Sport-bike touring ALASKA

this was a trip i done this August, thought i share with ya!

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This adventure starts August 1st- 7th 2012

One major attraction on this tour will be riding up to the Arctic Circle.

this is the basic on the route i'll be riding;




Basics stuff on the bike :

Corbin seat, Cox radiator guard, Nelson riggs strap tank bag, Firstgear saddle bags, Michelin Roads 3, Crampbuster... thats all i can think of now. will add on to list later.

made adjustment on rear suspension for the extra luggage.

also swap out my tinted visor on the Arai back to clear for better visibility ,cause i know it's going to rain.


Street Mode



camping stuff



moutings





all saddle up.






basic rundown on what im packing: blue roll is my sleeping pad, green bad contains my sleeping bag, orange bag contains clothes,underwear & 1 person tent. camera tri-pod
Right saddle bag will be carrying rain suit, and food,drinks.
Left saddle bag: basic tools,owners manual,first aid,simple camping gears,MSR cooking w/ butane,tire plug kit and simple little things.
Tank bag: carries camera,phone,maps and all that quick needed item. I was'nt able to pack the 2 gal gas jug, which isnt a big deal, but i might pick up a 1 gal jug just in case.. for this trip gas station are plenty


Location of department:

day 1, i woke up a bit earlier than what i had set my alarm to.being very excited to start my adventure ride, the time was around 6 am.. i believe. i suited up ate a quick breakfest and i was on the road by 6:30.
with already a full tank of gas, i depart anchorage with no fueling, the weather was, cloudy and a bit rainy.. well yes it was wet, but i was warm and dry. with proper gear , i embrace this awesome Alaskan weather.

the time had read and my odo was ..when i left my house.


Simple 40- 45miles cruise up north, as all the commuters are making there way south on the glenn highway.
45 miles ish into the trip i top off my gas in Palmer,AK.
stomach acted up, so also took a momment to recycle :bootyshak

thru a leg over and back on the road, next stop would be in Eureaka, which is in between palmer and Glennallen..

this photo was taken sometime in between that , as i stop and drink and took photos, also tried out my $10 slingshot i bought just incase i got bored. wasnt very good at aiming..





back we on the CBR. ...weather had gotton dry at this point .

nice in quiet in Eureka, stay there for no more than 10 mintutes , fuel up and took a few shots and back on the road north towards Glenallen.



TIME: 11am, 181 miles into the tripe, pulled into Glennallen, fuel up and ate a few snacks.

also meet a few other riders, two cruiser guys , i believe form Ohio and somewhere and another harley guy who was riding from Tennessee(headed toward Valdez as well to catch the ferry ride).

those two cruiser guys weren't actually together , but the story was they met somewhere upper north, and they were actually heading towards Anchorage so the tag along, BUT one of guys starter on his bike has failed on him, so the other one was pushing him to start. funny. they were deff done for the day and was ready to get some rest. the Starter issue guy's bike had over 200k miles..with its original starter.

back on the road as i fuel up .


next stop was to the campground which is about 40 miles from Glennallend and about 79 miles from valdez..so it was kindA between.

Reached Tosina lodge and setup my camp, weather was cloudy but nice and dry. food,fuel, and such services was available here, tent camping was also free.



i have decided to setup up camp first and then unload some of my stuff and the head towards valdez. After settling down and ate a bit. i head towards Valdez. time was probably around pm ish.

it was another 80 miles till i reached Valdez, as i gotton close to Thompson pass, and the mountains...wet..wet..rain. heavy rain started pourng...this is going to be fun!!

miles mile i ridden next to the Alaska Pipeline, which carries oil all the way from Prudhoe bay and ends at Valdez , the scenic ride was awesome, but would had been much better if it was dry and sunny

didnt see much wildlife as i expected, but as i was heading towards valdez, a moose did cross my path, saw him about 200 feet away and gave him "break"

...
by now i am riding in rain and passing thru Thompson pass..which has an 2k feet elevation(refer to pics), honestly i didnt felt like if me and my bike was that high, but oh man the scenic was nice, lots and lots of vegetation, felt like as if i was riding the moutains in Iceland. ..but again there was tons and tons of rain so i really didint stop much and take picture. was way to wet, that really killed it i think...ohh and as ya can see on the pics, there was lot of time where the road got really misty and fogging white, visibility was low.

my Arai kept foggin up . shame on Arair. so i kept the lid 1/4" open , oh and why cant helmets have battery operate visor wipers..?:retard:











Valdez

arrived , and it was still raining , honestly i didint do much. just hung around for a bit and also went to the laundry mat and dry up my gloves cause water got in it a bit.

it was a nice small town tho.



behind me is the AK pipeline;



Left Valdez and head back to camp, sleep the night and got ready for Fairbanks. :cruising:

day 2

got lazy, and slept a bit longer, woke up around 8 am and pack and loaded up the cbr.

now it was back to Gennallen for fuel and take off north to Fairbanks.

so i then fuel up, plan was to stop in a town call Paxson, then stop in Delta Junction and the arrived at Fairbanks...

again this was a scenic ride with just little minor construction going on, as i rode and arrive at Paxon. come to find out there gas pump was out of order, and i was like oh shoot were dead..this was half way into the stretch already and the next gas stop wasnt till delta Junction which was another 80-90 miles ish. .i had a 1 gal gas jug ,but while at Glenallen i didnt fill it up cause i have thought that i wouldnt need it. at this point i was like we are going to gun all the way till we reached delta jct of until the bikes runs out of fuel... and FYI this stretch from Glennallen to Delta was 150 miles ..according to Google maps,

and then the weather turns to crap.. more rain and fog.. which again killed the scenic drive and again i felt like i was in Iceland riding thru the beautiful mountains.

i then see the sign. it read Delta Junction 60 miles.

i look at my gas gauge and i have 2 out of the 7 bars left on my gas read.

im just thinking , i am going to be stranded soon.

left with about 20 ish mile, my last bar on my gas gauge has started blinking.

all at the end ive reached Delta jct with little gas, lucky me!!




From delta , wasnt much, just fuel myself up and the bike, and took off to Fairbanks.. which was another 90 ish miles west.. weather had gotton dry, thanks goodness.

Again, on the road..a moose and its calf crossed my paths, but there was plenty of time to give them to cross.

by the time ive reached fairbanks, i think,,..think the time was around alte afternoon. like 4pm or someN.

first thing i did was stop at Mayflower buffet and fill myself up, yum food.

then headed towards my camping sie; Chena riverside campground,, a bit pricey imo, it was $17 per night for tent camping, but all good, they had drinkable water, wifi and nice clean restrooms..
set up camp ...



behind me was another gentlemen (harley cruiser).. i believe he rode from Utah, spoke to him and he was also heading to the Arctic circle the next day as me.

after camp was set up, i rode to the Pioneer park, its an historical park , was pretty awesome,. kinda made me wish the town was still like how it look back then



continuing from where i left off ...Fairbanks, Alaska

so the 1st night in Fairbanks, got done setting up camp , and the time is now about 6 or 7pm evening. i drove about 5 miles from my camp site to the Pioneer parks.
historical theme park. very nice and lots lots of hiistory behind it. but dont ask me , i wouldnt know much.ahah
here are some pictures:

this is a Grizzy brown bear, theyre awesome big (that's what she said)



this is a ship:



some pirate lady, hand carved out of wood. sicK art skills





more pics of the pioneer park will be posted after the story.

after checking out the place i return back to site, and got some good rest for tomorrow..Arctic Circle !!


**SIGH.
good morning nuttynu !
i woke up hmm maybe around 7am, look at the Harley guy behind me and shoot he is already gone to the arctic circle (not that i wanted to go with him but..)
yeah, so anyways i get the tent down and pack all my gear onto the awesome CBR..hmmk should i cook? nope, didnt want to eat can food, so after leaving the site . i headed down to Denny's. it is the most northern Denny's.

got some good ole breakfest and drink there.

yack yack 2wheel conversation going on behind me. so i turn and 3 gentlemen sits, i ask them where they are riding from, and they said.. i forgot, but it was from the lower 48s states. they were also heading to the Arctic Circle.. and i think they might also was heading to the top; Prudhoe bay.

nice chat and on my way. the toughest part of the trip ..
i head to the last gas stop in fairbanks , top of my bike and also yes this time filled up my extra 1 gal gas jug, grab a few extra drinks and threw them into my saddlebags.

i stop and think and ask myself.." hmm dude am i really wantting to do this? ride in gravel dirt to the Arctic circle..shoot should i just turn back ...hm think think"

HECK no, i am doing this ride no matter what stops me. its my dream . and all that mind talk was left behind. time is around 8 ish AM by now and on the Steese highway i go.. ride ride

the time is prolly early 9a, already and i finally take off from Fairbanks to head to the Arctic Circle.

this is about 700 miles into my trip,and where its at when i left for the Arctic circle in Fairbanks.



So from the end of Fairbanks, i rode the Steese highway which then turns into the Elliott highway and at the end of that , it turn into the Dalton Highway. and this is where the fun begains.
so from fairbanks to the start of the Dalton highway, it is all paved and this stretch is abou 80 miles ish.

about 20 miles into the Elliott highway,lonely quit road




During this Elliott highway, it started raining and got really foggy and misty on as i reached higher elevations. but then of course it was early morning.
After about 80 miles , you finally reach this sign, and this is where you can turn back or ride the dream of a lifetime!!!

JAMES DALTON HIGHWAY



hahaha, im was very happy and excited when i saw the Dalton highway, but i was a bit scare as well hearing all them stories about sport bike not making due to not have the right tires as a ADV bikes does.

so there i rode, swallow up and took the cbr into the dalton highway, it was early morning and the dirt was a bit slushy and wet.

YIKES . the bikes say yuck and started slippy out, but then i slow down and stable the bike a bit and there we go . First few miles i took it really slow and practice braking and turn in the dirt, and how the bike would re-act. it was pretty good. oh and guess what ?!!

the first 3 miles into the Dalton i was riding with no visibilty alt all, i mean it was like a ghost road with foogy . a bit spooking. i was also tailgating and following an RV. :)

here are some pics, don't be scare.


after 5 miles ish into the Dalton, we stop for construction, was about 15 minute wait, not bad. couple in the RV, came out and offer me coffee , also tourist that were heading to the Arctic circle as well.




what my tires look like at the first construction stop





After abotu 15 minutes in construction zone, we then had a pilot car take us thru the zone which was about 5 miles or so, this was the only construction i had on this trip on the dalton. After we got done being escort by the pilot car, i pulled over to let all the trucks and semi go thru , and also took some photos while i was at it. :)





yum, do not be OCD about being clean at all .lol




okay, here we go again . back on the road, so from here it was about another 40 mile i think till we reach the Yukon lodge, gas and service is available there. as i ride the dalton is now hard packed dirt and isnt that bad at all , and let me inform you that this section of the daltons also have have good stretches of paved road, so its not all gravel the way.

out of the whole ride on the Dalton, not a single wildlife that i've seen, sucks right.

there was plenty of semi hauling to and from the dalton as well. they were very friendly and slow down when they saw me, i also gave them plenty of room to pass.. REspects!

so arriving to the Yukon, you MUST fuel up here . you can also get food and rest here. rooms were available. i think gas was like $5 bucks a gal. whoosh.


Yukon Bridge

not your typical gas pump.




can you say DIRTY


all fuel up and ready to go, okay so from the Yukon, it is 60 to the the Arctic Circle , and from the Arctic circle, it is another 60 miles form there to Coldfoot,AK.


i then take off , and again, back on hard gravel, and at this point im already use to is and was riding about 55mph perfectly, lots of great scenery but yet no wildlife, the Alaska pipeline was within sight.
so i am going to guess here, but about 10 miles til the arctic circle the road is paved again. easy 65mph and fun.



Here i am , finally at the Arctic Circle, i cant believe i made it!!!!:cruising:







arrived at Arctic circle , went to use to restroom , came back out and i was surrounded by BMW GS. these guys just came back from Deadhorse and were heading to Fairbanks, they were pretty shock to see a a sport bike out here.







we chat for a bit and then they were on there way back..
awesome riders, and they also did not recommend me going all the way up to Deadhorse due to that up there, there was much more worse mud road.

i chilled here for about 30 minutes, drank, took pictures and video , and on my way to Coldfoot i went. now from here to coldfoot , it is 60 miles and it is all paved. you can turn back to Yukon , or go up more to Coldfoot, i did that .


to be continue.... :cruising:

enjoy the Arctic circle area, and now i am headed another 60 miles north to Coldfoot, Alaska.

this 60 miles stretch is all PAVED.

rode, rode thru here and again not a single wild life out here, blehh, and again no service until coldfoot. took it at a decent 65mph pace. fun fun :cruising::cruising:


arrive at Coldfoot around 4 ish in the afternoon.







I stop at this main restaurant and got lunch, nothing much to do here, but this is one of the main stop for people going up the Dalton,lots of truckers stop here too, great place and food.

place to sleep,food, gas service is available here.

oh and if your planning to keep going up north , this is the last place for all service until the next 240 miles!!!

yummy food




i was suppose to sleep in Coldfoot, but i dont know for some reason i just decided not to.. maybe it was cause all my gears was like in mad dirt. but anyways. i then now made a long stretch back to Fairbanks. the time was already 5pm, so i knew i was going to be late by the time i pull into Fairbanks, so i gas up and headed down the road once again.


Coldfoot story: so i ask the hot waitress why they called this place Coldfoot. the story was..long time ago. some people came here in serach for gold. but they found none and at that time winter i guess. they had coldfoot. so they then left the place and move on. then came another group of people. and they struck rich by finding gold and this place bloom back then!!! the end. lol



So i ride ride now. back on my baby and we are now on the Dalton back Fairbanks, my plan was head into Fairbanks. and go back to the campground , and sleep for the night.



rode, and by the time i got near back to the Yukon, the weather actually got really nice and sunny. i did stop and made some videos and also took pics.






again just a nice ride and very peacefull enjoying the Dalton.

by the time 9pm or so. i have exited the Dalton. whoo hoo i had a blast and felt pride.

so now it was just another 80 miles of paved road on the Elliott highway back to fairbanks. fun fun and i gun it from here, crusing a good 75mph.


pulled into the same campground i sleep in Fairbanks around 10 pm ish,.

rush to set up my tent and crash to sleep, it also started raining by then.

SummN the end of the trip


after a night in fairbanks, it was pretty much a home run bach to anchorage. i decided not to camp no more and rode back, nothing much exciting . just nice long chill ride by my self. it rain here and there but was an awesome ride.

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note to side after two week from this ride, i did it again except i didn't make the arctic circle run, and i went to the Chena hot springs instead, it was a weather better turnout.

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Very cool RR..

First off, great photos and a great story! Second, massive respect for touring Alaska on a sport bike! Well done, good sir.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

Very Very Awesome!

Thanks guys & gals.!!
Ill be doing more tour next year. Hitting Canada !

Outstanding pics and report! I am going to look at a low mileage cbr 954 this weekend. Your trip has convinced me that I'm making the right choice.

Thanks!

Touring on a sport bike... Is a lot of fun.

Photos was taken with Canon eos 50d.

With the help of a $15 eBay tripod stand :)


The pics with the Mooses by the lakes was also where I camp. There was at least 6 moose around that lake.
I couldn't sleep for an hour. Just thinking they might attack me ! Hahah.

Wow,fantastic report and pics.And something different on that (nice) sport-bike. My favorite picture

Yeah that was dddirtty !!. But could have been way worse. It's so nice. Cause when I was on the Dalton. All the gravel section was dry. And when I hit paved section road, it rained.

Awesome trip, thanks for sharing.

Nice, very nice.