Essential; non essential and nice to have gear traveling to Ak. on your M/C

PGlaves said:

I will only address the essential gear - nice to have is too subjective. Which is better; a GPS or a camera? Take your personal pick.

Essential Gear

Good riding gear good for temperatures from the 20s to the 90s. We saw both of those on one trip.

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Good rain gear. We saw one day of rain plus one other where we hunkered down for a day in a nice campground. But we know people who have ridden in several to many days of rain.

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The Milepost Book. It explains everything about where you are - as you go.

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Tire repair kit for your bike (patches or plugs and maybe spare tubes) plus a quality air pump. Do NOT think you can rely on CO2 cartridges unless you bring 10 or 20. I have used three just to find the puncture.

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A spare headlight bulb.

mechanic is putting together a "kit" what he'd take for that stuff, bulbs are included: Check

Tools sufficient to remove and replace wheels; remove spark plugs; and tighten rattled loose fasteners. Which tools depends on which bike, and the rider's mechanical skill level. Within reason more is better.


Check, not me but one of the other two mechanics his and mine himself and is bringing what we'll need: Check

Credit cards and a debit card - or a whole lot of cash.

Check, how much cash do you suggest for 4-5 weeks?

And the absolute most important thing: TIME Plan on enough days to enjoy yourself. Given the spacing of the towns and facilities along the Alcan and Cassier highways you may be stuck with about 300 mile or 550 to 600 mile days - depending on the time of year and seasonal businesses opening and closing. Add a day or two or more for down time. We were camped one night where the forecast was for rain the next day. There were four other BMW riders there. We decided to sit out the next day and get caught up on photos and the internet and such. We stayed for one day and had dry riding. The other riders who left us that morning had a tight schedule and had to move on. They told us they rode in five straight days of rain when we later met up with them in Dawson City.

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brownie0486 said:

Come on, you had to have taken stuff you never used or feel you wouldn't take/wouldn't need the next time up there. I'm trying to remain as light on threads as possible so any suggestions are appreciated.

B

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akbeemer said:

Been back and forth many times, used to live in Fairbanks.

A head net and good bug repellent.

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Check with your cell phone carrier for charges you may incur for calls, texts and data. It can get real expensive.

I have an unlimited plan, but I'll call them today and find out, thanks

Do you have medical coverage in Canada?

No, I don't think you can get covered in Canada with their free system

Get a good tow plan. One that tows you a 1-200 miles will not help. There are places on the Cassiar, for example, where you will be 1100 miles or more from a BMW dealer. I suggest the Allstate RV plan.

Hm, I have 3 plans, but I'll look into the Allstate RV info, thanks

No handguns in Canada.

I wouldn't attempt to try to cross with one, though I've got a few that would be perfect for the trip like the Alaskan 44mag.

Do not just take a tire repair kit, know how to and practice using it.

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If you plan to have a service done on your bike in Alaska then plan to do it yourself or make the reservation now. The shops up there are very busy and deal with major issues first.

Reservations are made for tires in Fairbanks, he said call two weeks before arriving to order the tires I want, plan to leave it there all day. Take the bags off, and have it washed.

Have a plan for tire management. If you plan to change tires then make a reservation and reserve the tires you want. Fairbanks: Adventure Cycle Works or Trail’s End BMW. Anchorage: Alaska Leather or The Motorcycle Shop.

See above

Bear spray is okay for crossing the borders. Must be labeled as for use for wildlife.

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Pauls1150 said:

No such thing as too many tools as long as you have the room & skills. Start with what's necessary to strip and reassemble the bike for a basic service and build from there. Addition to the list: an oil funnel (or reasonable facsimile thereof).

Bring a couple of different types of tire repair kits - you may have a teenie pinhole, or a big ol' gash.

Bringing a tube for the front which I'm told can work in emergencies for the rear, tube liner as I spoked wheels

You're on "vacation" ... leave the watch. With all those gizmos, it might not survive the, umm, hardships.

Watch goes, it's on whenever I leave the house, and it will survive the nastiest of falls of crud/mud, it's a G shock mudmaster made this type of environment and getting nasty. I use it all the time on SAR rescues in the mountains for it's functions while others have to get into their packs for the equipment like compass, elevation readers etc.

Tell your credit card issuers that you will be on a road trip, so they don't get suspicious of out-of-the-ordinary daily charges.

Have that on the list to do just before I leave, along with shut off the water to the house, a/c set higher etc, thanks

Put your passport into a freezer ziplock (stronger than the standard ones) and keep it inside your main jacket.

Passport, c/c's, licenses/ID's will be in waterproof pouch and always on me, along with the cash [ but in another waterproof pouch ].

Maybe it was Consumer Reports who recently had a review of bug sprays - Deet came out on top; be aware that it may damage synthetic materials

Two bottle of 40% going along with permethrin and a thermacell for inside the tent.,

While I have seen bears, and they certainly are not scared of mere humans, they're not very interested in us unless you get too close, mama has cubs, or you smell like food.

Cheap insurance in camp, likely won't ever need it, but it's like a firearm. If you don't have it, you can't use it when you really really need it.

Some people carry first-aid kits. I carry those little sealed alcohol wipes; I'm of the school that it's either small enough that a piece of duct tape will fix it, or large enough to find real help.

I'm wilderness first responder certified SAR member already so the advanced kit goes with me when I'm outside an hour of emergency med care [ defined as wilderness in the Superstition Mtns ]. Trained to keep people alive until real help arrives, including myself. Knowledge is more useful than the gear but without the gear, the knowledge won't help in many instances.

Heated jacket liner, good long johns... it can get pretty cold any time of year. If you ride in the rain, gloves get soaked; bring extras.


3 pair gloves, light mesh for good weather, leather for cooler weather and winter gloves for the obvious [ with aerostitch waterproof gauntlet over gloves that fit over the leathers and thinsulate cold weather gloves. I hope that's enough.

The "similar threads" link may add some info, as could the Ride Reports.

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Pauls1150 said:

re the tube - a front tube may not safely expand enough to fill the rear; bring a rear and maybe use it up front?

(otherwise - excellent replies! )

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skibum69 said:

One of each tube if you have room is obviously the best.

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PGlaves said:

I absolutely agree (and I forgot to mention) Bear Attack Deterrent Spray in a properly labeled container. Ours is the size of a small fire extinguisher and will spray 30 feet.

The first time I bought this stuff the instructions were scant, so I jokingly asked Voni, "Am I supposed to spray this at the bear, or on myself because bears don't like pepper on their meat?"

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Omega Man said:

Really nice toilet paper and Wet Ones.
OM

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