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Planning a trip to Ak on a Road King. Will buy the Milepost. Looking at possible upgrades to suspension (needed?) I have Custom Dynamics lighting but may add lighting to engine guard (visibility). Also, looking at warm, water proof gear (MSR). Of course, trying to stick to a budget and only do the most worthwhile purchases.
Planning on camping some nights to save money. I'm from Ak but never have been on Alcan. I have see youtube vids etc. I'm more of the ride and stay where you end up guy, reservations in advance for campgrounds necessary?
I (we) did the ride in 2000 from Michigan, departing on June 5th and we hit a LOT of rain.
I would suggest a no sooner departure from CA of the second week of June unless you like riding in the rain or perhaps even snow.
The main thing is that U have your bike "roadworthy" with fresh tires and a battery before your departure.
In addition to a small tool kit (with tape, extra fuses, tie straps, etc.) and I highly recommend a tire repair kit (or fix-a-flat) a mini-compressor and a siphon hose.
Another thing that I would recommend is applying as much clear plastic protective film to your bike's painted surface as possible AND using a power spray was as often as possible to the lower areas of your bike (avoiding the wheel bearings) to help wash away road crud and silt that will adhere to your bike like cement!
IF you camp...be sure to do it in an approved campsite and adhere to "common sense" safety measures, especially about NOT keeping in your tent or stored in your luggage or on your bike.
We encountered a "backpacker" that had camped outside of a campground and a bear had attacked his tent in the early AM hours and he actually fought it off with a meat "tenderizing" hammer!
The ONLY food that he had in his tent was a MRE (in sealed pouch) that the bear obviously detected.
We did in in ‘22. Made a list of potential motels and booked most often a day or two in advance. You won’t need better lighting as almost all the riding season you’ll be ready to quit before it gets dark enough to light up the road. Nothing special outside of decent newer tires are needed. Roads are mostly paved except for long sections being redone. Those are mostly packed and not deep mud. Loose grip, relaxed speed and no issues even in pouring rain on recently graded gravel sections. Rather than new or better shocks, I used an airhawk. Glad I did. A few potholes caught me totally by surprise.
For the most part, it’s like riding to Valdez, or Homer or Fairbanks from Anchorage. Mostly paved, gas when it’s available, food is what’s available, and motels with a room reserved a day or two in advance served us well. We did not camp. That’s for younger men or spike camps in the mountains. It may be my age, but motorcycle tenting the AlCan has zero appeal to me. Why, because you’re moving frequently and things will get wet.
We had a great trip, some adventure such as our motel burning down, but bikes and people were great. We did stop at a wand car wash in Anchorage and in Fort Nelson after the AlCan to remove vast quantities of mud.
Last edited by son of the hounds; Nov 2, 2024 at 08:43 PM.
Thanks for the replies. I grew up in Ak, so am well versed on the daylight hours, wildlife (hunt, fish, etc).
I certainly will ready the bike for sure. Along with it being road worthy, I have a good tool set, tire plug and inflator set, jump start for batt. I am considering upgrading stock suspension, but that's an expensive endeavor. I am also considering adding lighting to engine guard, not to see up there really but to be seen in bad weather.
Im debating camping or staying at hotels... maybe a mix. Thinking on bringing 2 gal of extra fuel as I have one of those rotopax containers.
I am aware that the Alcan is much better than what it once was. But of course there will be construction every summer..and count on rain.
When I (we) did it back in 18 I downloaded an app for my phone, allstays is the name of the app and it shows campgrounds in the area you are in and gives information about them. When we were traveling and getting ready to pull off for the night I would find one and call to make a reservation or just show up, never had a problem of them being booked up since we used the tent areas. This worked great because we had no plan how far we were going to travel each day.
If I were to do it again I would wear a full face helmet, it was cold most of the day and having that wind off your face would have helped. I did have a heated vest and heated grips which were fantastic and feel any added heat source is a must. I would also invest in better boots (insulated) and more of a waterproof pants and jacket (msr, klim etc), I used my leathers and a rain suit and even though it rarely rained I worn the rain suit to help hold heat in and deflect the wind. I have a post in here that if you look up may provide more info but this is things I remember I would change if I do it again.
I did the AK trip prior to discovering heated gear, grips and seat.
All three of us work FF helmets (a first ever for me) leather gear all of the time and rain gear quite a bit of the time a least until we got to Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Once my friends had left for home I had a couple of weeks by myself to do some touring and on one morning I figured that I didn't my thermal "long johns" and it didn't take too long for me to realize my error in judgement and somewhat like "Superman" I had to find a phone booth (actually a restaurant restroom and quickly rectified that problem!
Unless you have heated gear (vest/jacket) I highly recommend dressing in layers.
I made another mistake in taking my cargo trailer (pulling it with my '00 Ultra Classic) in order to take my camping gear, which I neve used once!
The worst road conditions that I experienced (due to construction) was 26 miles of dirt/mud that got a little sketchy at times but I made it though with no serious concerns.
For the entire trip, I experienced the follow issues:
In SK my bike failed to start (click-click), we push started it and went straight to the local H-D dealership.
They worked on it for close to two hours before discovering the problem was loose ground wire that bolted to the inner primary case,
I lost a "whip" antenna somewhere on the Al-Can Highway.
Had to replace the rear tire and rear brake pads due to wear and the mud and silt that I picked up along the way.
In Iowa I discovered that the luggage rack that supports the tour pack had failed (fractured) and had to use several bungee cords to make it home.
Lost one whip antenna somewhere on t
I used 3/4 with pull down visor, myself I like that. It has to be very cold to want a full face. But I suppose that depends where you are from
Likewise here. Below 38F I switch to modular or use a cotton or fleece lower face mask. In rain, drizzle or downpour, the 3/4 with tight fitting shield on the top has served me well and not fogged up due to breathing. I layered up and have heated grips. They were very handy. My BIL often froze his hands and we have to stop.
One more thing about camping ..I hope you smoke a lot of cigars, because this cigar smoke cloud around you will be your only defense from mosquitoes, black flies and several other insects that will be real happy you are camping there.
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Ak Road Trip Tips
