Anyone thinking of this ride next summer? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone thinking of this ride next summer?

Thanks for that. I have a kenda cruiser on the front hand thinking of just putting a new one on the back before leaving. I may regret this idea later, but from the pictures I've seen, I don't think I need to switch tires enroute

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That picture looks like pretty soft gravel. I'm impressed with my bike's ability on gravel. This summer I commuted through a construction zone early in the morning that was still paved. Until it wasn't. I hit packed gravel at about 100km/hr and besides needing to change my pants afterwards it was fine. That loose freshly graded stuff looks like 50km/hr max material.

Is that the extent of your off pavement experience ??

Here's a good ride report of what you can expect

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/by-guzzi-to-d2d-and-dempster-to-inuvik.1080634/

and last year was a trial

http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...-bad-yukon-alaska-2016.1199270/#post-31323611

It's the rain and mud that can be a real issue. If you get out to the Forks next spring you can chat with Marty who has done it any number of times on his 1982 BMW.

If you search ( and join ) ADVRider there are dozens and dozens of Dempster reports.
 
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When I learned to ride, I commuted half of my hour ride on twisty gravel and sand roads on a street bike. In the last two years of reacquainting myself with riding I've cruised quite a few back roads and a few trails as well. My comments about unexpectedly hitting gravel is an indication that the bike itself isn't the worst machine for gravel, though I realize it isn't the best either

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http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...ed-North-The-Lemonade-Tour&highlight=lemonade

For the record, I'm the dude with the V-Strom stuck in the ocean. The reason it's not covered in mud is because I hit quicksand and the bike sank really deep really quickly.

I did this ride, to Inuvik, a couple of years ago. I think it's an amazing idea, and you should absolutely do it. However, you are straight up out of your mind if you think you can do it in the timeframe you've outlined. I have a fair amount of long distance riding experience, and I'm known to hustle and to do long days. Take my opinion for what it's worth, but I have some experience you may want to take advantage of.

Firstly, your highest mileage day will always be your first. You're excited, you're fresh, nothing's gone wrong and from that point on it becomes straight up a lot of work to get miles in. And miles make you tired. Tired leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to problems and potentially injuries.

Next, the chances of you being able to do all of this on one set of tires safely is small. What are you going to do for tires? My recco - plan ahead and have a set of tires waiting for you. When you get into the wilderness, you can no longer count on parts being available. And sometimes it means waiting a week or longer for things to come in.

Are you camping? If you are not bringing any camping equipment, you need to have reservations as soon as you start heading north. The tourist travel season is very short in the north, and most towns do not have a lot of rooms, and those rooms fill up quickly especially on the weekend. On several occasions when I wanted a room I was forced to camp because there were no rooms anywhere. They're also spectacularly expensive. Supply and demand...

The Dempster demands your respect. If you do your research you'll see how quickly the weather changes, and how bad the road gets when it's wet. The calcium chloride that they use to harden the road in the dry turns to "pig snot" as the locals say and it's downright hazardous to bikes. The Dempster may be in such bad condition the day you're there that doing it would be a bad idea. Having the ability to wait a day or so if you can for conditions to improve would be a smart idea. The D is not just a dirt road, it's a living thing that goes from beautiful hardpack to 3 inches of powder sand to ruts to ridges to grease, most of the time without warning, all at highway speeds.

The Dempster, and potentially other roads depending on your bike's range, will dictate that you carry gas with you for parts of the trip.

Happy to answer any questions you have, and I'm not trying to deter you - just to give you some things to think about as you plan for this. It's an amazing trip and you should make it happen.

There is so much to see and do on this route that never getting off the bike is a waste. And trust me, after 5 days or so of blitzing, you're going to be so tired you'll want to stop and smell the roses a bit. Not having lots of pictures from a trip like this would be a shame.
 
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Oomis, thank you for the link to your ride report. I wanted to read through it all before I replied.
The three week thing is going to be really hard to get around. That's kind of pushing it as it is, but I can continue to work at that problem. I may actually be straight up enough nuts to make it work. I rode a bicycle from Victoria to Walkerton in 30 days. After the mountains, I averaged over 100 miles a day.
More recently, I've done 2 100 mile trail running races. I've also done multi day camping running/hiking trips. So endurance travelling is kind of a thing for me. Part of this is me looking for a new challenge.
My preferred mode of distance travel is to stealth camp until I'm too dirty/wet/cold and then get a nice motel room. You know, the type with a TV in it. If it's not raining, I can find a spot to lay out a bivvy sac much faster and easier than pitching a tent. I'll still bring a tent and plan to use that in the north where accommodation is expensive or unavailable. I find that the more remote the area, the less that people care about someone camping close to the road.
I have a Kenda Cruiser tire on the front of my bike because I saw a review from a rider who rode on them on the Dempster high way with his ninja 250. (I'm just wearing out the back tire that came with the bike before switching). On reading more, I think the reviewer may have just lucked out with dry conditions. I am aware that people often mail themselves tires to Dawson.
I'm tempted to ride like hell to Dawson and then have time to wait for dry conditions. If it rains for a week while I'm up there, I'm probably screwed no matter what tires I put on my 17" rims.
And yes, I'll need extra fuel. My range commuting to work is 300km on a tank.


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And yes, I'll need extra fuel. My range commuting to work is 300km on a tank.


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Jeff, in addition to the extra fuel you’ll be carrying, I would take a long length of fuel line or tubing in your pack. You could use it to syphon fuel from another vehicle in an emergency. Wouldn’t add much weight or take up much space.
 
Heidenau K60s will make the entire trip and stable on gravel. Depends on whether you can get them for your bike.
They are noisy on pavement but wear very well.....popular tire for Alaska / Dempster.
 
Heidenau K60s will make the entire trip and stable on gravel. Depends on whether you can get them for your bike.
They are noisy on pavement but wear very well.....popular tire for Alaska / Dempster.

I would have to go slightly bigger on the front tire (width and aspect ratio), which is great for deep sand and loon crap but I'm afraid it would jam rocks and such into my front fender.

The Shinko 705 comes in the right size for the front and slightly wider in the back. And they come in tubeless.
 
Another thought - if camping and in particular if stealth camping once you start heading north in BC, you must be bear aware. It's absolutely not a joke, so buy bear spray, learn how to use it properly and camp intelligently. Don't cook or eat anything (anything!) where you sleep and store everything that smells (this includes soap, shampoo and deoderant) in a bear bag and hang it. A bear will not hesitate to knock your bike over and tear apart your luggage if it is curious about a smell, even if the smell isn't food. Your bivvy bag is just a take-out container. :)

The farther north you go, the bigger a problem this will be. Bears are very curious - talk to the locals and listen to them. Campgrounds often have the advantage of bear lockers where you can store your things away from your campsite.

Just something to think about as you plan. Keep us posted on your plans so we can live vicariously through you :)
 

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