I'm also preparing for June 2013 Alaska ride. My tire plan is to mount up a fresh set of Heidenau K60 Scouts which should last the entire ride based on what I read on the web. Also Group 4 synthetic oil which I plan on running the entire trip. Even though there are many places for tires and maintainence, any work and scheduling I can avoid is just one less thing to deal with.

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2012 650A
1996 GL 1500 Goldwing

A deputy who recently retired after 30 years was a part time truck driver all that time. He pulled up in his semi for his first and only trip into Canada, when asked if he possessed any firearms he blurted out that he was just carrying his service revolver. He told me that faster than he could blink, he was pulled out and went face down on the ground. After hours of checking he was turned around at the border and told never to come back to Canada. Don't think he really wanted to anyway. Got a write up for taking departmental property out of the country.


"If they as much as suspect that a person OWNS a handgun even with though it is left at home I'll bet they'll turn him back just on the suspicion that he is
a crazed and violent Yankee gunslinger."

Crazed and violent Yankee Gunslinger - LOL

I apologize for the multiple redundancies.

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2007 DL650
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" -- Harry M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

We are heading up,leaving Seattle on June 20th 2013.we have about 20 days to Deadhorse and back,hope to see some of you on the trip!!.


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1982 GS850..BLACK SUNSHINE,the tripod
2007 DL996AR..BRUTUS
Ah screw it,I'm goin ridin !!!!!!!!

Planning my retirement trip up in July 2014. Hope you guys will post some reports so I can learn from your experience. Ride safe and enjoy!

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2011 DL 650

So here's my list.

We are riding up on my 2007 V and my wifes 1994 GS500.

The GS..
Bark Busters,this for falls and bracing For bar mitts
Bar mitts
Heated grips
50 cal ammo cans for panniers,also make great crash bars.
2 gallon gas can holder on rear rack.
Small fairing,with headlight guard.
Wrapped header pipes and alum plate attached to keep rocks a stuff from pounding the engine.
Shinko 705's,plus spare rear.
New brake pads F/R


Vstrom
New chain and sprockets
New brake pads F/R
Shinko 705's,plus spare rear
2 gallon RotoPax
Skid plate
Already have hippo hands
PC,(I give in!!)
New rear shock (about time)
Clutch mod ( again,about time!!)
Maybe heated grips


Tools and sparers

Tire plugger,17"&19" tubes,slime compressor,2 9" irons and 1 16" iron
Basic tools
Zip ties,rescue tape,assorted small hose clamps.
Small amount of elec wire,small multi meter.
1 quart of oil

We are planning on staying in hotels/motels but might take camping gear for emergencies..


2 pair small vice grips,for tire changes









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1982 GS850..BLACK SUNSHINE,the tripod
2007 DL996AR..BRUTUS
Ah screw it,I'm goin ridin !!!!!!!!

What Strompilot said. With an added caveat - Anyone who predicts the weather up here is a liar. Don't have a schedule and let the weather push you around. Too much to do in one trip so go where the weather is nice (er). Anything big and furry has the right of way but IMHO the bears in YT are much cuter. Ours are big floppy and slovenly - tourists are hard to digest properly.
But our moose are beautiful.

One SMALL advantage I may have over someone coming up from the southern US is that I live in Seattle and our weather is almost as unpredicable as Alaska's and I ride year round everyday and atleast 4-5 months are in heavy rain !!.


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1982 GS850..BLACK SUNSHINE,the tripod
2007 DL996AR..BRUTUS
Ah screw it,I'm goin ridin !!!!!!!!

My trip across the Denali Hwy:

One week earlier from fellow inmate

This months "RoadRUNNER" Magazine features a small advertisement for a book that is focused on nothing but Alaska. Can't remember who wrote it, it was co-authored, but it looked to be quite a good source of info. Hope this helps.

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2009 DL650 'Prime Mover'

"It is better to live alone in the desert than with a nagging wife" - Proverbs 21:19

Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners.
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water. - Jeff Buckley, 1994

http://photobucket.com/mid-life-crisis-tour