Wilsons Sandbox

Hey Joe, Okay, the bugs are bad, the roads are bad and the rain is bad; would you be interested in telling us a little bit more about what is fantastically cool about a bike ride to Alaska? Would you do it again? Why or why not? What did you love the most? What is a must see? What did you hear about while you were there that sounded very cool, but you didn't have time to do it etc. Thanks, Greg To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.comFrom: fasteddiecopeman@...: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:22:57 +0000Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Alaska Trip continued Joe,GOOD write-up. I've done AK twice, once on the Bandit, once on the KLR. Hope to do it again!Ed _________________________________________________________________ Earn cashback on your purchases with Live Search - the search that pays you back! http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=earncashback [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Greg I didn't want to rehash all the main attractions to this trip-they have been well represented here and elsewhere before-but tried to relate what may have been unique to my trip or unexpected to those planning the same trip. I will say that my main personal goals were Hyder, the Cassiar Highway, Inuvik, Top of the World Highway, and the Haul Road to Deadhorse. Secondary were Valdez, Skagway and Haines. I did the main stuff first and ending up leaving off the secondary ones (got a little weary of the prices and started missing my woman). That trip plan worked out really well for me. I never got bored the whole trip(who could get bored while on a KLR?). The scenery changes often and when there was a sameness to it there were usually a lot of varmints around to keep it interesting. The lower Cassiar had the most bears...and there were plenty of piles of bear crap in the road to run thru. I got the biggest feeling of accomplishment from riding the Dempster just because of the remoteness of it and the length(my gps said 476 miles to Inuvik at the turnoff from the main highway (can't remember the # of that). Inuvik as a town is something of a s...hole but the people there were nice as could be and genuinely interested in us biker nuts. The constable there(small red Chevy suv) led us to the gas station, got us rooms at the Eskimo Inn and locked our bikes in the police compound for the night. Look him up. He will be around. The Haul Road was a more interesting road than the Dempster cause of the pipeline and more interesting scenery. It didn't have that slightly dangerous feel to it like the Dempster cause there were people around. THe food at Deadhorse was great. Be sure and stay at the Boreal Lodge(google it) in Wiseman, not Coldfoot. The most interesting place we stayed on the whole trip. Bring food there is none there and make reservations. For me the highlight of the trip was not only the intensely interesting country we saw but having done it on a minimalist machine like the KLR(it was the star of the show for me); the weather and minor maehanical problems I had just made it more of a challenge. I got immense satisfaction from just completing the trip. Hell yes I would do it again. Best Joe --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, greg saunders wrote:

> > > Hey Joe, > > Okay, the bugs are bad, the roads are bad and the rain is bad;

would you be interested in telling us a little bit more about what is fantastically cool about a bike ride to Alaska? Would you do it again? Why or why not? What did you love the most? What is a must see? What did you hear about while you were there that sounded very cool, but you didn't have time to do it etc.

> > Thanks, > > Greg > > > To: DSN_KLR650@...: fasteddiecopeman@...: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:22:57

+0000Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Alaska Trip continued

> > > > > Joe,GOOD write-up. I've done AK twice, once on the Bandit, once on

the KLR. Hope to do it again!Ed

> > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Earn cashback on your purchases with Live Search - the search that

pays you back!

> http://search.live.com/cashback/?

&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=earncashback

> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

H\Joe, Comments posted within the previoustext--- --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "rockiedog2" wrote:

> > A few more issues on Jackass...none major and mostly routine

chores.

> Seemed like there was something that needed doing about every other > night...chain adjustment, air filter cleaning, doohickey, oil

changes,

> etc. Ran without a rear brake for the last week which wasn't

terribly

> noticeable except with the mangled finger couldn't use the front

brake

> as well for other than normal stopping.

SNIP What happened to the rear brake? Went thru 2 sets of tires. The

> rear sprocket looks more like a pulley now but did make it home. It > wore down into the unhardened metal(I guess) and needed adjusting

about

> every fuel stop the last couple days, but didn't get it.

SNIP Joe, The difficulty you experience using the 16/43 with a laden bike (previous post) is no surprise--as reported by others. Perhaps on the 'flats' in an unburned bike, but is not very useable for the way most of us like to ride. This might be a good time to go to/try/consider the 45T rear sproket. When combined with the 16 front for highway, and 14 for the more off road, you will have made your KLR a lot more useable. (13/43; 15/43 is a near equilvalent, and also a good compromise. I have one KLR set up with 14/46 (16T sproket in the tank bag)and the other with a 14/43--which will be swapped to a 13/43 if I want to go pull stumps with it. Yes, those lower combinations steal top end/mph, but 90% of where I ride, I need low speed control--and it is a less than a 20 minute chore to swap the front c/s after you have done it a couple of times (using the prevailing torque nut). Jackass and I

> really bonded on this trip...he is like my brother now and might > memorialize him but will never sell him. We went thru too much

together.

> > Take lots of money. The further north of the border the more

expensive

> til you cross over into AK then it gets a little better. Rooms are > expensive as the devil but still beat sleeping on the ground IMO.

Saw

> guys camping on the side of the road and other free places. Nobody > seemed to care. Go early and beat the tourist rush. It makes a > difference. The exchange rate was par but some remote area

mercahnts

> tried to charge as much as a 20% premium if trying to pay with

green.

> Ask. Use your CC of course and won't have that issue. > > We caught both the Dempster and Dalton in fine shape...dry as a

bone

> except in constructiobn areas...and were able to just fly up both

of

> them. But there were surprises especially on the Dempster. 4 of us

made

> the run together and all of us nearly went down more than once.

There

> was no traffic. Saw 4 trucks the 2 days it took to make the run and > maybe 2 or 3 cars. There was nobody to help if somebody got hurt.

The

> Haul Road has lots of traffic so is not nearly as much a threat as

the

> Dempster. > > Do not stupidly lurch into your KLR on the Dawson City ferry, and

crash

> it into the captain's wheel house. The deckhand will leap onto it

in a

> wildeyed panic and start trying to jerk it up. The captain must be > something of a hardass. > > Do not lie down on the downwind non kickstand side of your KLR in a

50

> knot wind to take a nap...even if that's the shady side. It will

blow

> over on you. > > Do not allow your KLR to crash in the motel parking lot while

parked

> with you sitting on it. It will pin your leg to the ground and

maybe

> cause a claustophobic-like panic attack , or maybe break your leg. > > Do be sure and make the trip. You won't regret it. All the KLR guys

I

> saw were just having a great time. I did too. > > Joe and Jackass >

SNIP Great insight Joe, thanks for reporting. Got any pictures to put in the photo file? If you post some pictures, I would like to see what the rollers on the chain look like compared to the new chain. revmaaatin.

Thanks. I've seen that and about three or four other designs on the web that all put the weight of the bicycle either far to the rear, high up or both. I'm welding up a design that tries to centralize the bicycle's mass as much as possible. I'll post pictures when done. Mike A18 KLR 650 Tires page: http://www.standoutnet.com/extras/mike/motorcycles/klr650/tires/index.html From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of J. Christopher Krok Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 9:47 AM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Bike racks

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com ,

"Michael Silverstein"

> wrote: >> So while I really enjoy the VStrom I've started mixing in the KLR for > local riding, and it is going to become a platform for transporting my > mountain bike to the trails once I weld up a rack.

The link Tumu mentioned is in the FAQ: http://hometown.aol.com/mschue5938/mschuette.html He doesn't make the racks any more, but you might get some ideas from his page. Krokko -- J. Christopher Krok, Ph.D. Big Cee Engineering KLR650 Accessories and home of the FAQ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]