The Ultimate Canol Thread:

[windquest]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

"Now if only somebody made a 175 with the balance of a Trials Bike and the carrying capacity of a GS..."

you are describing a Rokon, ( ok maybe not that balance part) 172cc, 45 liters of fuel, 208 lbs, you still need more fuel though.
http://www.rokon.com/products/trailbrkr.htm
dealer in PG, plus they float.

what ever you decide to ride, test it in similar slow speed conditions for mileage. ive never rode anything like this but I have done week long trips, mostly in 2nd gear, barely getting to third as it was slow tight riding , mileage went straight to hell. granted it was a 650 but small bore may lose mpg as well.

acerbis made a 6 gal tank for a wr250f, kick and e start. just a thought. or that tank on a 125. or .. the Rokon

A Rockon is an interesting idea, I noticed that it has a top speed of 56km/hr. Problem is we intend to ride all the way from Calgary, AB to the Canol and back which requires lots of 100km/hr roads, about 4000km... I would seriously consider such a bike if we were only riding the Canol and nothing else...

[El Birdo]

I am so in. This is Awesome !! Is this plan for next year ??? How about those Kawasaki Sherpa's, fab up some big tanks for em'. I think they have pretty sweet gas mileage. So a raft for each bike?

Maybe you need a third bike to share the gear weight and $$ for heli

I love it !

[El Birdo]

Super sherpa gets 76 mpg.....or maybe a tw200. 94 mpg 278lbs wet. I've seen them with front racks for hunting.

[windquest]

Originally Posted by El Birdo

I am so in. This is Awesome !! Is this plan for next year ??? How about those Kawasaki Sherpa's, fab up some big tanks for em'. I think they have pretty sweet gas mileage. So a raft for each bike?

Maybe you need a third bike to share the gear weight and $$ for heli

I love it !

Robin, we are tentatively looking at the summer of 2013 or the summer of 2014. Seems like a long time but I think that time will fly and there is a lot of stuff to work out on this one!

I hadn't thought about the sherpa's or tw200's. I had been thinking about a wr250r... if anyone can come up with any other ideas for which bike might be good please comment here.

The raft in the picture would only be used to get the bikes 320km north along the Mackenzie river from Wrigley, nwt to Norman Wells, nwt. Then only the floats would be kept for the Canol portion to cross rivers. The framing etc would be shipped back to Calgary, AB.

Jason

[Pig-Pen]

I freind of mine rode the Canol pretty much as far as you can go on a bike. That was about 10years ago though, so things will no doubt have changed since then...and likely deteriorated.

Here's the link to his website. Click on Yukon and the NWT link to see pics and descriptions of what you'll run into further up.

http://motorcycleexplorer.com/

It's on my short list of roads to ride next time I get up there.

[windquest]

Originally Posted by KTMike

I freind of mine rode the Canol pretty much as far as you can go on a bike. That was about 10years ago though, so things will no doubt have changed since then...and likely deteriorated.

Here's the link to his website. Click on Yukon and the NWT link to see pics and descriptions of what you'll run into further up.

http://motorcycleexplorer.com/

It's on my short list of roads to ride next time I get up there.

Thanks for the info KTMike, I've linked the website on the first page along with the other links about the Canol.

[aquadog]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

"Now if only somebody made a 175 with the balance of a Trials Bike and the carrying capacity of a GS..."

you are describing a Rokon, ( ok maybe not that balance part) 172cc, 45 liters of fuel, 208 lbs, you still need more fuel though.
http://www.rokon.com/products/trailbrkr.htm
dealer in PG, plus they float.

You have sooo dated yourself - or is it just me that remembers these things in Popular Mechanics decades ago? Nevertheless, a really interesting option for the Trail part...

[B.C.Biker]

Was going to suggest a Rokon earlier , but it sounded to me like the OPs were set on riding from Alberta . Imo the Rokon would be the weapon of choice. Two wheel drive , lots of carrying capacity and it floats. Would solve some problems for sure . But it would not be a " dualsport " ride , depends what you want I guess. One could also check out the conversion kits to turn some of the old trikes into bikes. The old Honda 200s come to mind . The "sportier" model. Real cheap to run and rough trail capable but not road legal of course . Which ever bike , I can predict at least one worn out come-a-long !

[HighwayChile]

yeah those rokon's are old , like me
I'd go with the 175/200 or even smaller. mpg & light weight is most important, IMHO ( but its your trip ) the bike should be for the northern part not the transit to it, a 125 can get there,granted will take a little longer from edmonton but a TTR125 say, ( if you can get it street tagged), 45kg less, way better mileage, steel frame makes it easier to modify & build up for added weight of fuel, gear etc. then a WR250
too bad the XR200 isnt around, even an rebuilt IT175 ( or the like) 2 strokes are easier to clean out from a water dunk, although you probably wont find a clean one outside of a museum and 2 stks get worse mpg.
the guy that I posted that has rode back out from norman wells is a guide up there, somewhere.

[aquadog]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

the guy that I posted that has rode back out from norman wells is a guide up there, somewhere.

As I recall, that was the fellow who used a tiny bike, did it over two years (end of season), with a fuel/food drop? Which probably says quite a lot about difficulty, since that's the only successful motorcycle trip I've heard of.

[windquest]

Originally Posted by B.C.Biker

Was going to suggest a Rokon earlier , but it sounded to me like the OPs were set on riding from Alberta . Imo the Rokon would be the weapon of choice. Two wheel drive , lots of carrying capacity and it floats. Would solve some problems for sure . But it would not be a " dualsport " ride , depends what you want I guess. One could also check out the conversion kits to turn some of the old trikes into bikes. The old Honda 200s come to mind . The "sportier" model. Real cheap to run and rough trail capable but not road legal of course . Which ever bike , I can predict at least one worn out come-a-long !

You are correct that we are riding from Alberta, I agree that a Rockon or similar bike would be the ideal choice for the North Canol. The only problem is that the bikes would have to be shipped at least as far as Wrigley, NWT and shipped from Ross River back to Calgary. This would also eliminate 2/3 of the riding that would occur on the trip, and add a huge cost to ship the bikes. if money and time had no limits, we would ride 2 different bikes each on the trip and and set up multiple helicopter supply drops to minimize gear required. Inevitably we don't have that kind of time or money to do a trip like this, and I think it would probably take away from the uniqueness, difficulty, and shear "aloneness" that this trip can offer.

[windquest]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

yeah those rokon's are old , like me
I'd go with the 175/200 or even smaller. mpg & light weight is most important, IMHO ( but its your trip ) the bike should be for the northern part not the transit to it, a 125 can get there,granted will take a little longer from edmonton but a TTR125 say, ( if you can get it street tagged), 45kg less, way better mileage, steel frame makes it easier to modify & build up for added weight of fuel, gear etc. then a WR250
too bad the XR200 isnt around, even an rebuilt IT175 ( or the like) 2 strokes are easier to clean out from a water dunk, although you probably wont find a clean one outside of a museum and 2 stks get worse mpg.
the guy that I posted that has rode back out from norman wells is a guide up there, somewhere.

Thanks for the interesting ideas. In my very quick look at the fuel economy of street legal bikes in the 200-250cc ranged from 27-33km/L. There was no clear improvement of fuel consumption as engine size decreased, likely due to the fact that the motor has to work harder than the larger displacement motor. Also on this note, 2-strokes are definetly out due to their poor fuel economy, we'll never be able to pack enough fuel for a bike getting 25mpg or less...
Durability and reliability are also top priority for our choice of bike, smaller bikes like the XR200 has smaller suspension components etc, that make it lighter but in our case may not be able to take abuse of the entire Canol.

keep the ideas flowing...

[windquest]

Originally Posted by aquadog

As I recall, that was the fellow who used a tiny bike, did it over two years (end of season), with a fuel/food drop? Which probably says quite a lot about difficulty, since that's the only successful motorcycle trip I've heard of.

I heard that he went east to west. Not sure what river it was but he dumped the bike when his raft failed or flipped(not sure). I heard that he had to do quite the field repair to get the water out. I think he either got a plane ride or helicopter ride out that season, leaving the bike behind. He was flown in the next summer to where he had stopped and continued on successfully. pretty crazy story... If anyone has better or more accurate information about this guy it would be much appreciated.

[aquadog]

In terms of a smaller bike, I was mostly thinking about weight and the ability to man-handle it through some sections, but you make a good point about durability, particularly under heavy loads. The Field & Stream blog on the ATV trip has just started with the first post, at: http://www.fieldandstream.com/adventurer

You'll catch a quick teaser glimpse of Jim swimming one of the small rivers, which starts to give you an idea of the crossings. He's wearing a dry suit, and is a very experienced paddler so knows how to pick his spot. You can see that there will be many more posts to follow, as there has been for the snowmobile trip, so keep checking and you'll see some trail as far as they got. Remember, they got stopped at the Twitya due to high and dangerous water conditions, the Carcajou and Little Keele were still to come.

The raft they built is not what I would have done, but they were on a strict budget, got the tube (POS) cheap, and were into the whole "build it in the wilderness" thing, which suits the F&S audience. It did work, but was heavy and time consuming. At some point in this blog, you'll probably see the video of a quad with only a handlebar stub and bit of headlight (sideways) projecting above the water. Complete fluid change to follow, after winching it out. There is quite a bit of difference between a personal trip, guided trip, or a magazine venture such as this - they were also on a strict time budget, as he had to get to the next adventure, so couldn't wait forever for water levels to drop, not that they did this year...

[windquest]

Originally Posted by aquadog

In terms of a smaller bike, I was mostly thinking about weight and the ability to man-handle it through some sections, but you make a good point about durability, particularly under heavy loads. The Field & Stream blog on the ATV trip has just started with the first post, at: http://www.fieldandstream.com/adventurer

You'll catch a quick teaser glimpse of Jim swimming one of the small rivers, which starts to give you an idea of the crossings. He's wearing a dry suit, and is a very experienced paddler so knows how to pick his spot. You can see that there will be many more posts to follow, as there has been for the snowmobile trip, so keep checking and you'll see some trail as far as they got. Remember, they got stopped at the Twitya due to high and dangerous water conditions, the Carcajou and Little Keele were still to come.

The raft they built is not what I would have done, but they were on a strict budget, got the tube (POS) cheap, and were into the whole "build it in the wilderness" thing, which suits the F&S audience. It did work, but was heavy and time consuming. At some point in this blog, you'll probably see the video of a quad with only a handlebar stub and bit of headlight (sideways) projecting above the water. Complete fluid change to follow, after winching it out. There is quite a bit of difference between a personal trip, guided trip, or a magazine venture such as this - they were also on a strict time budget, as he had to get to the next adventure, so couldn't wait forever for water levels to drop, not that they did this year...

aquadog, thanks for the link,
It was a neat video of the carnage to come! I agree with you that their raft design was not ideal. I initially though about using trees etc, but quickly came to the conclusion that cutting the few trees down out there just wasn't right, and it would take more time and tools to use. Also each new crossing would require a complete rebuild with new material. You said they got stuck at the Twitya river, is thata the biggest? What would you say the order of those 3 rivers would be comparing the Twitya, Carcajou, and Little Keele in size/difficulty?

I found a company in Florida, USA that makes tuff inlfatable fenders,http://www.prostockmarine.com/ they are assembled using a welding technique and come with a 5 yr warranty which is the longest ive seen so far. Best part is that they will custom make any size you want as they make ones big enough to be used on super yachts of over 100'. Im still waiting on a quote to see how much they'll cost but based on similar sized fenders they build stock, were looking at abouut $350US per float. So about $700/bike to float down the Mackenzie river.

I'd love to find something that costs less, but i really dont' want to skimp out on something so vital to the success of this trip... oh, the size Im looking at right now is 18" diameter, 96" length which provides about 891 lbs of boyancy per tube so 1782lbs per raft. At the estimated weight of our gear, bikes and us, that means that only about a 1/3 of the float will be submerged on the Mackenzie river portion.
Jason