Alaska or Bust

A little over a month ago my dad (also Ron Van Sickle) mentioned that he was planning to go to Alaska on his motorcycle. A few days later he asked if I was interested in going as his original partner was not going to be able to go. After about 15 seconds of thinking about it (and with approval of my wife Marlene, of course) I said "yes" and the daydreaming began. I haven't had something like this to plan for in a long time.

I have owned my Burgman 650 scooter for 2-1/2 years, but although the appeal of a continuing ahead on a long trip is always present to a motorcyclist, I'd only taken a few overnight trips - including two last year - San Angelo TX and Santa Fe, NM. We'd also done a couple other long trips by putting our scooters in the back of my truck and hitching up our 30' travel trailer to provide accommodation and a smooth, air conditioned ride to the curvy roads of our dreams, but that just isn't as adventurous as strapping all of your needs on the back of the bike and heading out into the unknown without a roof, or the kids, or the Poodle, and usually none for the worries back home. You feel very free.

Google Maps showed the round trip distance at near 8000 miles, but I know from other trips that half the fun is the side trips. We'll also be coming back on a longer route than going up there, including a visit to the Sturgis, SD motorcycle rally. I figured on 10,000 miles and 5-6 weeks of travel time. I'm going to have to pack a lot more on the bike than ever before!

The first weekend after I decided to go I built a luggage rack for my scooter, purchased a backrest, and two rolling coolers to act as my luggage. I chose the coolers because they are designed to keep water in, so I figure they'll keep a lot of it "out." I made my luggage rack out of 3/4 HDPE sheet because the factory luggage rack was too small to hold a significant load. I needed something really strong and the plastic matches my plastic motorcycle.

I began my planning by checking online to see who else has done this - and found that a fellow BurgmanUSA member went to Alaska last year. His preparation would help me get my scooter ready. The first challenge to me was the fact that it's going to be a 10,000 mile round trip, and I usually only get 6,000 miles out a back tire. Fortunately, the same tire that is used on the 2002 Honda Insight Hybrid will fit on a Burgman 650, and give 25,000 miles of wear, carry more weight than the stock tire, and has a lower rolling resistance and give better mileage due to it's larger diameter than the stock tire. It also fixed my inaccurate speedometer. That would be my first "challenge" then.

I purchased a tire online and found a motorcycle shop that was willing to mount and balance it for me. Great. The tire arrived by UPS when promised and I quickly took the back wheel off my scooter and rushed over to get it mounted. At lunch time the next day I got a call from the shop, they couldn't get the beads to seat! Ugh, that's what everyone struggles with when trying to mount that tire on their wheels... I went over to the shop and paid the frustrated mechanics who had spent a couple hours trying to get it mounted. I told them I'd be "right back" and went home to do a little more online research.

Other BurgmanUSA members reported that it took 3x the normal amount of air pressure and a lot of lubricant to get the tire onto the special safety groove that the Burgman wheel has, so I followed their lead. I set the wheel on a trash can in the middle of our yard and ran a long air hose out to it. I coated the wheel and tire with silicone spray and went in the garage and started adding air pressure. At about 110# the first bead snapped into place. Sara came running out of the house to see what the noise was because it echoed off the surrounding valley walls. I then eased off the pressure and checked the second bead and it was close, so I let it warm up in the sun for a few minutes and gave it some air and at 115# or so the tire was on the rim.

I dropped the pressure back to normal and Sara and I took it back to the shop - they were amazed and said "we didn't think you'd be back." I told them Sara mounted it and they laughed. The tire didn't need any weight, it was already nice and true so the shop at least wasn't underwater on the tire balancing. (2 hours of shop tech time at 80 per hour to try to mount it even though they charge $35 for mounting and balancing)

Now my next challenge was the TentCot that I had ordered. I decided that if I wasn't going to have my RV with me I'd do the next best thing and at least have a way to stay up off the wet, bug infested, rocky ground. I spent a couple of weeks exploring outdoor shops and outfitter web sites and decided to get the Kamp-rite Collapsible Combo Tent Cot, or CCTC. At 17# and 6x8x40" it would strap to my scoot on the opposite side from my exhaust - essentially keeping my accommodations low and somewhat balanced... a good thing when you have only two wheels to keep you off the asphalt.

I ordered it the same day as the Tire, and for a week I kept bugging the outfitter to send me a tracking number since he insisted it had shipped. He said he wouldn't have a tracking number for a while because it was factory drop shipped. Finally, I pointed out to him that UPS ground takes less than a week from Fairbanks Alaska, so two weeks within the lower 48 was hard to believe. He finally gave in, made a call, and lo and behold it never left the factory. They were nice enough to ship it overnight, and now I have it.

My next step was to load everything on the bike and ride it around for a couple hundred miles. I took several rides with various loads, and everything seems OK except in crosswinds, where all the extra exposed area on the back has a tendancy to want to blow the bike over. I'm fairly used to that since we live in a windy area, so that will just take some extra attention when the winds pick up. The Burgman seems to have plenty of power and brakes to deal with the load.

I then decided I'd better test the CCTC, so I set it up outside next to the scooter with a tarp over the top to create a little sheltered area outside the tent and to cover my gear so I wouldn't have to take it off while parked overnight. It was a good test since it was raining and windy, and the fact it was 90 or so outside would prepare me for July and August on the Great Plains. I also set up my pad, sleeping bag and pillow and slept in it overnight. Wow - it was hot! Even with the windows all opened up, the rainfly off and stormy winds, I had a hard time falling asleep. I eventually ended up laying on top of my sleeping bag, and managed to get a few hours of sleep until the high winds blew a tree down about 50' from where I was sleeping. I guess if a tree falls in the woods and the AC is on in the house no one will hear it, but in a tent you notice every noise!

So after a partially sleep deprived night I'm starting this blog so I can keep everyone up to date on the rest of my trip preparation and the trip itself. Today I'm going to take my family to Cabela's so I can get a better sleeping pad - the cot was a little stiff (or maybe it's my back). Either way, I'm sure it will be fun and will only cost an arm and a leg since we will find other things I can't live without. I'll appreciate it about two dozen times though in the coming months!