My motorbike adventures, & my Wisconsin to Alaska run (June 2012)

[AJ990R]

June 27
Wed

Slept in again, my sleep schedule was now messed up, was woke up by housekeeping I decided I was not gonna do the Denali hwy and start to head home, I was planning on doing the Cassiar hwy towards home. I still wanted to give my bike a personal once over & clean the chain, it was covered in mud from the Dalton yet. Found a auto parts store & set-up shop, bought wd-40 & a wire brush, sprayed wd-40 all over my bikes engine, chiseled the mud out of my skidplate, I know I know, I need a real skidplate
Parrish just happen to be riding by on his GS during his lunch break, he stopped, & we got to chat one last time

my bike all clean & set for the ride home

riding towards TOK




ended up getting a hotel in Tok cause the rain

[AJ990R]

June 28
Thurs

Tried to get a early start this day and started motoring south down the Ak hwy back into Canada and wanted to at least hit the Cassiar hwy, I knew I had to start clicking miles off towards home. The day started out with drizzle but stopped quickly after hitting the road. But at least I was riding a section of the Ak hwy I didn't take up & heard the Cassiar was very scenic.
loaded ktms, retired couple from Europe somewhere, we ended up eating lunch at the same place



I did finally drop my bike on its side at a rest stop, picked it up by myself
camped at the end of this day

[AJ990R]

June 29
Fri

Slept In due to rode late into the night, knew I wasn't gonna be able to make it back to work on time for Monday. I saw by far the most wildlife on this trip in BC, there were little black bears everywhere. Really would have liked to stop in Hyder, Ak
But there are millions on welfare that depend on me

Just south of Dease lake I got pulled over, he was driving towards me in a white SUV & I was on it in the awesome curvy road! He was super cool, warned me to slow down
little black bears everywhere, they were scared of the Katoom




& got pulled over again for barely going over the limit outside a small town before getting to Smithers, got let off with a warning
465mi day, hoteled it in Smithers

[AJ990R]

June 30
Sat
the Cassiar was a awesome, now riding hwy 16 to Banff national park. Lots & lots of mountains

Did get to see a little of the Glacier in Banff



was looking for a camp spot, but all the campsites were full because Canada day was tomorrow. stopped here for fuel & they had rooms as well, splurged on my last night in Canada

640mi

[AJ990R]

July 1
Sun
Got up early & was going to try and do an Iron Butt run home from here on out. My back tire had a small spot on it showing cords It wasn't gonna make it back, wasn't sure what to do about it, but just kept trucking, had a spare tube & tire...



Made it into Montana, stopped at a grocery store & bought some dish soap for tire lube, the rear tire was looking real bad, rode hwy 2 west across Montana, set-up shop in front of a small town auto repair shop, knew what had to be done, had to beat the rear axle out with a big rock due to was practically seized in its place. Took me 2hrs, but got her done, I had the right tools for the job! 7800+mi on a rear Heidenau, last pic of my journey home too, plus I used up the entire can of chain lube I brought with by now too,chain started to look rough quick after that

Drinking 5hr energy shots, rode late into the night & just slept on a picnic table at a rest stop in North dakota
795mi run

[AJ990R]

July 2
Mon

Woke up, ate breakfast at a truckstop & called into work & said i wasn't gonna make it in.
It was the start of a month long heat wave in Milwaukee this day, traffic was terrible going through Minneapolis. I was soo hot I bungee corded my jacket on to my bike. Started to get a bit crabby. The chain was just completely smoked by the time I hit Wi. Was the longest day ever, stopped & took breaks every 100mi, made it home by 9pm, in one piece
the end!



*conclusion

the R model adventure only comes with a 12mo/12k warrenty, mine went out of warrenty right as I got back in the states Odometer showed 13300mi when I got home. Southeast sales got KTM to warrenty my rear rotor & rear shock splash guard(cracking) Put on a new chain, skidplate & rear rack, by fall the KTM had well over 17kmi on the clock.
My 2013 big Ktm plans are to attend CADVR, & the Ktm rally in Colorado, I'll be riding the COBDR into Steamboat springs. Gonna explore one state at a time now!
tried to "custom groove" the rear Heide for better rain traction

Be Cool

AJ

[Klay]

Great adventure, see you at the rally.

[one2ride]

Thanks for sharing.
Do you wish you had set aside more time? How much?

[AJ990R]

Originally Posted by one2ride

Thanks for sharing.
Do you wish you had set aside more time? How much?

Glad you enjoyed my terrible photography skills
Ideally 21-24 days would have been nice. Coulda hit up the Denali hwy, Hyder Alaska on the way back & not had to ride late into the evenings. Would have liked to check out the "into the wild" bus, since it is one of the few books I have read, which is a little ways outside of Fairbanks & I believe you have to hike to get to it.
Be prepared to ride in the rain, rained a little almost everyday except when I was in Dawson city, hence that made me pop for the new coat, which was worth every penny. Was very cool that it stayed light out all the time up there this time of year, but my sleep schedule got all messed up & I was sleeping in til noon a lot.
The Cassiar hwy, hwy 16 & BC in general had just some awesome views
But next time through, I will check it all out

AJ

[Butcho]

Thanks for sharing. Its a big task to assemble these reports. But we enjoy them so much! See ya at the rally

[prime]

Awesome report Aj. I just relived a lot of my ride reading your report. It was good hangin with you up in Dawson.
Hopefully we can cross paths again!

[ADWrider]

Great report man, looks like you had a good ride!

[oscar23]

Just awesome- Ride and Report
Could you have done the Alaska ride on the Wee?

[clint_l]

Awesome write up AJ! Lets retire and ride the world!

[AJ990R]

Originally Posted by oscar23

Just awesome- Ride and Report
Could you have done the Alaska ride on the Wee?

Absolutely....honestly, the v-strom had a comfier seat/sitting position. I did a ton-up on the wee(650 twin pwr!) fully loaded as well, gps indicated I put so much heat in the tires on curvy mtn roads on the wee, looked like a tire from a sportbike @ a trackday. Plus better fuel mileage. I did go 1 tooth bigger on the frt sprocket, so she cruised better @ hwy speeds, still had ample power with this heavy set-up I ran.

A big thing that bothered me on these trips were my knees after hours upon hours on the bike, hwy pegs would have been nice on the wee...but the Katoom sits so high, I can stretch my legs while riding & sitting, I'm a good 5'10" & tippy toe on the katoom (anti monkey butt powder was a must for both these trips)