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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 11
| My uncle and I are planning a trip to Alaska from Texas starting mid May. We usually take one long trip a year. I have a 2011 Vision, he has a 2003 Gold wing. We have toured most of the lower 48. We are planning on leaving Texas May 20th and be in Alaska by June 1st, we are taking our time. any information would be appreciated about the roads, fuel availbility, and what to expect. Thank you in advance. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| awesome!! I will be doing the same trip. I will be starting in Key West, FL the end of May and will be heading up to Prudhoe Bay with 2 other riders. The one thing I'd suggest for sure is to buy the book "milepost" it is a mile by mile information book for the Alcan highway. There is plenty of gas/motels/food along the way, you just have to plan a little. We will be camping mostly up the Alcan but unless we get lucky with weather will be using motels else where. Do you have a destination in Alaska? Once we make it to Prudhoe we will be smelling the roses on the way home hitting Denali and China Hot Springs before heading south. Debating on taking the Marine Highway Ferry on the way back from Haines to PRince Ruppert.....all depends on how bad the Haul road beats us up on the way to Prudhoe. Cant wait!!!!!! good luck and enjoy your ride |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 11
| We haven't decided on a destination yet. We are trying to decide on a base and doing some bus tours and the marine hiway. The roads concern me with the construction and overall condition. I want to see as much of Alaska as possible safely. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| last 300 miles or so of the Alcan are always a problem. just plan on going very slow thru there (the yukon) you will be fine. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Sounds like a fun trip........... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | In Canada gas is sold by the Liter and it's about on a par pricewise per Liter with a gallon of gas in the states (cheap it ain't!!). Roads and highways in Canada are very pooly ddefined with signs, your wanted exit now sign may be 15 feet from the off ramp or exit. The ALCAN is mostly paved all the way. When you stop out in the bush, particularly in very small towns, don't go into a restaurant and say 'I'll have...' ask 'What have you got?' since EVERYTHING goes by truck and the delivery truck may not have made it yet. Since everything goes by truck that means the further North you go, the higher the cost per unit and the slimmer the choices get.
Take your Passport or enhanced drivers license or you ain't gettin' back into the U.S.!!! No handguns are permitted in Canada, rifles are but check on limitations on those. If you smoke, Canada's price per pack may change your thinking and don't load up on smokes and expect to get them past Canadian Border entry points. Canada doesn't use $1 bills, they use a Chuckie Cheese tokenlike looking coin called a 'loonie' so you'll wind up with a pocket full of those.
On the subject of gasoline, carry a 'drop tank' because your range on the bike may not fit in the distance to the next fuel stop out in the bush.
Everyone thinks 'Prudhoe Bay' there's nothing there except an oil field, and they aren't any different than the fields in West Texas. Shoot for Anchorage or Fairbanks instead. There is NO ROAD to Juneau, it's only accessible by ship or airplane. Alaska drivers can be pretty squirrely especially in Anchorage, eyes out!! Alaska mosquitoes are huge! if one lands on a window you'll notice that it's feet stick out wider than a silver dollar they bite like crazy and three of them can pack you out into the brush and suck you dry. Seriously, they can bite so much that your eyelids swell shut.
Alaska has no snakes, spiders, or slugs but does have a phenomenon known as 'no seeums' teeny tiny little gnats that swarm by the zillions and can pester you to death and are easily inhaled causing you to gak and bark like a bad dog trying to clear them out of your mouth and throat.
Moose are a real hazard, they weigh around 1300 pounds and have a smaller brain than a cocker spaniel and can move at amazing rates of speed, they are absolutely stupid and pretty much unafraid of humans, they regularly charge the Alaska Railroad trains and can stomp you to death in a couple of minutes (and did kill a Professor @ ASU in Anchorage on campus a few Winters ago). |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| I wouldn't camp in Alaska with out a big gun. They do have very big bears that eat whet ever they want to. Yes you have to have a passport a DL will not do it any more. I would also do a gps and find out if you get cell phone service up there. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 9
| My wife and I left on June 6th from our home in North Dakota for Alaska. After owning a 08 VV for two years, we traded for the Vision Crossbow, so we could make trips like this much safer and easier. We pulled an Aspen Classic Camper, w/about 200lbs of items we never used.
We took off without much planning, but found plenty of gas, food, and lodging, and the roads are all paved, unless you go to Prudhoe Bay or by way of Dawson City. Stayed in Motels when it was 40 degrees and raining, but after we bought an electric blanket the camping was great. We stayed in RV Parks, and they all had electric hookups and wireless internet so the Wife could stay in touch.
We went to Skagway first, stopped at the Alaska Marine Hwy ticket office and found we could get a ticket from Haines that left in two weeks to Bellingham Wa. which would give us time to go to Tok, Fairbanks, Denali Park, Anchorage, Homer, Valdez, Glennallen, Haines Junction, and Haines for the boat ride to Wa. then home.
The whole trip took a month, 7600 miles, cool and a few rainy days, to 102 in Montana on the way back. Averaged 31 mpg, no trouble except I was showing someone the features of the VV like the electric windshield and got so wrapped up in talking about it I not only left the key in it, I left it on, while we went to eat in Skagwayl Of course the bike was dead when we got back, should have seen the look I got from the wife. But I saw a construction company truck accross the steet, and the owner just getting in, rushed over and asked if he had a battery cable, of course he did, so we were going in a minute. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| Dak44kid
that sounds like a awesome trip. was the ferry ride as cool as it sounds? after riding to from Key West to Prudhoe I will be ready to lay back on the deck and enjoy the views. and yes....there is no reason at all to ride to Prudhoe, only to say you did it from Key West, sounds crazy, but thats it. will be a 12000 mile round tripper for us as we are taking the long way home north of the great lakes before riding south. 6 more months!!!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 208
Edmonton Alberta, Canada | Do take the inside passage ferry from Price Rupert to Skagway. Would be a greta break and beats running the Alcan both ways, as it much like I15 where the scenery does not chabe all that much. Plan on getting your service done in Edmonton/Grande Prairie, Alberta as it will be a long time for bike service after Grande Prairie. Enjoy your trip. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 9
| Yes, take the Marine Hwy trip, then its like two vacations in one. And the food's not bad either, and we had stops in Juneau (which was at midnight), Sitka and Ketchikan (were able to get off, shop and look around for about 3 hours. From Haines to Bellingham we got on the boat on Monday 8pm and arrived on Friday morning.
Have a great time on your trip! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 161
Oregon. | Sounds like you will have a wondefull time, with all the input you are getting. Only thing I would say is, make sure to get a current copy of the Milepost. Take it with you when go, it is invaluable on the trip. |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | SYNSTR - 2011-12-04 10:33 AM Alaska has no snakes, spiders, . Alaska has plenty of spiders. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 74
Navarre, FL | It must be a trend. My wife and I (she rides a street glide trike) are planning a trip to Alaska in June, We want to head up to Montana, across to Washington and then AK. We are still formulating our plan, Thanks for all the good tips posted so far  We will be leaving from the Florida Panhandle. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | Some info and a lot of great pictures. Adventure Riders - http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=695360 |
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Tourer
Posts: 430
| For those going to AK or other long trips - I can heartily recommend LD Comfort shorts and shirts - makes a big difference in comfort. makes the monkey stay away
ldcomfort.com
no affiliiation except love the product. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| I have been watching Alaska cops on the National Geographic Chanel and the one thing cops say is its all most imposable to see a black bear in the middle of the road at night. I almost for get there are Moose's too |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | Believe I mentioned the dangers of Moose in my earlier posting-Just sayin' |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 38
Prince George, BC, Canada | If any of you come through Prince George, let me know and maybe we can have a coffee or a meal. We also have a full service Victory dealer which would be the most northern in BC. They are called Cycle North powersport. Good bunch of guys but I do recommend booking your service ahead of time as they are very busy.
Cheers!
Edited by KDKing 2012-01-11 5:33 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | 20 10 Vision,
Thanks for the tip on LD Comfort. I have been using wicking shorts and shirts for more than 20 yrs for off-road racing/riding. I would never go for even a short ride on the enduro bike or the mountain bike without the proper shorts. I use the same shorts (and sometimes tights) when on the Vision. They work great. However, off-road shorts and tights are padded on the butt (for good reason) and I have always thought it is not needed for highway riding for these reasons:
1. My rear is not moving around on the seat while road riding, so I don't need a firm crotch area that a quality chamois type short provides.
2. Highways are not rough like single track trails, so I do not need that extra buffer.
3. My rear doesn't come off the seat like it does off-roading so the chamois doesn't dry.
4. The chamois adds bulk for little gain when riding road.
I did not know that on-road motorcycle specific shorts existed until I read your post. I ordered a pair. If they are as good as the website claims, I will get the shirt and tights too.
Thanks
Edited by victoryvisiontour 2012-01-11 6:47 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | 20 10 Vision - 2012-01-11 11:09 AM For those going to AK or other long trips - I can heartily recommend LD Comfort shorts and shirts - makes a big difference in comfort. makes the monkey stay away ldcomfort.com no affiliiation except love the product. I just ordered a pair, thanks. |
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Tourer
Posts: 430
| victoryvisiontour and bigfoot - your welcome - ride comfy |
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Cruiser
Posts: 251
| Hey all
We too are planning a trip from Vancouver Island to Alaska, leaving mid Jul for about 3 weeks. We are planning on taking the Alaska Hwy on the way up and then the Stewart-Cassiar (Hwy 37) to Prince George on the way back. We are still researching hotels, gas station and road conditions. My wife will be on her Honda Aero so we are definately bring extra gas for her. also, does anyone know if there is an issue find premiun gas? I had heard the that when you don't use the good suff bad things can happen?
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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| Sounds like a lot of Alaska bound visions. I leave on may 31st to ride to prudhoe bay from Georgia. In the way up gonba hop a ferry from prince Ruppert to Haines, hear great thing about that 40 he ferry ride. Once we get to pudhoe it will be a all out blitzkrieg to key west for a much deserved celebration. Good luck to everyone. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | jeffmack - 2012-04-27 8:20 AM Sounds like a lot of Alaska bound visions. I leave on may 31st to ride to prudhoe bay from Georgia. In the way up gonba hop a ferry from prince Ruppert to Haines, hear great thing about that 40 he ferry ride. Once we get to pudhoe it will be a all out blitzkrieg to key west for a much deserved celebration. Good luck to everyone. Good luck on the ride Jeff! I am getting (more) excited. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Rollin I have found how you should pack for your great adventure
(canoe.jpg)
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 canoe.jpg (53KB - 0 downloads)
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | john frey - 2012-04-27 5:04 PM Rollin I have found how you should pack for your great adventure That looks like everything I would need!! . |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 45
Jax, FL | "moose bites can be very nasty" |
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