The Great White North, eh!
- Thread starter boney
- Start date
boney
Miles > Posts
Equipment notes:
I bought a new tent for this ride. My 23 year old North Face VE25 is a bit too big for packing on the motorcycle, and my other tent is a floor-less tee-pee. On a whim I stopped by the North Face Outlet in Bezerkeley and found the tent I carried on sale for $125 OTD. It was worth every penny when it started to rain. One of the key factors was the large vestibule where I could leave my dirty boots and still find them dry in the morning.
There were two places we went where having a smaller bike would have been nice, and a bigger bike would have stopped us. Even just unloading the gear from the bikes would have been beneficial, had we the ability to come back the way we came. In the future, trips like this might be better planned with a "base camp" for a few days and plan big loops from there. For the most part I think the 640s were a good size- we could hustle them through the rougher sections and they still kept up on the highway.
Luke and I both bought new tires for this trip, and as it turns out, we both bought the same set; Dunlop D606 front and 908 Rally Raid rears. After around 2500 miles the rear tires are showing wear but the blocks are still square. The 908 is a really stiff tire, and it makes me wonder if it's not made for even heavier bikes than our loaded 640s. The tirees are 3-ply nylon with an additional 2-plies of aramid (Kevlar) on the tread. They were super stiff and super hard to spoon on, and when I checked my pressure in Port Hardy, I found that it had 10 pounds in it. I don't have rim-locks, it never spun on the rim, and if you go back and look at some of the pictures, you'll see that it didn't really look low. The 908 also took some getting used to. Initially it tracked every parallel grove of every surface we rode. As it wore, that eventually went away. The 606 front is perhaps the finest tire I've put there, though it will clearly wear out sooner than the 908 rear. We were both running heavy duty tubes and neither of us got a flat.
Gas... If you can't carry at least 5 or 6 gallons depending on your gas mileage, don't go. Many of the reservations had gas stations, but you can only get 87, and they're still a long ways apart.
My 640 has the Hepco Becker rack. It's been welded twice on the left side where it's been prone to breakage. It's a design fault, but I'm not sure how it could be better other than to just be more robust. I had it buttressed before I left, and it's certainly not going to break there again. The aluminum boxes though... In the past I'd had problems with the aluminum rubbing off on everything. So this time I stitched together a couple of liners from rubberized cordura. They worked fantastically, but it still doesn't stop stuff from getting pulverized inside them as you go bouncing down the dirt roads.
Don't use el-cheapo PVC rain slickers for motorcycle rain gear. Find a good reinforced nylon set- preferably one where the pants are "bibs." You won't get water down the back of your pants that way.
100,000 miles plus on the Combat Touring Boots. There's nothing else to say.
When we got to Canada, it was hot. I thought that I had brought the wrong riding gear. Instead of my riding jacket (with pads built in) I was thinking that I should have brought a pressure suit and jersey. When temps came down to normal, the riding jacket (with vents) was just right. As the rain came in, I still needed to layer a fleece underneath.
I'll post up more if I think of anything.
I bought a new tent for this ride. My 23 year old North Face VE25 is a bit too big for packing on the motorcycle, and my other tent is a floor-less tee-pee. On a whim I stopped by the North Face Outlet in Bezerkeley and found the tent I carried on sale for $125 OTD. It was worth every penny when it started to rain. One of the key factors was the large vestibule where I could leave my dirty boots and still find them dry in the morning.
There were two places we went where having a smaller bike would have been nice, and a bigger bike would have stopped us. Even just unloading the gear from the bikes would have been beneficial, had we the ability to come back the way we came. In the future, trips like this might be better planned with a "base camp" for a few days and plan big loops from there. For the most part I think the 640s were a good size- we could hustle them through the rougher sections and they still kept up on the highway.
Luke and I both bought new tires for this trip, and as it turns out, we both bought the same set; Dunlop D606 front and 908 Rally Raid rears. After around 2500 miles the rear tires are showing wear but the blocks are still square. The 908 is a really stiff tire, and it makes me wonder if it's not made for even heavier bikes than our loaded 640s. The tirees are 3-ply nylon with an additional 2-plies of aramid (Kevlar) on the tread. They were super stiff and super hard to spoon on, and when I checked my pressure in Port Hardy, I found that it had 10 pounds in it. I don't have rim-locks, it never spun on the rim, and if you go back and look at some of the pictures, you'll see that it didn't really look low. The 908 also took some getting used to. Initially it tracked every parallel grove of every surface we rode. As it wore, that eventually went away. The 606 front is perhaps the finest tire I've put there, though it will clearly wear out sooner than the 908 rear. We were both running heavy duty tubes and neither of us got a flat.
Gas... If you can't carry at least 5 or 6 gallons depending on your gas mileage, don't go. Many of the reservations had gas stations, but you can only get 87, and they're still a long ways apart.
My 640 has the Hepco Becker rack. It's been welded twice on the left side where it's been prone to breakage. It's a design fault, but I'm not sure how it could be better other than to just be more robust. I had it buttressed before I left, and it's certainly not going to break there again. The aluminum boxes though... In the past I'd had problems with the aluminum rubbing off on everything. So this time I stitched together a couple of liners from rubberized cordura. They worked fantastically, but it still doesn't stop stuff from getting pulverized inside them as you go bouncing down the dirt roads.
Don't use el-cheapo PVC rain slickers for motorcycle rain gear. Find a good reinforced nylon set- preferably one where the pants are "bibs." You won't get water down the back of your pants that way.
100,000 miles plus on the Combat Touring Boots. There's nothing else to say.
When we got to Canada, it was hot. I thought that I had brought the wrong riding gear. Instead of my riding jacket (with pads built in) I was thinking that I should have brought a pressure suit and jersey. When temps came down to normal, the riding jacket (with vents) was just right. As the rain came in, I still needed to layer a fleece underneath.
I'll post up more if I think of anything.
boney
Miles > Posts
There's so much to ride up there, you could spend the entire summer and not even come close to getting it all. We literally cut entire days worth of riding out of our plans and still ran out of time.
Lupin
Well-known member
Awesome trip and great pictures!
I love my GSA for highway and the typical gravel roads, but a lighter 650 size bike really appeals to me for the extra roads you can go. I'd be game for taking my bike on some of those roads, but man, it looked too rugged in some areas for my tame riding.
Loved the write up!
I love my GSA for highway and the typical gravel roads, but a lighter 650 size bike really appeals to me for the extra roads you can go. I'd be game for taking my bike on some of those roads, but man, it looked too rugged in some areas for my tame riding.
Loved the write up!
slackmeyer
Well-known member
That was great. Yet another area of the country that I need to go explore.
I've run that tire combo (908/606) on my 950. The 908 is definitely a meaty tire- I've done the same thing, running it on almost no air and I didn't notice it at all. Definitely gives up some traction on the street though. If you're doing a bit more street riding, the TKC-80 is a great semi-knobby 21" tire.
zak
I've run that tire combo (908/606) on my 950. The 908 is definitely a meaty tire- I've done the same thing, running it on almost no air and I didn't notice it at all. Definitely gives up some traction on the street though. If you're doing a bit more street riding, the TKC-80 is a great semi-knobby 21" tire.
zak
boney
Miles > Posts
Were you happy or sad to be home?
That's a tough one. It's nice to be home, where the meals aren't cooked over a camp stove (and usually reconstituted with boiling water) and the bed is comfy. On the other hand, I really like to ride and could have kept it up for a while longer.
The other day I was in the garage squaring away all my gear and getting it put up on the shelves when I had the itch to throw my leg over the KTM and ride away. I hadn't been off the thing for more than a couple of days, but suddenly, there was this overpowering urge to ride it. I'm taking it to work tomorrow. :ride
boney
Miles > Posts
Thanks for the kind words. A trip like this is worth every minute spent putting it together and going out to ride it, but telling the story is fun too.
BTW, I failed to mention our mapping resources for this trip. Without them, there's no way we could have had so much fun. First is the BC Backroads books. They're accurate and detailed enough to put a trip like this together without any other resources. They have camping and gas listed, as well as the various recreation activities, including ATVs. On occasion they report an non-existent road which was probably planned at some point but never built. Nothing's perfect, but this is the closest we found.
The other is a GPS topographic mapset that was compiled as a project and is distributed freely on teh interwebs. http://ibycus.com/ibycustopo/ These maps were pretty accurate, and very useful in determining locations. You can't use autoroute on them though, so set up your routes with plenty of details before you go.
Also, Luke made most the routes. He used Google Earth to verify a lot of the roads he found in the map books, then converted the tracks from Google Earth to Garmin, and made routes out of them. Very good, and very accurate- most of the waypoints we're spot on.
Speaking of spot- I bought a mount for mine and mounted it up on my dash. It never failed to send the 2 Okay messages I sent each day, and it tracked pretty well. Much better than when I carried it around in my Pelican Trunk.
http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=2218 Most of the time there was no cell signal, on occasion there was a pay phone, we came across one public computer, but at the beginning and end of every day the SPOT never failed to let my wife know everything was fine. Keeping the wife from worry is key, and this allows me to plan longer and more remote trips without having to "sell" it to her before I go. SPOT ROCKS.
BTW, I failed to mention our mapping resources for this trip. Without them, there's no way we could have had so much fun. First is the BC Backroads books. They're accurate and detailed enough to put a trip like this together without any other resources. They have camping and gas listed, as well as the various recreation activities, including ATVs. On occasion they report an non-existent road which was probably planned at some point but never built. Nothing's perfect, but this is the closest we found.
The other is a GPS topographic mapset that was compiled as a project and is distributed freely on teh interwebs. http://ibycus.com/ibycustopo/ These maps were pretty accurate, and very useful in determining locations. You can't use autoroute on them though, so set up your routes with plenty of details before you go.
Also, Luke made most the routes. He used Google Earth to verify a lot of the roads he found in the map books, then converted the tracks from Google Earth to Garmin, and made routes out of them. Very good, and very accurate- most of the waypoints we're spot on.
Speaking of spot- I bought a mount for mine and mounted it up on my dash. It never failed to send the 2 Okay messages I sent each day, and it tracked pretty well. Much better than when I carried it around in my Pelican Trunk.
http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=2218 Most of the time there was no cell signal, on occasion there was a pay phone, we came across one public computer, but at the beginning and end of every day the SPOT never failed to let my wife know everything was fine. Keeping the wife from worry is key, and this allows me to plan longer and more remote trips without having to "sell" it to her before I go. SPOT ROCKS.
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WoodsChick
I Don't Do GPS
Yep! This ride gets my vote for Best Of Barf, too!
Thanks for the detailed report, boney. I love to ride and put reports together, and I know how much time and effort it takes. It is much appreciated. The equipment report was cool and informative, too. I only have one question, though: will you please invite me on your next ride? :teeth
WoodsChick
boney
Miles > Posts
With the fear of turning this into a gun thread (which has no business in a ride report);
I would suggest you leave your firearm at home. :thumbdown
WoodsChick
I Don't Do GPS
Besides, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just gotta outrun your riding buddy :teeth
WoodsChick
just kidding sir. actually, I just don't feel safe riding alone deep into the wood like you two did.
btw, thanks for sharing the stories and pictures