hello, about one year ago i started to ride a motorcycle. from the first minute on it i was hooked. i could not believe i waited so long to buy a motorcycle. words cannot describe the feeling i get when i'm on my bike, just riding in to nowhere. a couple of months ago, i got the opportunity to quite my job for 3 months. after some short thinking i decided to go to canada and alaska. the 2 country's on my to see list. trying to ship my own bike to canada was to expensive. so with the help from an adv inmate i bought a bike 2003 klr650. i'm flying 5 may to calgary to pick up the bike. normally i'm riding alaska in june and july. from haines to tok, tok to valdez, valdez taking a ferry to whittier, whittier to denali and back to the yukon i'm trying to camp as much as possible to keep the cost low. i'm pretty much a noob (first big trip on a motorcycle) so tips are mor than welcome. nice campsites, place's i must see. would you recommend the ferry crossing from valdez to whittier? somewhere along the trip i'm gonna have to change my chain and sprocket. i'll be carrying one with me but i have never done it before. are there a lot of motorcycle shops along the way that could help me with that? thanks greetings from belgium
try to plan on Dawson for D2D.... June 20 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=830583 there will be plenty of advise on camp spots & sights... I'll start with the 2 biggies.... McCarthy/Kennecot mine & Denali Highway. ferry to Whittier.... meh... maybe. you'll also find help working on your bike pretty much anywhere. we can change the chain in Dawson if need be or do it in Anchorage (800k) if you are coming that way.
I just picked up a KLR650 too, i live in Anchorage, Keep in touch when you get towards Valdez, I will totally meet up with you and keep you company for a bit. Outside of Valdez is the road to McCarthy and the Kennicott mine/Glacier. Google it, really beautiful, its a 60 mile ride down a dirt road, use to be dirt been years since i have been there, But worth a look if your in no particular hurry. And your more than welcome to crash on our couch and use the garage if need be. Cheers, Tony.
+1 on the trip to McCarthy. The ferry to Whittier is well worth it with the wildlife and glaciers. There is a high speed and a low speed ferry so take the slow one to spend more time on the water. Free transit through the Whittier tunnel traveling east to west. From Portage it's a nice 80 miles to Seward. There is a good thread with advice for traveling AK in this section.
+2 on McCarthy and the ferry to Whittier Take your time bring a good camera and a bunch of SD cards And have fun, keep posting and when you get closer we all can meet up
thanks for the advice. do you know how long the slow ferry takes to get to whittier? thanks greetings belgium
Six and a half hours compared to three and a half. Checking the Alaska Marine Highway website will give you lots more info. Happy trails!
Hi, Orignaly from Belgium too (Liege) and will be riding from NC to Dead Horse from June 16th to end of Jully....let see if our roads cross and we will drink few beers and put dead meat on the fire...
hi, i'm in valdez today and taking the ferry to whittier tomorow. anyone got some advice for whittier? just drive trough it or.....? place to go? after the whittier i'm going to seward. gonna drive some backroads in valdes today maybe the kennicot trail. the wheater is just so great, amazing here!!!!
The only way out of Whittier is through a shared railway tunnel. They stagger the openings for vehicle and rail traffic, but it's pretty simple, just don't ride into the railtrack. There really isn't much to see in Whittier, although the Ferry ride should be spectacular if the weather stays nice. Glad you are enjoying the trip. Mike
If you're down around Kenai, I've got a guest cabin if you need a place to stay. (907) 242-0078 cell Greg
Free Camping in Homer. ... Guest shack is empty at the moment... KLR maintenance facilities as well. give a call when you get close to town. . . sent ya a PM with telephone. Cheers.
If you roll in town LATE, and I am closed, you are welcome to park, and pitch tent anywhere around the Full Power shop.. Off Ocean drive, on the way out to the SPIT, it will be on your left, North side of road. little green metal building, yellow sign by the road, Blue ugly dodge flatbed pickup right next to road. . . Try the " Little Mermaid " on the spit for dinner or snack, little tiny shop, boardwalk on the east side of spit. Tell Evin that Full Power sent ya.... . I will look for you in the morning.
Glad that i visited homer. Amazing scenery! Thank you dean and becky for convincing me to come over. Thanks eric for the great salmon. Riding to anchorage today. Loving Alaska. http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=870608
Hannes, was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks again for joining us for dinner and providing the excuse I needed to go "out the road" again. Godspeed on your adventure! Next time you're on for making dessert -Eric. EDIT- You may know this already, but a here's tip I meant to share last night as we were discussing fuel stops... When the KLR "runs out of gas" there's actually still quite a bit trapped in the tank opposite from the petcock. By tipping the bike almost to the ground on its left side, you can slosh that fuel over to the pick up tube side. That'll get you another 15-20 miles (what's that in kilometers?) down the road. After 2x-- maybe 3x-- though, you're truly out of gas.
Thank you Hannes, for the breakfast Bagels from Two Sisters. . Had a bunch of fun chasing you out through the twisty road, and down on the beach. . If you have the time, you might enjoy a ride into HOPE for lunch. . Have fun, and ride safe. maybe we'll cross paths again up North.
Hi, In anchorage now picking up tires and getting ready to head up the artic. For mor updates check this link. Pictures of my trip. http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=870608 Cheers Hannes
Hi, Just got new tires to get me up the dalton and back to calgary. I'm looking for someone that could help me mount the tires. And maybe to balance them. Thanks
