Los Angeles to Alaska or bust

Rickbfried

Observer
Having not been on a bike for the past 20 years, now planing a trip from Los Angeles to Alaska next spring. My first thought was buying a Harley Sportster and doing a Then Came Bronson tribute. Next thought was a 1150GS, not planing on off roading, and a bit larger than most duel purpose bikes. Zooming in on a BMW R1100RS. It has luggage, nice seat for the wife and priced just under $2k with complete service history. Looking for feedback and suggestions.
 

jkam

nomadic man
You say in the spring. You better take your time getting from Los Angeles because you will be traveling
in a lot of colder climates once you get north.
I did a trip from AZ up to Alaska on my BMW1100GS, it was an alright choice but really most bikes with a decent fuel range are fine.
I left AZ in early June and had a fair amount of cold wet and some freezing rain and snow while traveling through
upper BC and into the Yukon. Froze my *** of getting from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, had to stop a few times and get warmed up. The cold wet and humidity got me good in just a short distance.
 

Rickbfried

Observer
Thinking late spring. One thought is to to Bellingham and grabbing the ferry to save time from traveling in Canada.
 

SoCal Tom

Explorer
We drove up years ago, there was still snow in some areas on July 4th


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

jkam

nomadic man
I rode up and took the ferry back from Skagway to Bellingham.
That worked out well for me.
Canada has a lot to offer on the way up, you get a chance to get into a rhythm and encountering some of the nasty weather on the way gets you better prepared.
Weather wise, it can be anything you can imagine, so be prepared for that and go when you want.
 

zolo

Explorer
Thinking late spring. One thought is to to Bellingham and grabbing the ferry to save time from traveling in Canada.

Id say that is a mistake, The Canada portion is awesome. If you ride through Jasper and Banff its just amazing. I crossed from Sand Point Idaho and went up through the Canadian National Parks and then up to Top Of the World Hwy into Chicken AK. No way Id skip that ride for a ferry. Maybe ferry back but the ride up through Canada was as memorable for me as Arctic Circle or Prudhoe Bay.

There is a book called the MilePost. Gives you everything you need to know for that ride.
 
There is a book called the MilePost. Gives you everything you need to know for that ride.

Get the Milepost, it will give you all the info on every route up, fuel, food, main routes, side routes. A needed resource for many years. The Canadian Parks are in credible, don't miss them. The Cassiar through BC is a great route, more enjoyable than the main Alcan in my opinion.
 

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