What kind of bike is "necessary" to travel this road?

I have a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. It weighs about 850 pounds. Not easy to pick up.

I'm concerned about the slippery road I have heard about. This bike doesn't wallow too well in deep loose gravel, either.

However, it is what I have, and I want to ride it as far as I can. Would it be foolish to try it on this bike? What bikes have others successfully ridden on this road? How much does the anwswer depend on the weather?

What do others do, who have bikes not that well suited for this type of road? I have thought of switching bikes somehow, up that way, for this road, but the only rental available is in Anchorage, I believe, and it is awfully pricey.

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences!

I have not gone up that way, myself, yet, but I would like to so I have been reading up on it. The Iron Butt Rally sends people up that way on occassion, so quite a few highway cruisers (cruisers, sport-touring and touring bikes) end up going that way. It is my understanding that the big heavy bikes tend to vibrate wires loose, fall down a bit more, and slip around in the mud a bit more, but people make it through. It is one of those roads that if you stay well within your limits, you can go up there on anything (getting dual purpose tires helps). If you are not extra careful you get a helicopter ride to a hospital in Fairbanks.

The roads are slippery and they eat tires, so start with fresh tires and have some way to deal with a slashed sidewall. I have heard that some groups hire a chase vehicle with a trailer.

There are only a few places to stay, while you are up there, so you might be able to ask the hotels (while you are looking at making reservations) if a group of bikes has a reservation around the time you are going. Then you could caravan.

Several months back, Rider magazine had a good article by Gregory Frasier that had a lot of info (including a list of good books on the subject).

Hope that helps,

Matthew

Check motorcycle tourers forum search I think there is a place in Fairbanks where you can rent a KLR

Ben

I would not take the Venture to Alaska, unless you are just going to stay on paved roads.

But, I'm sure someone will now tell you how they took their big cruiser down the haul road or something.
------------------
Brooklyn Dakar
http://motorcycleramblings.blogspot.com/

"This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do." J Kerouac

[This message has been edited by JSherm (edited 21 September 2005).]

__________________
Prevously known as JSherm
My blog: http://www.motorcycleramblings.com/
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/sherman/ I will up date this soon, really Grant, I will....
"This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do." J Kerouac
"Who's more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him" OW Kenobi

I met a guy coming out of Inuvik (north of the arctic circle) he was riding a gold wing with trailer. He had 450 miles of gravel ahead of him. He was having the time of his life. Oh, he was also 70 years old.

Was he from PA ? I have a 71 y/o friend named "al" He rides a 1800 wing to Alaska every couple years. I'm not sure how far he goes ? I don't think he makes Prudoe Bay. He says the wing does fine.

Lighter is better on this road IMO. I rode my used KLR and it did just fine. I sold it for a small loss when I got home, I missed it so much I bought another one. I met a guy on a GoldWing that did it, then there was the fellow who had rented a Harley in Seattle and rode it to Deadhorse. People even ride bicycles. So is Dalton Hwy possible on the the Royal Star Venture? Yes, recommended? No way, not by me anyway.

I would say it really depends on the rider, what bike you can handle going up the Haul Rd. to Deadhorse. Best idea is some type of Dual Purpose, like a BMW GS, or a Suzuki V-Strom. BUT, there have been people who have done it on Gold Wings, Harleys, probably just about any bike you can think of. Yes, the road does get slippery when wet !! And your bike will get filthy. Also, it doesn't have to be raining for the road to get wet.....they wet it down for maintenance and to keep the dust down from the hundreds of huge trucks that haul ass up the Haul Rd. !!

Check out my Alaska trip write-up for photos and info about the Haul Road.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94776

------------------
Randy L.
San Diego Adventure Riders
www.dualsport-sd.com
'04 KTM 950 Adventure
'95 Ducati E900 Elefant
'00 KTM 640 LC4

[This message has been edited by Rad 900 Duc (edited 13 October 2005).]

__________________
Randy L.
San Diego Adventure Riders
www.dualsport-sd.com
\'04 KTM 950 Adventure
\'95 Ducati E900 Elefant
\'00 KTM 640 LC4

You can do this trip on anything, but I wouldn't enjoy doing it on a cruiser. I made the trip in August of 2005 on a V-strom DL650 with a knobby up front and a Metzlet Tourance rear. I had dry weather and the gravel was as close to perfect as it gets, pretty hard 95% of the ride. This is a complicated trip and you need planning and the right gear. After I crossed Atigun Pass the August temp was in the mid twenties and damp. Rain can change things in a hurry. Accomodations at Deadhorse have to be made in advance - good idea to do the same at the truck stop at Cold Foot. Definitely start with fresh rubber and the ability to at least plug and inflate a tire. Keep gear weight to a minimum and avoid sharp rocks - sure! There's tons of info on different sites about this trip. Read everything. It is a remarkable trip. Check out Alaskarider.com. Phil Freeman is a nice guy who runs tours and rents KLR's and V-Stroms out of Anchorage. If you can convince him you're not a bonehead he might let you take a rental all the way up. good luck

I would agree with what most people have said. You can ride the road on pretty much whatever you like in the summer months. I rode it last year on my KLR, but people do it on all sorts of bikes.

Dont get me wrong, its not the easiest of rides but it is far from being hard even in the wet muddy conditions. The simple answer is go slower when its slippy. Of course you would benifit from adding an agressive tread if possible, but its not vital.

In terms of accomodation in Prudhoe bay, I would be VERY surpirised if you have to book in advance now, as that certainly was not the case last summer. I turned up and they had plenty of rooms available as there is more than one hotel there. I paid $90 for a bed, sharing a room with one of the oil workers. However you DO need to book in advance (unless youre very lucky) for the oil installation tour which will include dipping you big toe in the sea.

Amazing part of the world up there, but in this day and age is really is accessable to almost all types of bike during the summer months.

hope that helps

Si

Hey, if you also want to avoid paying $90 for a room, from leaving Fairbanks, you can camp at Galbraith Lake, ride up to Deadhorse the next day (after having already booked your 'tour' to get to the Arctic), then ride back to Cold Foot. We left Deadhorse about 8pm and rode till about 2am as it never got dark, then free camped again behind the gas station. Strangely, no one actually collected our money for the Deadhorse tour as we arrived there a bit late.

__________________
Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

G,day all
Planning a trip next year to north america on a 990 ktm.
What fuel range is needed and whats the availability of fuel or as you mob call it Gas,
Cheers Motogaz

Ps Got a ktm 640 Adv for sale, fully decked out in Darwin, Australia ...any takers.

__________________
Ride hard,ride safe- Ride on...with no regrets of life passed by.

Where in North America are you planning on going- it's a big place!

A standard 22L tank will be fine for pretty much anywhere you will want to go unless you're doing a lot of remore off road stuff.

__________________
Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Hi Mike ,
Looking at getting over there in May 09 , the rough plan is to do Alaska at the best time of year then head from west to east across Canada, depending where i will ship the bike to , either west or east coast of the US.
So plans are still in the early stages.
Up to Prudhoe bay sounds like my kind of ride , gravel and challenging.
Is this typical of Alaska and that area, and is it possible to do a round trip ride across to barrow then to the south.

__________________
Ride hard,ride safe- Ride on...with no regrets of life passed by.

I am currently on a RTW trip (currently heading north in Panama) and really wanted to dip my toe in the Artic when I get to Alaska this summer. I was interested to read the comment about the Oil Installation tour at Prudhoe Bay, which apparently is the only way to do this?

Any details would be gratefully received,

Cheers,

Honesy.