2014 Alcan5000 announced

[Deco]

I have a lot of interest also. I have been mulling this over for several weeks. I need to figure the logistics as well and arrange about a 3 week parole from work.

In the meantime, I can prep bike and body. Add some cool shit to the fat girl and get my lazy ass out there and do some long rides.

[kenaroo]

Originally Posted by Deco

I have a lot of interest also. I have been mulling this over for several weeks. I need to figure the logistics as well and arrange about a 3 week parole from work.

In the meantime, I can prep bike and body. Add some cool shit to the fat girl and get my lazy ass out there and do some long rides.

Hum Deco.. maybe we can get a group from Austin, I'm mulling this over as well 2014 gives me time to plan

[Stinky151]

Not that this really is a great help, but I will probably be hauling my bike out from Great Falls, Mt, on a trailer big enough for a few bikes, plus a pickup bed. If anyone needs to stage their bike out of my place it is always an option. I plan on riding the ferry from anchorage to seattle, and just camping on the deck hopefully. Then the transit back to Montana. Still looking at the details of everything.

Also, beyond the money for the race, gas, and food, what other expenses should I plan on? Trying to get a list together to start saving/raising money for this adventure.

[novaboy]

Originally Posted by Pantah

novaboy - There are several Canadians entered from the east part of the continent. Maybe there is a way to tow a box trailer with all your bikes and gear to Seattle and back. That way you can get some economies. Shipping one way to Seattle on a pallet is about $600.

In 2006 Crankshaft and I both towed coast/coast and back a couple hours apart! There is a possibility of getting space on the sweep trailers from Anchorage back to Seattle too. But it's still a 3.5 day trip trailering or riding...

Thanks Pantah, definitely something I'll look into. We have a little meeting tomorrow to discuss this in greater detail. Possibility of putting a team of 4 together. Now we have to figure a plan out on how to break the news to our better half

With any luck NEWFIE BULLET RACING will be at the next Alcan. In case some of you don't know The Newfie Bullet was what the Newfoundlanders nicknamed the old trains when Newfoundland had a railway, and it wasn't because it was fast. My father said it was so slow on hills he had time to jump off pick some berries on the bogs and jump back on before it crested the hill.

[Dan Alexander]

So far I've got the option of taking my well farkled 650 Dakar or a new to me 1100GS that I'm going over right now. Replacing the clutch and some key bearings but everything else looks good. I'll add a 21" front wheel and a steering damper.

Which bike should I take??

BTW, a buddy has an 800GS that he thinks I should buy and sell the other two.

Thoughts appreciated.

[novaboy]

Originally Posted by Dan Alexander

So far I've got the option of taking my well farkled 650 Dakar or a new to me 1100GS that I'm going over right now. Replacing the clutch and some key bearings but everything else looks good. I'll add a 21" front wheel and a steering damper.

Which bike should I take??

BTW, a buddy has an 800GS that he thinks I should buy and sell the other two.

Thoughts appreciated.

I'm planning on taking a 650, not sure what yet. KTM 690, Husky 650 Terra, BMW or a KLR. From the sounds of things it's mostly dirt this year and will favour a thumper. Although the 800 would be good too. I wouldn't want to be flogging a big 1100-1200 on muddy roads.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by Dan Alexander

So far I've got the option of taking my well farkled 650 Dakar or a new to me 1100GS that I'm going over right now. Replacing the clutch and some key bearings but everything else looks good. I'll add a 21" front wheel and a steering damper.

Which bike should I take??

BTW, a buddy has an 800GS that he thinks I should buy and sell the other two.

Thoughts appreciated.

2004 ALCAN5000 Motorcycle top ten results by machine regardless of class:

BMW F650GS
BMW F650GS
KTM 950A
KTM 950A
BMW 1100GS
Suz DRZ400S
BMW R100GS
Suz DRZ400S
BMW 1100GS
BMW F650GS

2006 ALCAN5000 Motorcycle top ten results by machine regardless of class:

BMW F650GS
BMW F650GS
Suz V-Strom
Suz V-strom
Kaw KLR650
Kaw KLR650
BMW 1200GSA
KTM 640A
KTM 950A
BMW 1100GS

Even though I rode a KTM twin, I think the smaller bikes had an easier time of it in the mud. Some singles had the toughest time in the cold because they couldn't power heated gear. The big bikes probably had a comfort advantage.

Roughly 1700 miles will be on dirt surfaces but for the most part they are groomed and fast. The Blackwater, Kispiox, Canol and Telegraph Creek runs will be more challenging since they can be crude and less maintained. Top-of-World can be anything, as can the Haul Road I think. The Denali was slow and beat up in 2006, but fast and smooth in 2010. We should have considerable rain, since it always seems to when we get north. For mud I imagine the tires will be more important than the machine.

[Deadly99]

Originally Posted by Pantah

2004 ALCAN5000 Motorcycle top ten results by machine regardless of class:

BMW F650GS
BMW F650GS
KTM 950A
KTM 950A
BMW 1100GS
Suz DRZ400S
BMW R100GS
Suz DRZ400S
BMW 1100GS
BMW F650GS

2006 ALCAN5000 Motorcycle top ten results by machine regardless of class:

BMW F650GS
BMW F650GS
Suz V-Strom
Suz V-strom
Kaw KLR650
Kaw KLR650
BMW 1200GSA
KTM 640A
KTM 950A
BMW 1100GS

Even though I rode a KTM twin, I think the smaller bikes had an easier time of it in the mud. Some singles had the toughest time in the cold because they couldn't power heated gear. The big bikes probably had a comfort advantage.

Roughly 1700 miles will be on dirt surfaces but for the most part they are groomed and fast. The Blackwater, Kispiox, Canol and Telegraph Creek runs will be more challenging since they can be crude and less maintained. Top-of-World can be anything, as can the Haul Road I think. The Denali was slow and beat up in 2006, but fast and smooth in 2010. We should have considerable rain, since it always seems to when we get north. For mud I imagine the tires will be more important than the machine.

I hummed and hawed this and ended up buying an 1150GS for this trip. Comfort to me is crucial The mileage to get home (for me Anchorage to home is 6500 kms) and mileage to get to start ( for me its 4200 kms). So sitting on a bike for almost 20, 000 kilometers...ya I want to be as comfortable as possible. Perhaps this means giving up some stability in the muddy section, so be it. I'm hoping a 21 inch front (Dunlop 606) and a 18 inch rear (Dunlop 908) will make a big difference.

Bike currently has 170, 000 km on the odometer..

20 more months to save $, prep the bike and bank vacation time

[Deco]

Originally Posted by kenaroo

Hum Deco.. maybe we can get a group from Austin, I'm mulling this over as well 2014 gives me time to plan

pm sent...

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by Deadly99

I hummed and hawed this and ended up buying an 1150GS for this trip. Comfort to me is crucial The mileage to get home (for me Anchorage to home is 6500 kms) and mileage to get to start ( for me its 4200 kms). So sitting on a bike for almost 20, 000 kilometers...ya I want to be as comfortable as possible. Perhaps this means giving up some stability in the muddy section, so be it. I'm hoping a 21 inch front (Dunlop 606) and a 18 inch rear (Dunlop 908) will make a big difference.

Bike currently has 170, 000 km on the odometer..

20 more months to save $, prep the bike and bank vacation time

Yeah, you are planning a whole lot of seat time!

The main thing is going to be a good DOT front knobby for thr nothern part of it and a decent lasting rear D/S tire like a Scout or Mefo. You won't have an issue and if you flop in the mud you'll have plenty of friends to help pick her up.

My riding buddy has a KLR and we do some long dirt road trips together. I told him I was planning on riding my 250 because it was fast enough to make the transits in time. He laughed and said;"Right, you're gunna' ride that thing 500 miles per day?..."

Jeepers, he's onto something there I think.

[AceRph]

I trucked my bike to Seattle in 2006 & ran fresh TKCs on my 1150GSA. They worked great. Changed them out in Anchorage w/ fresh Tourances for the ride home.

In 2010, I ran a 1200GSA hack that we trucked to the start. I ran a Heidenau K37 tube tire on the front which handled the dirt well and car tires on the pusher & hack.

You'll notice that my 1150 is not listed in the top 10 for 2006.

Truthfully I joked about the folks working like mad to arrange their route sheets and time keeping stuff on my 1st Alcan. After a few days, I figured out what & why they were working so hard each evening when the next day's route was released and started to work on my own sheets. It was a lot of fun, especially when you got a good TSD result.

Yesterday, my daughter said she would really like to do the rally again. I'm stoked!

[novaboy]

Anyone have any good ways on how to practice riding timed routes?

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by novaboy

Anyone have any good ways on how to practice riding timed routes?

My plan is to get the club to email me one TSD on a roadbook from an earlier event. I'll then plot a route locally maybe 15 miles long using the same format and data points.

When I get my ICO I'll program the route instructions into it and then go out and ride it with an exact start time and so forth.

If I was doing it manual, I would use a TSD alegebra calculator to solve for time at each route instruction and note it on my roadbook. The calculators are on the web.

The winners in 2006 practiced for months to get it down. I think the manual entry winners did too.

Since I can't really ride much over the winter, I'll wait till Spring.

[Deadly99]

Useful info on TSD rally and how it works...or I found it useful

LINK

[Wild Man]

Just faxed in the paperwork for 2014!

Had to pull out of participating in 2010 due to work but I'm not going to let that happen this time.

Come on ALCAN