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[Trapperdog]

I loved our ride to Alaska...errr Canada....errr  Our armed escort back into the US to be grilled for hours with a swat team waiting....errr our ride in the USA     Pesky border patrol   

[smiley1049]

Ride the CVO or did you guys buy it for a different reason all bikes will clean. The joy of the ride is I rode to--------? on my CVO and it was the best time I ever had. Or is looking at your bike in the garage and telling everybody how great it is why you bought it ride it.

[Buy early]

Ride the CVO or did you guys buy it for a different reason all bikes will clean. The joy of the ride is I rode to--------? on my CVO and it was the best time I ever had. Or is looking at your bike in the garage and telling everybody how great it is why you bought it ride it.

I would not ride my Wide Glide over 100 miles of gravel. Not just because it would get all chipped up (don't mind getting it dirty, that cleans off) but because a road bike on gravel over long distances is not a pleasant experience. Would ride an adventure bike on that route however.

[arcticdude]

When we went it was 450-500 miles of gravel. By the time we hit the half way point in the trip, we didn't even bother slowing down upon coming to a gravel stretch, unless we couldn't see the end of the stretch.  Once you've done a couple hundred miles on street tires, you realize it's not that tough.  The shorter the stretch, the faster you went.  By the time we got to the circle, 60-65 on gravel was the norm.  The calcium chloride is what you've got to watch out for.  When it rains, it's like riding on sticky slick mud.  Since it rained often the first half of the trip, it taught us that gravel was easy, but CaCl was the tough stuff!

[Grizzly]

Which month is best for doing this trip?

[GtreetSlide]

Talked to a guy this week end that has ridden to Alaska nine times from Wilmington NC. He rides a BMW. Got my gears turning!! I have ridden almost all of the lower 48 and thinking about adding this to my bucket list. Anyone done this ride on their Harley?

Wife and I rode from SD to Alaska around and back 2 1/2 years ago. We left the third week of May and trip took about 30 days. It rained 28 out of 30 days and temps were low enough to wear heated jacket liners and heated gloves a lot of the trip. We just got up every morning and put on heated gear with a rain suit on top. Didn't really use a jacket most of the time. OH, and good waterproof boots.

The Alaska Highway is mostly paved now but the permafrost moves the ground every year now and the majority of the road is being torn out and rebuilt thru the short warmer months. In late May and June they are just starting on it and it is basically horrible. If I ever go back, Ill buy a Beemer to do the trip. Road snakes in early spring can cross the entire road with 18 inch wide sections dropped down 12-18 inches, one right after another. You have to maintain enough speed to "sail across" them or you will surely bend a rim or destroy a tire. Then there are the places where the machines have literally eaten up the road and left gravel where it once was paved. Nice potholes on these. I recommend a late summer, early fall trip for better road conditions. About an hour before you hit Destruction Bay, the roads become awful and don't improve at all earlier in the season.

Mosquitos? We only encountered them where there were no winds. We stayed at Destruction Bay and I used a whole can of bug spray just to clear a path to the rooms door, LOL...

Bears, Bears, everywhere Bears. Make sure to take a large can of Bear repellant that is easy to reach. Mine was on a shoulder holster... Elk, Elk, Elk everywhere. Moose, Moose, everywhere. We even took an all day boat trip and saw hundreds of killer whales along with every kind of sea creature in mass. Came very close to be attacked by a bear on the way up, but a truck haul and big 5th wheel trailer passed me and forced the bear off the road so I could pass him safely.

No flat tires but paint chips were abundant and my transmission and primary both required overhaul after the journey. Once in Alaska all I saw were Beemers and local Harleys. When I would stop, people would see my SD plates and ask; "Did you actually ride that here from SD?"

Enough of the downsides.

It was the greatest motorcycle adventure I have ever had. Don't miss Lake Louise or the Canadian Rockies. Get the Milepost guide, but be aware that even the latest version may list places now out of business. The days of car and motorcycle traffic across Canada are numbered, so do go as soon as you can. Because of the climate changes, places in the Yukon that once got 40 feet of snow and no rain, now get a few inches of snow and feet of rain which lubes the permafrost and allows it to move more violently. The highway is mostly used now by big semi trucks and big diesel motorhomes. The both have large enough wheels to handle all the potholes and giant road snakes. The side effect is that gasoline is just not selling enough for places to stock it and most are going out of business or just selling diesel fuel. BUY GAS every time you see some. I bought a camping burner which uses gasoline and has bottles that hold about a pint of so. I carried about 5 filled with the highest octane I could get. On the road you won't have choices and the only gas you can get is often 85 octane or less. I carried my TTS tuner and a laptop to retune when I was in those areas. I tried Octane booster and the gas was sooo bad it didn't even help. A pint of 93 from my cooker bottle worked better in each tank.

Oh, you will see oil wells everywhere and then wonder why gas is something Like $6 a gallon when converted from liters. It is because the oil goes to the US to be refined and ten gets trucked back (Ouch!

All considered, the excitement, joy, scenery, people, nature and everything else far outweighs the hassles... You MUST take this trip. Period

jimbob

[gforce]

In reply to why I bought a CVO and not ride it my response is I have ridden almost 130,000 miles the last four years on nothing but my two Harley's. However I am asking because I don't mind at all getting the CVO dirty but don't want to tear a bike up. A CVO Harley was not built to ride long distances fast on dirt or gravel roads and by what I am hearing sounds like that will be the case. I have ridden all of the country and planning on doing the Alaska trip. Thanks for all the great responses guys!! What ever I ride I will ride from NC to Alaska and back

[lowflight]

I would recommend timing for Mid June to Mid July would be best. As I said before I spent a little time in the interior and granted that is only one part of the trip - those were our best months pretty much always. I have gotten stuck in major snow 1st of June and rather typical to see lots of rain after the third week in July until freeze up and more termination dust.

[Snowyone]

Cripes there jimbob what kind of drugs were you on?  I live in Alaska and drive south almost every summer and haven't encountered all the nasties you were talking about.  Do have lots of road snakes, potholes, and frost heaves but so what.  You slow down for the biguns and go fast over the little ones.  I've traveled it on everything from my shovelhead back in the early 80's, to a FLH Classic evo late 80's and 90's, to a 2002 Road Glide, to my current ride which is a 2011 Fatboy Lo with a 124" S&S motor.  I know it's not a CVO but am digging the flat paint job. Anyway never had a problem finding gas but your right on the quality at times.  I carry gas booster and pay attention to ping.  The last 80 miles getting to Ak is the worst part of the whole journey.  Frost heaves you need a gps to find your way out of(just kidding) and always road construction.  Best time to travel is Mid May to end of July.  I've hit snow all times of the year so it's a crap shoot on time pickin. I think it's the one of the best parts of my yearly journeys with little traffic and mostly wide curvy roads.  Always start out with new tires cause the Alcan eats them up and stick with mag wheels and a tire repair kit with plugs. Spoke wheels are too much of a pain to fix along side the road  Most of the Alcan is chip seal and like riding on sand paper.  Make sure the bike is well sorted out because its about a thousand miles from nowhere if you need a dealer.  Fairbanks had a dealer as does Grand Prairie but they're close to 1800 miles apart.  A few small shops on the way but little available.  For sure stop at Laird Hot Springs and soak in the hot pools  130* water really removes the aches and pains and it's about the 1/2 point on the Alcan.  And bugs, ya be prepared cause they're hungry.  Heated clothing is a good choice along with good rain gear.  And I do wish they made a splice kit for the new belts but they don't.

[arcticdude]

Whitehorse has (At least had) a dealer.

[T-Hawk]

Whitehorse has (At least had) a dealer.

Took mine down to Texas and Back last Summer... the last Dealership heading toward Alaska was in Grande Prairie, AB.  The Shop in Whitehorse, YT is pretty much a T-Shirt shop (as of last Summer), but may be able to help with minor repairs if needed.   

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about any real damage from the roads... however, I would recommend you take it easier than normal after you depart Whitehorse, as the road from there to the Border is real nasty is some places.

The Canadians are good about giving you warnings to Pavement breaks, bumps, and such... but they haven't figured out how to put the signs well in advance of such hazards.  If you see a Warning Sign of any kind, it is usually right at the hazard and not before it.

Also, your biggest issue may be a sore neck, from seeing all the wildlife that's abundant thoughout.  My son and I counted 24 bears, Countless Goats, Caribou, Moose, and a nice herd of Bison.  Be careful of the Bison, they don't like to get out of the way, and sometimes mistake the big Ultras for pretty cows and tend to get a little friendly.   

[ChopperPilot]

I would definitely put Alaska on the list, it will just be a while before I can take that much time off to make that trip.

[Indenial]

Was on my way this summer. Had a death in the family and it cut the time short. Made it to Watson Lake, Yukon, then down the Dease Highway to Jasper. Only had about 25 mi. gravel. with road construction. The road definitely got worse the futher into the Yukon I got. I understand it gets way worse after Whitehorse to the Alaska border.

Was there Mid June to early July and would go again during that time. I'll try it again next summer.

Get a Milepost book of the highways there. It's the bible and worth it.

The HD dealer in Whitehorse went out of business and closed.

[arcticdude]

That sucks, because the mech there was trying to be a good guy.  He came in on his day off to work on mine.  They did have only 1 HD mech.