Cheryl & Leslie's Triumph Tiger 800XC ADV to Alaska

[soph9]

Probably picking up the Beemers tomorrow. The Tigers need big time servicing and maybe by the end of the week we might know if we will own the Tigers.

Has to be a deal we can't refuse. Stay tuned as we are too!


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[AlanI]

Originally Posted by soph9

Cheryl is 5'5" and has the reg height seat on low and is flat footed. Her inseam is 31.5. I on the other hand am not flat footed, I am 5'4.5 with an inseam of 30 ish. I have the low seat on low.


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[soph9]

Originally Posted by AlanI

Mind you that was with luggage. Since we have dismantled the bikes and freed them of all luggage and mounts Cheryl is not so flat footed now but we would still have to adjust the pre-load. Have not done that but we still fit the bikes well enough to safely ride.

It is unknown if we will become the owners of the Tigers we rode for 44 days. They will be dropped off at Western Powersports in Langley, BC so the bikes can be looked over, hopefully get the stalling issues rectified and maybe Triumph might even learn a thing or two as to how the bikes really held up throughout our adventure.


I hope they can check things like the chains, sprockets, cables, our air filters most likely are quite dirty again, fluids (all seems OK), wear and tear in general.


We hope by the end of the week there will be a better understanding of the cost to us if we were to buy these bikes. The offer has to be a good one because the cost of this trip overall was high but well worth it.


Anyone thinking of traveling to the north need to be prepared for high prices for gas, food and some lodging options where there are no options. For instance if you ride the Dempster or Dalton your choices are slim to none for safe housing and that comes at a cost. We will be posting our expenses soon, but by all means many can do this trip a lot cheaper than we did. Due to the weather being so wet we did not camp as much as we wanted to. Having said that many would have just sucked it up and set up outside anyways.


So, hopefully we will get our BMW bikes back today and only time will tell if Cheryl & Leslie will own the Tigers which we found to be just a great all around bike.





First picture of us after we arrived Deadhorse at the end of the Dalton Highway. Picture was taken by Ray Jardine, our new friend from the road. Ray is a well known inventor of the rock climbing tool called the “Friend”. Google his name, great adventurer and neat guy.

Maybe I will video tape and take pictures of our reaction to riding the BMW's again

[dceggert]

Originally Posted by soph9

* Snip

Maybe I will video tape and take pictures of our reaction to riding the BMW's again

If you still have the Tigers, how about a group shot of the Tigers and BMW's all together? LOL...your driveway would look like a biker hang out spot...

[soph9]

Beemers are at the dealer but maybe there we can get a group shot!

[slide]

You mention 'safe housing'. What danger is there in housing?

[soph9]

Meaning staying inside rather then becoming a grizzly bears meal

[slide]

Oh, OK. Grizzlies attack up there? We had grizzly / browns (I never understood the diff) but they didnt' bug anybody unless pretty severely annoyed by a human or attracted by poorly stowed food.

Oh, yeah, one did cause a problem (I had to croak it) but it turned out to have a huge infection & literally gallons of pus came out of the thing. It may have been dying from an abscess or something. I consider that a real anomaly.

[VikB]

Originally Posted by slide

You mention 'safe housing'. What danger is there in housing?

I bicycle toured the Dempster solo using campgrounds and wild camping. As long as you store your food away from your camp there is no particular danger from bears.

BTW - virtually all my camping experiences over the years [except for Baja] have been in grizzly country in Canada and I've never had a problem at all using the normal bear safety techniques you can read in any number of books. Bears have no interest in you if you don't attract them with food or surprise them by getting really close without their knowing.

[TAMPAJIM]

Originally Posted by VikB

I bicycle toured the Dempster solo using campgrounds and wild camping. As long as you store your food away from your camp there is no particular danger from bears.

BTW - virtually all my camping experiences over the years [except for Baja] have been in grizzly country in Canada and I've never had a problem at all using the normal bear safety techniques you can read in any number of books. Bears have no interest in you if you don't attract them with food or surprise them by getting really close without their knowing.

You ever see that movie where the guy thought wild bears were his buddies and they ate him?

[dceggert]

Originally Posted by slide

Oh, OK. Grizzlies attack up there? We had grizzly / browns (I never understood the diff) but they didnt' bug anybody unless pretty severely annoyed by a human or attracted by poorly stowed food.

Oh, yeah, one did cause a problem (I had to croak it) but it turned out to have a huge infection & literally gallons of pus came out of the thing. It may have been dying from an abscess or something. I consider that a real anomaly.

Here is an interesting tidbit and something for the adventurous inmates to read over the winter months as there is probably no better adventure story that one can possibly read about...the Journals of Lewis and Clark. There was a reason the published journals were a huge seller back in the 1800's but I will let YOU read them and determine why...

Anyway, off topic...when the Lewis and Clark expedition arrived at the Mandan village and were getting ready to head west, the Native Americans warned Lewis and Clark about the bears they would encounter on their travels. They were pretty much told that the brown and black bears would not bother them but are dangerous if provoked. The larger brown bears, however, were mean spirited, tenacious in chasing them, and impossible to kill. Many of the tribe were lost to these bears and Lewis and Clark were warned to stay away and not get near them (they didn't listen, they thought it would be 'fun' to find one of these formidable opponents and add it as a trophy. They thought that the guns they had would take care of them right quick and in the end they found out that they were wrong! Nobody on the team lost their life to a grizzley, but after several close calls of near death experiences they avoided them after the first few encounters).

The curious one, however, was the warning about the 'white' bears in that they were larger and worse disposition than the big angry brown bears. When I read the journals I took this to mean polar bears but the editors and commentators of the journals point out that polar bears were not in North Dakota in 1805 so the natives were meaning something else or making up stories. I, however, am still not convinced and think the warnings could very easilly be explained to be about polar bears as the Mandans were a displaced tribe from the upper Minnissota/Ontario area and may have encountered polar bears in the James Bay area in summer months. The oral traditions handed down over generations to stay away from the big mean brown and white bears sounds like very good advice to me!

[soph9]

Originally Posted by VikB

I bicycle toured the Dempster solo using campgrounds and wild camping. As long as you store your food away from your camp there is no particular danger from bears.

BTW - virtually all my camping experiences over the years [except for Baja] have been in grizzly country in Canada and I've never had a problem at all using the normal bear safety techniques you can read in any number of books. Bears have no interest in you if you don't attract them with food or surprise them by getting really close without their knowing.

I guess we are wimps plus we hate camping in the rain.

[WVdyhrd]

Originally Posted by skysailor

"Triumph Canada owns the bikes...."?? Me bad. Missed that in your very first post. All your gear is supplied for you. Methinks coming up with the "bread", equipment etc is half the effort most put into a venture like this one? It's kind of like getting Boeing to supply a 737 and crew, ESSO supplying the jet B, and then doing a report on your "adventure" flight to Hawaii? So, in essence. you're just a rolling advertisement for Triumph motorcycles?
How'd you manage that one? You guys rock singers or something? So far your RR has gone 6 pages, and you haven't left BC yet. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip and all, but it doesn't seem like there's all much "you" in it? You must at least have a good TV deal, like Ice Pilots, or Ice Road Truckers?
Lyle

d@mn I know this is pages ago, and I'm just dropping in on this. But I hope someone has told you, you sound like a royal jealous b*tch. Harsh words I know, but your berating these women, but you don't have to read the RR if you don't want to. It's not your ride. Go put your own together for your own "authentic" experience and do it your way, no reason to continually belittle theirs.

I think they are showcasing a great company and raising awarness for a very important cause.

Originally Posted by skysailor

Well, somebody has to keep them honest.
Lyle

Honest? WTF? are you concerned they may not be spending a lot of money? Your one of those kinds huh? ADV people need to have money? I've met your type in camps. You sneer at my walmart cookgear and target sourced beanie, or get pissed when I opt for a greasy mexican joint over a high class $40 plate lunch break. Putter on hunny putter on.

[soph9]

Originally Posted by WVdyhrd

d@mn I know this is pages ago, and I'm just dropping in on this. But I hope someone has told you, you sound like a royal jealous b*tch. Harsh words I know, but your berating these women, but you don't have to read the RR if you don't want to. It's not your ride. Go put your own together for your own "authentic" experience and do it your way, no reason to continually belittle theirs.

I think they are showcasing a great company and raising awarness for a very important cause.

Thanks for your support but I think this inmate disappeared after that post. have not seen anything since then....again thanks for your kind words! I wonder though if he came back and read the RR would he still think there was not a whole lot of us in it? I think we showed us a lot and kept it real.

[aldntn]

Great trip and report. Thanks!