The 6 to Vancouver - packing list and preparation | Page 6 | GTAMotorcycle.com

The 6 to Vancouver - packing list and preparation

Awesome trip! Sounds like you had a blast.

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I am king of the dead thread revivalists...

Planning a similar trip for June '17, but without the camping BS... 'Too old and sissy-fied.
Ride will be my 2016 FJR1300.

'Driven out west a few times, but this will be the first time on 2 wheels.


In retrospect, what was your biggest mistake/judgment error in your plans/execution and conversely... What was the most important thing you got right?
 
Just a heads up for anybody doing a moto trip to bc.Creston valley motel in Creston bc is motorcycle friendly(the owner is a rider) clean rooms etc.Highway 3a north out of creston is part of the selkirk loop (google is your friend) and that route is absolutely amazing.I was out their early september last year and had a blast,very little tourist traffic being that it was september and I got lucky with the weather
 
FJR1300 and no camping? Luxury touring then.


Hell yeah...
I drove my F150 out to Vancouver and back this past September so a FJR will, in comparison be roughing it.

I did do Mississauga to Ft. Lauderdale non stop on a Honda 650CX E once, but I was half my current age and twice as foolish
 
June is dicey weather as you creep north. If you can push it to July or August, likely to have more sun light to run with. Could be too hot but, then again you can ride at night across the flat lands if you want.

Cell phone and credit card, wash undies and socks in the sink and just make sure your wear items are up to snuff. Sprockets, chain, rubber, brake pads etc.

Dealers have em but sucks to wait out a service or wrench in the parking lot.

Caa Plus just in case. Also get discounts for hotels. Most Best Westerns are bike friendly.


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June is dicey weather as you creep north. If you can push it to July or August, likely to have more sun light to run with. Could be too hot but, then again you can ride at night across the flat lands if you want.

That time of year there's about 15 hrs between sunrise and sunset.


Cell phone and credit card, wash undies and socks in the sink and just make sure your water items are up to snuff. Sprockets, chain, rubber, brake pads etc.

Dealers have em but sucks to wait out a service or wrench in the parking lot.

Caa Plus just in case. Also get discounts for hotels. Most Best Westerns are bike friendly.


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The joy of shaft drive... no sprockets/chain
 
That time of year there's about 15 hrs between sunrise and sunset.





The joy of shaft drive... no sprockets/chain

Too much egg nogg and rhum. Lol. I knew that but, didn't register.

Carry on. You've got it under control.


Cheers.


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Carry on. You've got it under control.



We'll see... Lol.

It's the Kenora to Calgary portion of the trip that I'm concerned about.
Two days of flat... I'd better download some more great 80's tunes...
 
It's the Kenora to Calgary portion of the trip that I'm concerned about.
Two days of flat... I'd better download some more great 80's tunes...

It's flat. It's boring. It's also only 1500K - get up early, ride hard, and by sunset you can be in Calgary in a single day.
 
It's flat. It's boring. It's also only 1500K - get up early, ride hard, and by sunset you can be in Calgary in a single day.

1550km according to the google, but yeah... You're right.
Set the cruise control at 123kmh and go..!

IIRC the posted limit on most of the trans Canada east of Ont. is 110kmh... Lock 'er in at 13kmh over and take my chances with the po-leece
 
June is dicey weather as you creep north. If you can push it to July or August, likely to have more sun light to run with. Could be too hot but, then again you can ride at night across the flat lands if you want.

Cell phone and credit card, wash undies and socks in the sink and just make sure your wear items are up to snuff. Sprockets, chain, rubber, brake pads etc.

Dealers have em but sucks to wait out a service or wrench in the parking lot.

Caa Plus just in case. Also get discounts for hotels. Most Best Westerns are bike friendly.


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imho riding across even the flat lands at night is a very bad idea,it's pitch black and their are a lot of deer and wolves/coyotes out hunting those deer,I missed a wolf or coyote(couldn't tell ) by inches and it spooked me enough to slow way down and tuck in behind an eighteen wheeler for protection,a split second later the top half of a deer carcass popped out from under the rig in front of me ,not sure if the rig hit it or not...next husky truck stop I came to I pulled in for the night....I was driving an odyssey van with my bike in the back but still......otherwise all good advice:)

On a side note,I spoke with a couple guys in white river about 4 years ago who had just rode across the prairies from fort mac in daytime temperatures of 30 plus c ,one of them was so spaced out I could've sworn he had heat stroke,so pick your poison I suppose...

I felt like driving across Canada and back (riding bc/alberta) was the trip of a life time for me and nothing will ever top it,rolling into jasper national park ,riding the bc interior,coming into the mountains just at sunset near banff,selkirk loop,felt like paradise .I will be back out their at some point in the near future ,no doubt
 
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In retrospect, what was your biggest mistake/judgment error in your plans/execution and conversely... What was the most important thing you got right?

To be brutally honest, failing to plan is planning to fail. At the same time, remember that nothing ever goes 100% according to plan and be ready to accept that and roll with the changes instead of fighting them. Not camping is a good call. A good night sleep is pivitol to enjoying the journey. My biggest mistake was pushing the pace. I rode at night, on gravel, over mountains and took too many similar risks and brought myself beyond the point of exhaustion and enjoyment at some points.



I would recommend a good comfy seat (I had to buy a pillow from Walmart to sit on after only day 2 - or I was considering literally turning around and going back home) and ear plugs.

I also relied too heavily on technology, definitely should have had brought along a few more maps.
 
1550km according to the google, but yeah... You're right.
Set the cruise control at 123kmh and go..!

IIRC the posted limit on most of the trans Canada east of Ont. is 110kmh... Lock 'er in at 13kmh over and take my chances with the po-leece

That's pretty far East if you ask me. We went up to Minaki, near Kenora for our honeymoon in a beat up Volare, years ago. Winterpeg isn't very far from there at all. Nice trip, watch out for the lumber trucks.
 
That's pretty far East if you ask me. We went up to Minaki, near Kenora for our honeymoon in a beat up Volare, years ago. Winterpeg isn't very far from there at all. Nice trip, watch out for the lumber trucks.



I'll never go to Winnipeg ever again.. Lol
Probably the worst city in Canada.
 
Well... my ride west won't exactly be a adventure ride/chore...
I've driven it before so I don't even need a map..Lol.
Hop on the trans Canada and go.
Camping... Lol. No.
Accomodation along the way... Holiday Inn or GTFO.

Sure thing stops will be lunch at The Eddy in Kekebeka Falls and a breakfast at Tooloulou's in Banff.
 
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We travel with Motul Chain paste.
My mechanic recommended it. Sticks very well, applicator all built into a small tube that is easy to pack in a baggie....by the way a few zip lock baggies are useful...I'm sure you've got duct tape and zip ties??

Who carries that in the GTA?
 
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Clean set up - nice. Crank your preload up a bit - that weight is well back...

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We travel with Motul Chain paste.
My mechanic recommended it. Sticks very well, applicator all built into a small tube that is easy to pack in a baggie....by the way a few zip lock baggies are useful...I'm sure you've got duct tape and zip ties??



I luvs me my shafts drive...
 

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