ALCAN: Made for a Harley
I’ve ridden the ALCAN/Alaska Highway five times (twice on an Alaska round trip, once one-way). I’m always amazed that someone has invested in such a long stretch of asphalt through such amazing wilderness. The route is made for wandering, and I wonder what could be more fun than wandering it on a Harley.
People always ask whether it wouldn’t be better to ride a tougher bike on the ALCAN, an adventure bike or a BMW with knobby tires. My answer is simply, “No.” I’ve never ridden it on anything but a Harley. Still, I must say, for most of the two thousand miles of smooth asphalt, my most sincere belief is that the weight of a Harley cruiser with a sofa seat and smooth highway tires make it particularly suitable for the ride.
Caveats & Disclaimers:
- Chipseal: knobby tires would be nice.
- Muddy road construction sites: many of these are suitable for straight-up motocross bikes.
- Wonky steel grated bridges: I don’t know if different tires would help. The first few passes were truly unnerving. Now I just turn up the music, hum along, and ride across, taking the grooves as the grooves take me. I suppose knobby tires might be better.
- Weather: it doesn’t take a lot of rain to hydroplane on stock HD highway tires. When the rain hits, I’m wishing for knobs, but what a drag they’d be for the thousands of miles on dry pavement. I’ll opt for highway tires and just slow down to a ridiculously slow speed to compensate for them, when necessary.
- Short riding season: don’t get caught out of season on the ALCAN. As mentioned in the book, riding outside of June to August isn’t recommended.
Dalton Highway & Klondike Highway
The Dalton Highway heads north from Fairbanks to Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean. The Klondike Highway goes from Skagway AK to the Klondike Gold Fields in Dawson City. They are gravel subject to potholes and washboards. When dry, they may be jut doable with highway tires, but who would try?
These extensions of an ALCAN adventure are a big deal—definitely worth doing—but you have to decide in advance whether they are part of the plan. If they are, then I would consider riding an adventure bike, not a cruiser. Regardless, riders are advised to bring extra tires.
I’ve ridden a Harley cruiser on plenty of gravel, but I’m never embarking on a trip where I plan to ride it on gravel, so I’m definitely not taking my rolling sofa on these routes. Once I convince Hanna that I need a second bike, I’ll buy an adventure bike and then I’m definitely doing these trips.
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