I'll probably need to replace tires in Alaska this summer. What's the best option, call shops to check on stock once I get there, pre-order from a particular shop, order from a tire seller on line and have them shipped to a shop in Alaska? I'll be needing a 100/90-19 and a 130/90-16 touring tires which are pretty common.
When I was in AK last year I had a horrible time trying to find tires for my Honda XR650L. Nobody in Anchorage, Eagle River, or the Mat-Su valley had any in stock that would fit. To make matters worse the only place I could find that would ship tires up there was J.C. Whitney and they wanted to charge an extra $50.00 for an international shipping charge. I ended up having the Harley dealer in Wasilla order some tires for me and it took about 2 weeks to get them. Also, plan on installing them yourself unless you want to pay $60 per tire to let one of the local tires shops install them. The Harley dealer wouldn't put mine on because my bike wasn't a Harley. My advice, find a dealer that carriers your bike (if you let me know what kind of bike you have I can recommend some places) and call them to see if they have tires in stock. If not have them order about two weeks prior to when you plan on needing them. You will probably have to do a credit card over the phone to get them to order them. Also, plan on it costing about 20-30% more than what you would pay in the lower 48 for the same tire.
Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like it might be better to find some tires that will last the whole trip and put a set on just before leaving. Any suggestions on the longest lasting tires available? I figure the trip will be 8K to 9K miles total. The bike is an 81 GL500 Interstate so the riding will be mostly pavement and light gravel.
I hear good things about these for long distance road travel. http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/distanzia
get in touch with Alaska Leather, you can preorder your tires and pick em up them . located in Anchorage
Try the Michelin commander 2's. You get 20,000 miles out of a 130/16 rear and over 25,000 miles out of the same size front on a loaded hd bagger.
That's exactly what I'm going to do. If they go that far they are surely the most cost effective tire to use.
Rode my f650gs to AK.last summer on Kenda761 tires,11,129mi.round trip,been to N.C.Smokey mnts twice+other short trips,14-15,000mi.on them&still have rubber left.The guy that went with me to AK. put a rear tire on at BMW dealer in Achorage,good selection there,they sell&work on other brands also,he was on a MotoGussi.I left Ms.on new Kendas,didn't worry about it
+1 I can't speak highly enough of Alaska Leather. Last summer we ran into an issue with one of the tires on one of the bikes needing replacement unexpectantly. We rolled up and we were sorted and back on the road in under an hour. They will mount and balance the tire, but you have to pull and install the wheels yourselves. Great people, great shop.
+1 on these guys.....great service and when they say 24/7 support they mean!!! You roll in there late and they will still do your service so you can keep going or get going first thing. I can't say enough good about Dan and Shawn!!!!!
I had a great experience with the guys at Adventure Cycleworks in Fairbanks--recommend them heartily. They even pressure-washed my bike, my gear, and me after I came back covered in mud from the Dalton. You can ship tires ahead to them, I believe. I also recommend stopping by Creamer's Field if you're on the way to that shop--it's a series of farm fields just out of town that hosts lots of nifty migrating birds in the summer. Bunch of sandhill cranes when I was there, very cool to watch them. I didn't plan ahead for tires very well, and ended up buying the last set of knobbies in town from Alaska Leather, then having Todd at Alaska ATV Salvage install them. The install was a great deal--$20/tire, wheels off the bike. He also found an aluminum welder to weld the busted bracket on my oil cooler. Bet you could ship tires to him, too. http://www.yelp.com/biz/alaska-atv-salvage-eagle-river There's even a pizza place around the corner, you can have lunch while you wait. So if I were in Fairbanks, I'd go to Adventure Cycleworks, if near Anchorage I'd go to Alaska ATV Salvage. In either case I'd ship tires ahead well in advance.
