Let's see. My GPS was worthless for fuel stops in remote areas.. It basically told me there was no gas between, oh, I don't know, Fort Nelson, BC and Whitehorse, YT. It was never right. I don't think we ever saw more than 160 miles between stops. But yeah, once you get up north past, say, Price George/Fort St John (BC) area on the Alcan, stop for gas every time you get a shot, more or less. It's easy to feel out. A couple of times we saw "no gas next 140 miles" signs which made us turn around and get gas. Only to find a gas station halfway into that 140. But it's better safe than sorry. Once that happened to us once or twice, we realized it was the time to start filling up at EVERY station. Longest stretch I remember was between somewhere between Watson Lake and Teslin. We were REALLY boogieing, and I limped into Teslin, 160 miles on the odo, with an empty tank.
Other than, of course, on the Dalton, which is another story. There's a stop 10mi north of Fairbanks, another stop near the Yukon river, then Coldfoot, then Deadhorse. But don't count on gas between Fairbanks and Coldfoot or Coldfoot and Deadhorse, as I mentioned earlier, about 250 mi at a stretch.
If the BMW 1200s are Adventures with the massive tanks, just bring a siphon
Bash plate is a great idea. I heard and saw many large stones bounce off of it. Odds are they wouldn't have taken my oil filter off. But maybe they would have. Why risk it? It'll be a REALLY REALLY expensive tow in most places. I had crash bars. Again, cheap protection that I didn't use. Until I dropped the bike in the hotel parking lot 250 miles from home on the return!
We didn't carry bear protection. Not saying that was a good way to go, just saying. If you want to buy bear spray, but it as soon as you cross the border into Canada, that way you know it's the legal stuff. Or just search on the internet for what's legal and what's not. Needs to say bear spray. Can't be something meant for personal defense (against other humans). Even though it's all basically the same stuff. Maybe it's about the specific ingredient. Anyway, kinda weird.
I used very little cash in Canada. Went from SF to most of the way thru BC, with $1 US in my wallet. Also, not something you'd plan on doing, but I did it, so hey. Ended up spending all $100CDN once I took it out though. On the way back thru Canada (Cassier and a trip thru Victoria) I took out $200CDN and used only $60. Oops. But yeah, it's always good to have cash.
People say to go in July or August -- warmer months, fewer bugs.
We went in mid june-early July, yeah there were lots of mosquitos in some places, bring 100% deet, but it was not as bad as I even saw once at Crater Lake. Worst were at Muncho Lake BC, and start of the Dalton. When skeeters are bad, just keep your helmet on and the visor down. Weather was rain all thru BC (but an unseasonably wet summer for the west coast, everyone was complaining it NEVER rains like that in their town at this time of year). Alaska was mostly sunny and warm, hit 90 degrees in Fairbanks. Just read an RR of a guy who saw 42 degrees F near Homer, AK; it was 60 there when we went 6 weeks ago!
So the real story is, conditions are variable, weather is variable. Plan for the worst. You WILL get rained on, all day, at least once. Maybe for many days. Handguards, heated grips, wet weather gear, all a necessity or near-necessity. Heated vest/jacket liner wouldn't be a bad idea, but i did without, even 42 degrees, even in the rain with leaking boots. Yeah, I got cold
May/June sounds really early. I'd worry about snow in the mountains in some places.
I forgot about the flags on the road. Yeah, seriously, especially in Canada. I didn't even FEEL some of the ripples in the road for which they put up warning flags. I have worst divots in my driveway. Jumping off frost heaves is FUN if you're prepared! Trucks are crawling over them, and we're getting airborne blowing by 'em in the opposite lane.
