We were in Dawson City 5-7 July. Talked to a fellow on the morning of 6 July I think, could have been 7 July, the morning at the North of 60 gas station riding a Wee. He was on a bucket list trip with his buddy on a GS1200. Camping most of the way. Showed me a pic of the camp site in Watson Lake, dry in the evening, wet the next morning. I was touring with the Mrs on my Goldwing. We discussed the reason for the Wee over the DL1000. Your post struck a memory from a great trip we had. If not yourself, glad you had a good trip. Cheers
Small world it is. What a great adventure it was and the best part was all the awesome people we met along the way. I hope to go back in '21. Maybe see you again.
Fantastic read Rollin! I really appreciate the effort you put into it. In 2021 my wife and I are planning on taking a year off work - sort of a late "gap year" like college kids often do. (we are slow I guess as college was 34 years ago!) Anyhow, the ride to Tuk is on our bucket list. Your report will join the list of others we will continue to refer to in our planning. One struggle we may have is that 257 mile stretch between gas. We ride two up on a KTM 990, which in spite of remapping the ECU for better economy, often gets as low as 35 mpg particularly if the going is sloppy muddy stuff. So, 7.3 gallons of gas needed, 5.1 gallon tank, 1.8 gallon rotopak, and 4 20 oz fuel bottles adds up to 7.5 gallons. That is cutting it a tad close. It appears I need to find at least another .5 gallons just for peace of mind. Or find a few more MPG. At least we will have the luxury of time to wait out rain if needed. Thanks again! And prayers for you and your wife.
Thank you!! With the DL I got the best fuel mileage of the trip on the Dempster, I carried an extra gallon of gas but didn't need it. I think the slower speeds helped a lot.
I wound up doing 45 mph in 4rth gear on the North road and got 62 MPG which was crazy good mileage on my F700GS. I had carried 4 extra gallons in addition to my camel tank. The slow speeds really makes an incredible difference on my bike. KR
This trip is on my radar for a couple years from now. Thank you for posting this. It's great to read these!
@Rollin' We are going to give the Dempster another try this June. We were looking for recent ride reports and I told my wife I know someone who rode it this summer and takes lots of pictures... We got rained out on the first two attempts in 2010 and 2018. My bride really wants to complete this ride, third time is the charm Steve, I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I am planning on this trip starting from CT on May 1. I am considering my route partly depending on the temperatures farther up north. I actually have 4 months to do this trip, my first since being retired. I plan on a lot of end of the road types of excursions in the north of Canada with the goals of Tuk and Deadhorse. KR
Good luck on your ride Bob!! After every ride I look at the photos and I'm always disappointed with them, I guess there's no replacing the real thing. After some time passes I start to like them because they are a reminder. I find myself staring at a photo and it takes me back. Merry Christmas Bob.
Rollin'/photos (can't get it to quote). Re. photos. In the 1980's I was deep into photography. When I got home from my first trip to Alaska, I realized I looked at everything through a camera lens, never really looked at it. Had a philosophical discussion with a friend who is probably the most world traveled person I know. He does not own a camera! I didn't take any photos for a couple of years, then bought a cheap camera and found this out. My own photos are not art. They are merely to invoke a memory. That is where the true value lies. That being said, I do appreciate the excellent photography of . . . examples, https://advrider.com/f/threads/michnus-elsebie-piki-piki-around-the-world.696647/page-100, anything by DYNOBOB.
I’ve enjoyed reading this post, and plan to add the trophy photo to my own collection. I’ve tried to glean as much information as possible from all of your posts to help me plan my own journey from Arizona to Tuk and back. The route is mapped and I have researched the campgrounds, sights to see, and other lodging options. Biggest decision is when to go. I love fall weather and, had planned to do the trip in 30 days, starting in August into early Sept. Now a ridding buddy has gotten time off in early September so that we can finish the Colorado BDR. That has me rethinking my departure date, or pushing the trip to 2021. I would have to leave Flagstaff around July 20th and am concerned about the weather, and the summer tourism along the route making it more difficult to find campsites and hotel rooms. Too many You Tube videos on the Dempster fail to mention when the trip was made. I would truly appreciate any inmates suggestions as the best time of year to go, and what to expect in July vs fall. Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I don’t want to hijack this post into a trip planning discussion so if you want reach out to me in a conversation.
Nice write up Rollin. At first I thought you were just blasting through putting down so many miles. But that comes with your experience and how you ride. 30 Iron butts that's impressive. Every run up to the North brings it's own adventure, glad yours turned out as well as it did. Besides chillin at Eagle Plains ain't so bad and then pushing through to make it to Tuk makes for the memories we all need. AZ You basically have three months to make the trip, maybe 4 if September is nice. A lot of people make the trip in June but that can be too early with lots of rain plus the ferries only start running around the first of the month. My Alaska trip was in July, minimal rain and almost no bugs. My two trips to Tuk and Fort Simpson/Wood Buffalo were in late august. Great camping weather on the first trip, no bugs and no rain. The lower NWT is awesome when it's like this. There was snow on the Richardson mountains and sleet in Inuvik on the run to Tuk. Still camped through most of it. Rain pretty much every day. Good gear is the answer here. Plus as Rollin found out plan for delays and be flexible with your schedule. The peel river ferry was closed for two days on my run plus there was a road closure for 12 hours due to a traffic accident, we were the last traffic through. No warning and if I had been any later I would have been camping on the side of the road
Thank you! It was an adventure! I still smile when I think about it. Still don't remember anything about hitting the berm, wish I did. Maybe I fell asleep but I think it was more than that, you would think crashing would wake you up! Was very lucky to be able to keep going. Was thinking about the IBA rides. I completed 28 while I was working and only two since I retired two years ago, both in 2019. Sure glad I did the rides when I did. I have nothing planned for this year.
I think I can say the DL survived the ride to Tuk. I haven't found anything else that needs to be repaired or replaced. Replaced the chain and sprockets and installed the Mitas E-07's. I had bought the E-07's for the ride to Tuk but used the K-60's instead. The bike is like new again!