06.05.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:53 am by jwalters
Matt
and I have been recruited to play on a premier softball team in Dawson
City, Yukon, Canada June 21st. So it looks like we will be hauling our
glove and spikes up North as well. (Shipping them home after the game)
Ok, maybe recruited isn’t the right word and neither is premier, but we did weasel our way onto a softball team during the annual Dust 2 Dawson
dual sport rally in Dawson City, YK! Since it happens to be a big bike
get together, they’ve decided to make an extra softball team for the
local league composed of misfits like us, who have traveled from all
over the place to get to the D2D. Should be a blast, playing with
complete strangers from all ends of North and Central America! I guess,
this will make up for Matt missing his league play in North Liberty. Go
Penn Way!
Thanks to AKRider over at advrider.com for the planning on this.
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06.04.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:07 pm by jwalters
We
are hoping to camp the majority of the nights on this trip. I have to
admit, I’ll be a light sleeper when we are camping in bear country, but
as my coworkers remind me, I don’t have to be able to out run a bear, I
just have to be able to out run Matt 
But seriously, since we are going through some of the most scenic
places in North America, camping is the preferred lodging for several
reasons. First of all, what better way to meet like-minded folks, than
around a camp fire. Second, its a lot cheaper than moteling it every
night. Finally, it really allows us to have a flexible schedule. We
won’t be tethered to main roads and cities for motels. If we can keep
the motels to rainy nights or laundry days, I’ll be happy. Lets face
it, having a real shower once in a while won’t be a bad thing either.
The only downer to camping, is carrying all the gear. I’ll be taking a
tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and camp stove. This stuff takes up
valuable space on the back of the bike and adds weight.
Aside from the camping gear, I’ll be bring a laptop along to keep
this site up to date and of course a camera! Cloths will consist of my
riding pants, a couple tshirts (that I buy along the way), my hiking
pants that are convertible into shorts, rain gear and a pair of
bicycling shorts. I will be taking a sweat shirt along as well, in
anticipation of some cold nights up north. As well as a balaclava for
under the helmet, and to wear as a stocking cap at night. There are a
few other odds and ends I am taking along in the clothing department,
but I won’t bore you anymore with the details.
The other major items I am bringing are tools. I will be carrying
tire irons, wrenches, allan wrenches, spark plugs (in case we foul
plugs at elevation), spare tie downs, etc to fix minor items on the
bike as we travel. The nice thing about two of us going on similar
Metric bikes, is we can share tools. A good tip to anyone wanting to
pack a tool kit on a bike, is to only service your bike at home with
the tools in your pack. You will quickly see what is needed and what’s
not. Like that number 7 metric wrench.
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06.01.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:36 am by jwalters
There
have been a couple comments asking about how we are preparing for the
trip. There has been a lot of thought into the bikes and routes, time
of year to go, money needed, camping gear, clothes, bike maintenance,
and on and on. I’ll try and fill you in on some of the things I have
done to get ready for the trip.
First order of business, the bike! I am riding a 2006 Suzuki DR 650.
These bikes are known as Dual Sport bikes, much like the Kawasaki KLR
650, Honda XR650L, Yamaha XT 600, KTM 640s and even the BMW F650. These
bikes are light weight, go anywhere machines much like a Jeep. This
go-anywhere capability will be great in the Alaskan outback, allowing
us to explore places most bikes not dare go! Also, these bikes are,
typically, much easier to maintain and work on. As an air cooled single
cylinder “thumper”, there is little to go wrong, and provide a much
more reliable bike than other larger street machines.
Of course this capability comes at a price. These bikes do not have
hyperbike speed or plush sofa like ergonomics like a Goldwing, Road
King or BMW RT. While dual sports can run at Interstate speeds, being
so light and tall, they are susceptible to wind gusts from semi-trucks
and RV a lot more than most bikes. Therefore, these bikes are most
comfortable on county and state highways, cruising at 65mph. Turns out,
this is where you meet the most interesting people and see the most
amazing sights, so its no problem to us.
As far as the bike is concerned, my DR 650 has lots of farkles
(functional sparkles), if you’ve heard of the term, you’ve either spent
too much time over at advrider.com or you are well versed in Geekology.
Nevertheless, I have done several modifications to my DR 650 to make it
more road worthy and capable on such a long trip. Oddly, the most miles
I’ve ever put on the bike in one day was the first week I owned it, and
everything was stock (yes even the seat). I managed 800+ miles in 24
hours. So while lots of this stuff makes life easier, most of it isn’t
necessary. Although, things like a center stand can save your butt, if
you are left to change a tire in the middle of no where.
1. Custom IMS Corbin Seat (raised 1 1/2 inches)
Ask anyone who has done some miles on their DR and the first thing
they’ll say is get a Corbin seat! These seats aren’t “softer” than the
stock seat, but they are wider and give your butt more surface area.
2. IMS Tank
This tank is larger than the stock tank which
allows me to cover 200+ miles between gas stops. This is very useful on
long trips, reducing the number of gas stops needed. Also, having extra
fuel while traveling on the Dalton highway is always a good thing.
3. Cee Bailey windscreen
This was a windscreen I got for the DR which
has been really nice. It takes the wind off your chest allowing your
arms to be more relaxed while riding. Again, not a necessity but after
a 4,000 mile trip, one way, I ‘ll be looking for all the help I can
get. 
4. Ebach front and rear springs
Japanese motorcycles are great, but if there is anything they lack,
it is good suspension. Especially for a large 6′8″ 290lbs American like
myself. These springs give my bike it proper ride height even with me
and all my gear on board.
5. Pro Moto Billet Rear Aluminum rack and Panner Protectors
This is the rack I have attached to the DR.
Unlike the KLRs, the DR doesn’t come with one stock. This was an
aftermarket rack that has been really nice. As you can see from the
pictures I have mounted my Givi case to the top of the rack. The Panner
Protectors screw into the rack, and protect my soft saddle bags from
hitting the hot muffler.
6. SW Motech Skid Plate
This little bit isn’t needed for my riding
style but it does help protect the underside of the bike and provides a
nice place to pick the bike up, if I need to change a front or rear
tire.
7. SW Motech Centerstand
Unlike my Suzuki Bandit, my DR doesn’t come
with a stock center stand. I really like them, and can be very helpful
in changing tires and loading gear without tipping the bike.
8. Dynojet jet kit w/ K&N Air Filter and airbox mod
Can always use more power. Nuff said.
9. Heated Grips
Nothing more chilling than riding in 50 degree weather in the
pouring rain with wet hands. These little buggers are filaments you
place under your rubber grips and keep your hands nice and toasty. This
keeps your hand dexterity at its best, which is always a good thing on
a bike.
10. Aux head lights
You can’t have too much light in the back country. These lights I
have are cheap $20 lights from Autozone but they work very well. I have
them aimed towards the shoulder of the road, giving me a little heads
up if a dear, moose, or bear decides they want to play chicken.
11. Accessory plug
I wired a 12V cigarette lighter plug to my handlebars. This is great
for charging cell phones, or powering my tired GPS. I say tired,
because it no longer runs off battery and I must have it plugged in to
a 12V source. Anyway, it works great and can be bought for $6 at
Walmart (Aerostich sells the same one for twice the price).
12. FMF Q2 Exhaust
More power, less weight. Big thanks to Iowa City Motorsports for this!
15. Handle Bar Risers
Since my Corbin seat was raised an inch and a
half, my handle bars also needed to come up a bit. These little
beauties did the job nicely.
16. Windshield braces
I found that the Cee Bailey windshield was starting to bend in a
lot, because it was only mounted to the plastic upper fairing. As
highway winds increased it would bend the windshield down and over
time, this stressed the plastic. So I owe another thanks to Iowa City Motorsports for giving me a wind shield kit to keep the Cee Bailey screen in place!
As far as bike maintenance on the trip, I plan on doing all of it
myself. Oil changes, filter changes, and valve adjustments can be done
on the side of the road, or preferably in an OReilly Auto Parts parking
lot. Since bike tires typically wear faster than car tires, we will be
needing a new set of tires as we make our way North. We aren’t sure
where exactly we’ll need them, but we will be calling a week or two
ahead of time and order tires from a motorcycle dealer along the way.
If we get a flat on the road, we’ll be carrying tire patch kits and
spare tubes. Its a balancing act between covering the major items that
can go wrong, such as, tire repair and trying to plan for EVERY event
that could happen. We can’t pack for every situation, so we
do our best to cover the easy stuff, and prepare ourselves for the
unexpected. It’s an adventure after all!
“Luck favors the mind bike that is prepared.”
–Louis Pasteur (slightly modified)
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05.20.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:14 pm by jwalters
I
can’t believe its been 2 years of formulating, waiting and and now
finally jumping at my chance to take this trip. I felt I had read up on
the trip well, maybe too well, but it wasn’t until I confirmed my time
off with the boss, that I really started planning the trip and seeing
the dates start to line up.
Matt and I don’t want to have an itinerary on this trip. It is
suppose to be an adventure where we sort of go-with-the-flow, see what
we want to see and move on. Unfortunately, reality has a way of rearing
its head and realizing we only have one month up North, we find some
dates we don’t want to miss.
Namely, our July 7th ferry rendezvous at Haines, AK where we will
board the Alaskan Marine Highway Ferry and sail south to Bellingham, WA
with the bikes on the deck below. This will be on our return leg home
and will be a welcome 3 days off the bikes. We will be arriving at the
port of Bellingham, WA July 10th, giving us 5 days to get home from the
Seattle area. You can find more about the Alaskan Marine Highway here.
So the July 10th date is fixed, June 15th - July 10th is pretty wide
open. We hope to be in Alaska around June 25th. Have a week or two to
explore the country side (which won’t be enough, but the trip is the
vacation) and then start making our way to Haines, AK along the inside
passage.
Matt had a stroke of genius the other day. He thought it would be
fun to bring only one tshirt and buy cool shirts along the way at
diners and local pubs. I think I’ll do the same. I’m hoping to come
away with 4 things on this trip.
1. Tshirts
2. A bike covered in bumper stickers. Here it is in its current condition. Looks a little naked eh?
3. Straw cowboy hat.
4. A bike christened by the Arctic Ocean!
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