Tuktoyaktuk

[mechahayai]

A buddy of mine wants to make a trip up to Tuk. He'll be leaving from Denver. I'm thinking of meeting him along the way. I'd like to do as much as I can on the NT. Is anyone familiar with someone who has ridden this route on a road bike? I've found lots of ADV bike videos on YT, but have yet to find one that gives a good account of the roads. I know a lot of it will be dirt/gravel. The plan is to join my buddy in his Tacoma if the road gets too bad, but knowing myself, I'll most likely ride the whole thing unless it is literally impossible. The plan is to leave in June. Bike prep has already started.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I rode to Alaska and then around Alaska in '13, but spent very little time on gravel. From what I've heard, I'd think it's probably possible if the roads have dried out.

 

[junglejim]

I was with Phil on that trip to AK. We found the roads pretty good. I rode as far as Chena Hot Springs with no issues. I’ve found much worse roads in the UP of MI. At one point I stopped and let about half the air out of my tires which helped. Off-road tires would have helped more. But generally I find the NT at least 100 pounds too heavy for off reading.

Bottom line- USE GOOD JUDGMENT

 

[Chucksklrst]

I road from Denver to Inuvik and return, back in 96. There was no road to Tuk back then. Riding up the Dempster was OK (We rode R100GS BMWs) 500 miles of dirt and gravel. not bad when dry but a real mess when wet, or when the water trucks were dumping Calcium Chloride on the road. Gets into everything and then hardens like concrete. If I was to ride it again I would take a cheap adventure type bike. V-Strom, older KLR etc. comes to mind. The less plastic on the bike the better. Of course my experience is 27 years old now. June might be a bit early. We found that late July into early aug was the best time for weather. Even with that one could see snow that far north in the mountains.

 

[mechahayai]

I've been watching Dempster videos. I think it's doable. We'll see. I've never been to Canada. I'll have to look into what tires to put on. It's 4100 + miles from here each way.

 

[junglejim]

Oh ya! I forgot about the calcium chloride. That stuff becomes a permanent part of your bike. A pressure washer won't do it unless you use enough pressure to ruin bearings and electrical connections. The only way to get the bike clean again is to take it completely apart. I sold my NT with the calcium chloride sill impeded. And that wasn't the first one either.

I'm running Michelin Anakees now, but there are better ones.

 

[Chucksklrst]

Yes when we got back I disassembled my bike down to just frame and motor to clean it (took three weeks on cleaning)and still did not get all the calcium chloride off the headers. We went up the Cassiere Highway back then, on the way to the Dempster Highway, which was mostly dirt then and had to stay an extra day at Watson Lake to chip out the calcium chloride and mud from the Oil coolers and cylinder fins on our Air Head R100GS BMWs. It rained most of the way up that highway. Slippery as snot on a frozen lake. O the memories. Our trip from Denver to Inuvik and back was 8000 miles three weeks. Back then we were running Avon. Gripsters on the bikes. Russ had to buy a tire in White Horse due to a large hole in the tire. and I finished my trip from Buffalo Wyoming to Denver in the back of a U-Haul truck due to a complete rear tire failure. Closest tires available were in Denver. Of course we are talking 27 years ago. I am sure some improvements have been made since then.

The Dempster Highway






Chicken Alaska





Sign Post at Watson Lake

 

[Mellow]

I have no desire to ruin a bike taking it to Alaska. You can buy a cheap vstrom 650 or the like and then sell afterwards. I've been to British Columbia and heck, that's good enough for me.

I still have a lot of roads to explore in the U.S. so maybe I'll change my tune at some point but I doubt it.

However, if you do choose to go, I agree with the comments posted, mostly lol.

 

[junglejim]

I have no desire to ruin a bike taking it to Alaska. You can buy a cheap vstrom 650 or the like and then sell afterwards. I've been to British Columbia and heck, that's good enough for me.

I still have a lot of roads to explore in the U.S. so maybe I'll change my tune at some point but I doubt it.

However, if you do choose to go, I agree with the comments posted, mostly lol.

I'd be willing to try it on YOUR bike Joe.