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North America Topics specific to Canada and USA/Alaska only.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #16  
Old 5 Oct 2008
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Thanks folks for all this input! So on balance it would seem to be generally ok for a thumper in the asphalt expanses of the West - i realised this would, in fact, be the eventual conclusion (witness the klr brigade doing their thing all the time there...). It's just the (slow) getting inbetween the interesting bits on hundreds of miles of hardtop without making massive detours which a limited timescale demands. So it's map-scouring time to reduce Interstate time, he he
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  #17  
Old 5 Oct 2008
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In the Mountains, my klr does just fine. The speeds are ususally about 60 mph. The gas mileage is better that 56 miles per gallon (us). Even fully loaded, I never have had trouble hitting 80 mph when necessary (as in "almost never"). Although several folks have crossed canada on their klr's with no problem at all, if I were to do that east to west trip on the trans canada, I probably would look at a DL650 (the 401 traffic in southern ontario runs stupid speeds). If you are looking mostly at the west (mountains), the big singles are more than adequate and probably more fun. My trip from Calgary to and about vancouver island covered 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles)in 5 days. All on a 2002 klr 650. No problem at all. The only time I had to pass a car was up hill. Like I said: fully loaded the klr hit 80 mph with no problem.

Peace,
Narly
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  #18  
Old 5 Oct 2008
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Otherwise night riding is a pleasure if you are set up for it.
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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!
Last edited by mollydog; 24 Mar 2009 at 21:50.
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  #19  
Old 15 Oct 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pottsy View Post
Is a single cylinder bike suitable for a tour of the West US/Canada. I ask this (silly?) question as the mileages between the areas i'm likely to be interested in are that much further than those of my Euro trip, and on much straighter roads.
There's a way to find out. I see in Wikipedia that the 1A highway in the UK is 409 miles end to end. If you are travelling in the US or Canada, that would be a relaxed (one) day's ride. So if you were touring, you would be riding this distance every day, and you would be riding it on highways or motorways, at steady speed of say 65-70 mph or 110-120 kph plus. So if you can ride your bike from London to Glasgow and back on a weekend and still be smiling, your bike will suit typical NA touring.

That's assuming are doing 'typical' riding of course, but no matter what kind or riding you do, you will likely be riding much longer distances per day than you are used to. I met a Swiss guy just outside of Yellowknife who was riding a bicycle across Canada, so anything is possible.
As you can see from the attached link, singles are OK, but I haveta admit that sometimes a gold wing might be nice as well!
nwt_trip
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