Little more aggresive tires for Alaska Trip on Stelvio???

[beardog]

I put Hidinow (spelling) on my supper t and they have 8k on them and still look great....

[dxhall]

RK - I'm slowly planning my Alaska trip to follow my retirement in 2019.  Would you do the haul road (the Dalton Highway) at all?  If the truck traffic is that bad, it doesn't seem worth the grief.  From the photos, Deadhorse doesn't seem too attractive.

[bobrebos]

RK - I'm slowly planning my Alaska trip to follow my retirement in 2019.  Would you do the haul road (the Dalton Highway) at all?  If the truck traffic is that bad, it doesn't seem worth the grief.  From the photos, Deadhorse doesn't seem too attractive.

I was wondering the same thing.  My buddy, who goes to Alaska each year told me we have to go down Haul oad and into Deadhorse.  Im second guessing that leg of the trip???? 

[bobrebos]

I ordered the Continental TKC 80's.  Hopefully they work OK for the dirt roads........Gotta be better than the plain street tires I have on now.  Seven Months to departure!!!

[Darren Williams]

I ordered the Continental TKC 80's.  Hopefully they work OK for the dirt roads........Gotta be better than the plain street tires I have on now.  Seven Months to departure!!!

I've heard a lot of guys say really good things about those tires.   

[Zinfan]

I was wondering the same thing.  My buddy, who goes to Alaska each year told me we have to go down Haul oad and into Deadhorse.  Im second guessing that leg of the trip????

I've read many a ride report over on Advrider.com about trips up the Dalton and have never seen anyone report that kind of truck traffic.  Riders like to go to the end of the road as a goal even if Deadhorse isn't a photogenic town.  I'd say the general tone over at advrider is if you are time limited and have a choice it is more scenic to head towards Anchorage/Homer/Seward instead of taking the haul road.  Many riders will take the haul road up to the Arctic Circle sign or the Antigun Pass then turn around. 

[ITSec]

My buddy, who goes to Alaska each year told me we have to go down Haul oad and into Deadhorse.  Im second guessing that leg of the trip????

It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most. As far as I know, it's one of only two places you can reach the Arctic Ocean by road (the other is by way of the newly opened road to Tuktoyaktuk - http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/the-road-to-tuktoyaktuk-1.4075013). I wonder when the first motorcycle will reach Tuk by road? Probably has happened already... 

[rodekyll]

Actually, no, you can't get clear to the Arctic on the haul road.  At a point near Deadhorse civilian traffic is prohibited the rest of the way to Prudhoe Bay.  If your rig doesn't say Haliburton or Exxon, you can't proceed.

If the haul road was on my bucket list to do, I'd do it.  Like someone said, it's not a given that the trucks will be nose-to-tail, it's not a given that the roadbed will be like a burst cesspool with knee-deep ruts, and it's not a given that the chemicals and rocks on the road will eat your vehicle as you drive -- but you need to plan with those assumptions.  Actual traffic depends on road conditions, the time of year, and what's going on upslope.  There are precious few days traffic is possible on the highway, and they want to use every minute of it doing the resupply.

Coldfoot is kind of the point-of-no-return.  If you get there and still think conditions permit, commit to the rest.  If you don't like it, come back, go through Fox, and on up to the Yukon River at Circle City.  You can see the Arctic Circle from there.  It's in the river, IIRC, so you might not want to step on it.  If you really feel the need to be punished but want to avoid the self-flagellation that is the Haul Road, head back through North Pole, Delta Junction, and Tok, take a left at the light, and run the Richardson (Top-of-the-World) Highway through Chicken (be sure to get the t-shirt -- they don't have one for the haul road) to Dawson City, and then head NE on the Dempster to Inuvik.  It's as miserable as the Haul Road and has some dramatic scenery.

[dxhall]

The photographs of Deadhorse don't make you think, "I've got to see that."  Maybe I'll skip that part of the Alaska adventure.  I'm still looking for the Alaska bike  - a K75 or a Guzzi Sp1000, I'm thinking.

[Huzo]

When you say it's the only way to get to the Arctic Circle, you are referring only to Alaska, is that right ?

[rodekyll]

I only meant Alaska.

[Huzo]

I only meant Alaska.

It must have a beauty unique to itself I imagine.
Is it as "developed" as Northern Europe, beyond the Arctic Circle ?
63 deg and above ?

[rodekyll]

There are native villages, defense sites, and oil.  That's pretty much it across the arctic part of North America.

[ITSec]

It must have a beauty unique to itself I imagine.
Is it as "developed" as Northern Europe, beyond the Arctic Circle ?
63 deg and above ?

Nope.

Lodgepole pine (till you hit the treeline, when all you have is moss, lichen and rock), the occasional settlement, a lot of rivers and lakes big and small, a lot of granite especially as you go east onto the Canadian Shield, relatively little real soil, and space - incredible amounts of space - between anything resembling development.

[redhawk47]

Alaska Leather in Anchorage sells and installs tires - order them ahead of going. I believe they can get most any brand. When I went to Alaska in 2009 I was told that shipping tires from the US to Whitehorse (Canada - customs, etc) was expensive and slow. and to Dawson City was even worse. I carried my Karoo's with me (that was a mistake - extra weight up high) and installed them in Dawson City.
TKC80, Karoo and similar knobbies are good for 3000 to 5000 miles. Heindenau K60 are good for 6000 to 10,000 miles. All of these are "noisey. Shinko 705 are good for 5000 - 7000 miles.
The chip seal on Canadian roads eats tires, your mileage may be less.

[ITSec]

Not to unnecessarily resurrect an old thread, but I am just coming to the end of my first set of Shinko 705s on my Stelvo NTX. The front will go a long way yet, probably as long as the next rear. The rear will be replaced in the next 500 - 1000 miles; current distance is 7500 miles+. Distance was about 30% city, 60% highway/high speed, 10% dirt or rough road.

Haven't tried them in mud. Dirt behavior is good. Gravel is good. Sand is OK but be careful if it's deeper than a couple inches before hardpack. Pavement is better than I'd expect - these aren't Pilot Road 4s, but they do very well on both dry and wet pavement. So far, I see no reason to use anything else unless I'm going to do a long all-pavement run. Yes, I could get better pavement handling, but only by using something that would make me skip taking that neat looking back road.

The next time I head for Alaska or Tuktoyaktuk, I'll start with a fresh set of 705s.

[Matteo]

Moving back to Anchorage this summer. Anyone needing help there can pm me. Or stop by the Double Shovel Cidery and join me for a cold one.

Here’s a good website;

http://www.explorenorth.com

[jknight611]

I spent the summer �up north�.  I road both the Dempster and the Dalton highways.  On the Dalton the traffic is industry driven, and while the truckers are friendly nice people, they are trying to make a living and the bikes are in the way.  I rode the Dalton to Wiseman north of the Arctic Circle and returned to Fairbanks.  Not as much fun as I expected.  I went from Tok to Dawson City and that is a magnificent road!  Very dramatic scenery!  Stayed in Dawson City for a few days then decided to ride the Dempster Highway.  The Inuvik tourism office in Dawson are totally awesome, they offered me a spare gas can, offered use of lockers to secure any unneeded gear.  The Dempster Highway doesn�t have nearly as much heavy traffic and the road is much better.  The Provincial campgrounds offer camping supplied with firewood.  The people of Inuvik are friendly and welcoming.  Have good eateries.  Much better ride.  I spent 10 days on the Dempster Highway and enjoyed it a bunch.  The views from Eagle Plains north are spectacular!

I didn�t  want to expose my Stelvio to the calcium on the roads so I used my KLR for this trip, 15,000 miles later I am still scrubbing the Dalton Highway off the bike.  I found the older design Avon Gripsters did really good.  I got about 5,000 miles out of the rear before it became Slipsters.

[twowings]

While you're waiting to head to Alaska, a good way to get a feel for what you'll encounter is by viewing ride reports and videos posted by a ADVrider named Tewster2...look on ADVrider.com/Epic Rides or YouTube...he has done the ride to Deadhorse on a 250 and a 700...

[Gino]

A few guys I know use a father/ son shop in Fairbanks to change tyres, they supply, work (I believe 24 hours a day in summer) and will change back on the return trip

[Guzzistajohn]

I have some gs riding buddies that actually do ride single track here in the ozarks that run the Shinko 705’s. Cheap is not the issue, they like them.