although it is held in place by two springs, I recommend using a bungee cord as the roads are really rough, and one of our riders had one come off and bounced down the road, but did not leak. We then put the bungee cords on, lesson learned. This one holds 1.25 gal and we left them on the bike.

 

I have been planning also for next but maybe not. I have found the following web site very helpful preparing for the ride. https://www.themilepost.com/articles...ing-the-north/

Most sites will refer you to this web site, lot of good information.

Also rode in Wyoming and Montana, fuel stations are far and few, but most pumps not stations are still active and can use your charge card. Key is pump light is on.

 

When I did my trip back in 2018 I carried a rotoplax just like sandcrab did as a backup but never had to use it. It was a great piece of mind when planning my trip but there were times in the trip where I would pass up gas stations between 75-125 miles knowing there was a town not that far away. I always was able to find gas between 150-200 mile range. Your riding style will change and you may find you can obtain better fuel economy because you are just cruising along. Not sure how new your ultra is but my buddy had a new heritage with a 5 gallon tank and never ran out either. I will say, you are doing this trip to enjoy the ride and if you are going to worry about gas buy the rotoplax for piece of mind, the last thing you want when trying to enjoy the ride is will I have enough gas in your head. During the trip I found myself not wanting to stop and fill up before 100 miles, knowing I could easily go another 100 miles plus a gallon in my rotoplax which would get me another 50 miles which put my mind at ease. If you don't want to carry gas I suggest don't pass up a gas station because you won't know if the next one is open which is common depending on the hour of the day or what day of the week it is.

 

The Law of the North... Never, EVER pass a gas station that is open and has fuel... I did my Alaska run in '017, starting that section in Vancouver, up through Dease Lake, to Anchorage, to Fairbanks, then out to Edmonton... and I did all of it without running out of fuel, or caring extra... some suggestions... buy a tire plug kit, and know how to use it, also a good hand pump, I never needed it, but you have to remember there are two seasons up there... summer, and construction... and there could be hundreds of miles of construction, and some of them can be close to 40 miles long at a time...

Get a HOG membership, and the unlimited HOG tow package... if you break down on the Yukon side of the border, you are over a 1,000 miles away from the closest HD shop, and that package will get you all the way there... There are other options, but i am not aware of one that will take you all the way to the closest HD shop and not just the closest shop... Plan to get an Oil change in Anchorage at the HD shop... the one in Fairbanks is a multi brand shop, and I had an issue getting one there, but make sure you stop in for the Farthest North T-shirt...

I never had a problem with finding accommodations, or open restaurants... and if your camping there are a lot of places, but take bug spay... of course, good rain gear, and electric vests... and gloves if you don't have heated grips... even in the middle of the summer, it can be cold... don't plan on much more than 50 mph as your average speed to calculate how far you will go on any given day, construction and lousy roads will keep your speed down...When you are not in larger towns or cities, all parking lots are gravel, and almost always very loose, so always have an exit strategy before you go in... there are great motels in Toq as a layover place.

My ride begins here in Vancouver....

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/road-...l#post16343559

It is a ride you will cherish forever. Heres a tast... I was close to Muncho lake in North East BC, heading East back into the Northern Canadian Rocky Mountains...

 

I have ridden to Alaska from East Tennessee and the thing I forgot because I was worried about gas and motels was tires. Most of the roads are chipseal which means they will wear tires out quickly. Check your tires at the last h-d dealer before you leave the U.S.A.

 

An Alaska trip is also in our plans and we'd hoped for '21 also but we have a big move planned that Summer and I suspect we'll just be too busy with that to get it done. Hope you have a great trip!

 

OP~
NEVER pass a fueling opportunity in Alaska.
This may help you...
www.akrider.com

 

I went to the Yukon and Alaska last summer. Get good maps for your route, Use the maps to stage your gas stops, which was plenty of gas in most places. Premium gas was not always available, so I carried octane booster to add. I carried a saddle bag gas can (1 gallon), a tire plug kit and air pump and didn't have to use any of it. I got the Road America travel insurance thru HOG and did have to use it in Alberta when a back wheel bearing went out and had to be towed to Calgary for repair. Be sure to leave with all 3 boxes full of fresh oil and new tires on both ends. The Canadian highways eat up tires. I needed a new back tire in Calgary at only 7500 miles because of the load I was packing and the wheel bearing going out. It might of made the last 2000 miles, but while the back was apart why pay to change it back home next week. All together I ran about 400 miles of hard pack gravel roads in construction areas and over the Top of the World highway. Be sure to have the best raingear you can afford. I got rained on about 8 days, 4 days straight of hard rain coming out of Anchorage. Before leaving Anchorage I shipped home a big package of items bout on the trip to light my load and make room for more on the return trip. I took a month for the trip, but looking back it should have been a 2-3 weeks longer to have more time to see thing along the way. It also helps to have at least one down day every week to rest and do laundry. I tried to keep my mileage down to 299-400 miles a day. Some days have to be extra long just because of logistics of motel rooms. This will be a trip of a life time so enjoy it all the way. Have a great trip.
What I left out, Rocky and others already said.