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Tuktoyaktuk - 2023

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Put this out to my riding friend, spouses and my brother in northern Ontario. It's one of those bucket list trips that you hear about, but never do.

Went to Dawson City in 2019 on my '95 1500 Goldwing (sold it) with a trailer in tow. Would not want to take it to Tuktoyaktuk, but have heard of people taking these and other large bikes there. My Spyder is out of the question with a belt drive.

The 3 day Midnight Sun Festival around 21 June would be the major interest for the trip.

Will be looking into this and providing the info to those considering going. There's a lot of info on the web regarding this, what to bring and do, and reasonably current. When I texted my riding friend he mentioned his wife would love to come along and be our support vehicle, my Mrs would join as well. My friend would be on his 1200 Tenere, I on the Himalayan. My brother would love to do this. He's snowmobiled from his home, 1 1/2 hours south of Timmins in northern Ontario to Moosenee at the bottom of James Bay.

Time to start planning is now, lodging may be an issue if I don't. Do we bring camping gear as a fallback for lodging? The need for extra fuel. Closest fuel to the turn off for the Dempster Highway is Dawson City, not far but eats into the distance you can travel. Have read that you need to consider food and snacks along the Dempster Highway. Maintenance items. Lots to consider.

When we were in Dawson City, saw a lot of ADV bikes under repair/maintenace. Closest city to get parts is Whitehorse.

More to follow.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
More talk with my brother. He is convinced this is a go. Neither of us have been that far north, and it is one of those bucket list rides. One way or the other we will get there, Himalayan may be in the cards, but never know. Brother doesn't have a bike licence so needs the car. May only be three of us going so Brother, and the Mrs - if I ride the Himalayan, will be in the support vehicle.

Have an older Garmin inReach Explorer that we will be taking:
Delorme Explorer.jpg

Expect no cell phone reception for a lot of the trip. A newer model may be in the cards, The Mrs will want to communicate with home, likes to let everyone know all is well. Looking for a mount for the Himalayan, and in car.

Have to look into comms between car and bike(s). Have the SENA S20 units, riding friend has the new 50 unit.

Starting to stock up on dehydrated food packs. The quality of these has improved considerably.

Use the Jetboil stove. Heats water quickly with a side indicator. Good unit:
Jetboil.jpg

Going to be a great trip. More civilized route than the Dalton Highway. Tuktoyaktuk is not as far north as Deadhorse, but close.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Planning for the trip is progressing. Put a feeler out on the net regarding riding my 2014 CanAm Spyder up to Tuktoyatuk. Opinion - not a good thing to do. It's belt drive, low to the ground. Thought it would be nice because the Mrs could ride on the Spyder with me. If it was the Ryker with shaft drive, different story.

Himalayan maintenance list will be finalized when I finish with the maintenance I'm doing this year.

Will have to consider oil/filter changes, tires, chain and sprockets, tools.

Looking at tires, lots of selection out there, and lots of good videos, posts regarding tires. Shinko 705, Heidenau Scouts, Motoz, Mitas, Michelin - get a headache just thinking of the possibilities.

Will have new tires/tubes on before I leave. The ones taken off will be along for spares, unless the Kms dictate otherwise.

Motorcycle chains and sprockets are the same. Use an OEM standard, or upgrade? Change gearing?

I do oil changes every 5000 - 8000 Kms depending on what I am doing and the flavour of the day. Discussed this with my dealer, and we agreed that this Km window is good - using synthetic. Won't be dickering on what synthetic to use considering an oil/filter change is less than 2 litres. I'm a little more fussy with the Spyder and GW becasue of quantity - still use synthetic.

Headlight protector may be worthwhile.

Minimum tool kit requirement(s) will be:

Tire irons
Rim protectors
Specialty tools for wheel removal
Spanners and sockets as required - shouldn't be a lot

Will have a better idea later on.

Communications will be addressed. Motorcycle to car comms. Will have a Garmin Explorer, cell phone use will be spotty at best.

Camping gear will be taken. Intend to hotel it, but accommodations can be a challenge. If the weather is good, camping may be the preferred option, nice to do for a night.

Will have a car that can take the bulk, if not all the additional requirements. Will probably install a tailer hitch and get one of those hitch cargo carriers. Good place to put extra fuel cans.

Lots more to firm up as the date approaches, lists will be made, parts/items ordered and installed, phone calls to the northern areas for information.

Going to be a good trip.
 

Jerk

The Boss at On An Adventure
Staff member
Sounds like a great adventure and planning is half the fun. I rode my KLR650 from Montana to Prudhoe Bay a few summers ago in August. Plenty of cold weather and snow on that trip. We camped every other night. No problems with fuel range... 250 miles is the max distance without a gas station. Let us know how it progresses.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
After my ride off road on Sunday last, have been researching tires. Have a spreadsheet regarding this with manufacturer, tire model, sizes, costs, tread patterns, OEM on/off road recommendation. Have 17 tires listed so far. Have viewed several videos, and read several tire reviews. I am finding good information, but trying to find a review where the road being used is similar, not exactly the same, but similar is not easy to find. The reviews are generally done on higher powered bikes that can sometimes amplify an issue that I would not have with the Himalayan.

When I was out on Sunday, if I got to 30 KPH it was definitely on a very good stretch of the road. May ride faster as I get better and more comfortable riding off road, but don't want to beat the Himalayan.

Have been discussing tires with a friend who I snowmobiled with. He rides an '06 BMW air head, has two or three sets of rim/tires ready to go depending on what he is doing, and is a lead rider for the local BMW club. His friend has a 1200 Super Tenere that he says his friend spares it no pain when riding off road. My friend likes the Michelin Anakee Adventure/Wild and Continental series tires. His friend likes the Metzeler Karoo3 and is going to try the Dunlop TrailMax next. My friend likes the tread pattern of the TrailMax.

Read an article a while back about tread design. Manufacturers pay attention to this detail becasue the "look" seems to be almost as imptortant as the tire design. I can attest to this because I looked at the Kenda tire tread, not a fan so have not included it in my tire list.

Here's a listing so fAR. Will be looking into balancing tires.
 

Attachments

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Looked into balancing tires. There are no balance weights on my rim/tires. This is interesting. Balance beads can be used in tube tires, this will probably be my go to for the trip.

To use weights, my friend recommended installing the wheels on the bike, and use the bike as the balance machine. Connect the brakes and such after balancing is done. Hadn't thought of this.

This issue has been put to bed so to speak.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Found a good video on the Heidenau K60 Scout and Motoz Tractionator GPS tires. The video was very common sense and pragmatic. The trip will be some 10000 Kms, 7500 or so on road consisting of road construction, chipseal and asphalt. Some 2500 Kms of dirt - Dempster Highway. Both of these will do the trip and I shouldn't have to do any tire change. I'm tending towards the Motoz Tractionator GPS tires - matched set. These tires have a stiffer carcass, and the rubber compound is the same. Like the tread pattern of both. The Motoz tire can be installed as a 50/50 tire or turned 180 to get a more off road tire - interesting concept.

The video mentions that changing either of these tires can be a bug bear, and as such, an extra pair of hands will be welcomed.

The sidewalls are 4 ply, the CEAT tires from the OEM are 3 ply.

The video mentioned longevity, but not the motorcycle that this information was derived from. Thinking that the motorcycles were the heavier and more powerful adventure style, these tires should stand up quite well.

Looking at communications and video for this trip. Have the communications 90% sorted out. Have a SENA SM10, just need a walkie talkie that can pair with it.

Thinking video would be nice. Have a friend that has the older SENA style communicator/camera combo. Will be broaching this subject with him.

Planning is going well. Have two dates that are quite firm. The rest of the trip will work around these and be flexible.
 

Rednaxs60

Well travelled
Did some additional research on other forums. A fellow mentioned the AKASO V50 Pro: https://www.amazon.ca/AKASO-Underwater-Waterproof-Adjustable-Accessories/dp/B07JNV6SPQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=YB6CXB7RQQWW&keywords=Akaso+V50+Pro&qid=1651627627&s=electronics&sprefix=akaso+v50+pro,electronics,119&sr=1-3&th=1 There are different models to choose from. He posted a video and I thought it was quite good. Price is attractive as well.

Don't intend to do YouTube videos or be a vlog person, but a video of the trip and my rides off road on Vancouver Island would be nice.

Some of you may remember when this was the thing to do back in the day so you could annoy your family and friends when you came back from a trip and invited them over for a dinner or BBQ. Showing off your children was another good reason to do video:

Film Projector.jpg
 

Old Scrambler

Finally made it
Location
Idaho, USA
Interesting...............My wife and I were planning to do the Dempster Hwy in 2021 but Covid got in the way. Now looking at 2023 and see your post for a possible ride-along. We travel in a Class-C motorhome pulling an enclosed trailer housing a 2020 Himalayan and RZR along with bicycles and a kayak. I am 75-years old but in reasonably good health. Rode an Aprilia Pegasso 650cc up to Prudoe Bay in 2017. We will be watching this thread.
 
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