I just completed a round trip from El Paso to Anchorage on a 02 VStrom and thought I would post my experiences with equipment from that trip. I rode with two other riders on GS1150's. First off, both the Strom and the GS's are excellent choices for this trip. We averaged about 400 miles/day after meeting in Bozeman and other then changing the oil in Anchorage, none of the bikes required maintenance. My bike was outfitted with Corbin seat, Jesse bags, Metzler Torrances, and radiator and oil cooler protection from Touratech. The Torrances rocked for the 200 miles of gravel I encountered and lasted until I returned to El Paso. My friends were riding to Prudoe Bay and had outfitted there bikes with knobbies which also worked well but we were seeing a lot of wear by the time we separated in Dawson. They were staying in Alaska for another month and planned on new tires in Anchorage. If anyone is planning on having maintenance done on there bikes in Alaska, book well in advance as the Anchorage Suzuki dealer was booked over 3 weeks ahead. I replaced the chain before leaving El Paso and the new chain did not require adjustment for the entire trip. I lubed the chain every morning and that is basically all the maintenance it required. However, I will be replacing the original sprockets next week (19000 miles on the bike.) Other equipment which worked great for the money: $3 rubber overgloves for riding in the rain from Aerostitch. $10 Throttle rocker. $20 Sheepskin seat cover from Alaska Leathers in Anchorage. (Thanks Barb, my daughter loves the UGHS). $30 Rubber rainsuit. $100 Heavy wool union suit. Wore it every day on the way north. $150 Electric vest. $750 Darien Jacket and Pants As I said before, the Torrances, Jesse bags, and VStrom all worked as advertized and were outstanding choices. Think polypro and wool for undergarments. Don't even think about cotton. I wore light weight polypro under the heavy wool union suit so the itchy feeling from the wool was not a factor. The Darien Jacket and Pants worked great but no one I know in Alaska trusts any Goretex product for more then an afternoon in the rain. It rained and snowed on us for the first four days after leaving Bozeman. The rubber rainsuit over the Darien was perfect. Anyone riding to Alaska should plan on stopping in at Alaska Leathers at the corner of Benson and Artic in Anchorage. Wonderful store, great riding gear selection and of course the wool seat pads. They also offer riders a place to change their oil. (Again, thanks Barb. My wife says she knows you.). I came home via the Alaska ferry. It was an enjoyable trip with great scenery. Passage for myself and bike from Haines to Bellingham was $667 and well worth the money. Take a camera, binoculars and a couple books. If you don't want a cabin, you can camp on the aft deck or toss out a sleeping bag in one of the inside lounges. I rode across the Mojave and thru Arizona enroute from LA to El Paso the last week of June. The high in Phoenix was 103. I wore the full Darien suit with shorts and a tee shirt underneath. Drink lots of water and use evaporative cooling. It works. Only things I did not use but took were camping gear and a walkman. Never felt the need for music and we stayed in motels every night.
now did you bring the camping gear, just in case? In other words were you always planning on staying in hotels or did it just work out that way. Camping gear takes up alot of room and I'm planning a trip to Panama and wonder if its worth it. Thanks,
The thing about waterproof garments which base on a membrane, like Gore-Tex, is that they will eventually freeze when used in cold climates. Ride a motorcycle in the cold and the breeze will freeze the membrane of the garments. When the membrane freezes it stops functioning; moisture gets in and it stops breathing. Good example about this; over in Scandinavia the swedes and norwegians use Gore-Tex membrane to waterproof their combat boots. The finns use old fashion rubber boots with heavy felt lined inside boots. They tested them together during a winter war exercise, and the membrane of the boots the swedes and norwegians used froze and let moisture in, so the soldiers were incapacitated. The rubber boots used by the finns worked as they have worked for the past 50 years, they were excellent. If they get wet you simply remove the felt boot, dry it with your body heat or over a campfire and you can replace it with layers of socks during drying. My current suit bases on a membrane as waterproofing and the only times it has stopped working and started to leak were during late autumn, when riding around zero temps and in rain. The membrane is not Gore-Tex but a similar type and I believe that the Gore-Tex would not work any better. However when buying motorcycle riding gear a waterproof membrane is a must in my opinion, so rarely do I have to buy new ones so no point to start saving then.
XCOM, Show me the proof. I live in northern Wisconsin and have all kinds of footwear. I will put my gortex boots up against my rubber pack boots anyday. bill
