Dalton Highway

PierJey

PierJey

Member
#1
#1
Hello

First time for me here.
I have some questions about riding the Dalton Hwy next summer 2017.
I'm a pretty good/tough rider, I can ride 700/750/800 miles a day pretty easily which mean aroud 12 to 14 hours a day.
For those who already did it:
-should I do Fairbanks-Coldfoot (255 miles) on first day and Colfdfoot-Prudhoe Bay (250 miles) on second day....the same to back south.
-or I could start at Yukon River Camp to Prudhoe Bay (365 miles) first day, and the come back south with the same route. Is it feasible. Considering I can have gas at Coldfoot.
-Any suggestion for staying over there? (I know there is not much of a choice ) ;-)
-I plan to ride it wirt a FJR 1300 2008.....I know some peoples did it.
-End of july....
-Any other suggestion or advise are welcome.

Thank you
 
lakota

lakota

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#2
#2
When I did it I did Fairbanks - Coldfoot - Prudhoe Bay going north and Prudhoe - Fairbanks on the way back. Made the Coldfoot stop because we wanted to see how demanding the ride would be. The stop made for a nice easy ride. The return took 13 hours because we took long breaks at Coldfoot and Yukon Camp. I liked the Coldfoot option because it made life simple.
It is not how tough you are or how may hours a day you can ride - the whole ride is predicated on the weather and road conditions. You can have a day where 60 mph is easy and the next when 20 is difficult to maintain.
Have a great ride
 
Patrick Ford

Patrick Ford

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#4
#4
Be sure and wash the calcium chloride off your FJR EVERY chance you get. I have read somewhere that there are washes in Coldfoot and Deadhorse now. My RT was never clean again after going Fairbanks- Dead horse and back to Fairbanks without cleaning.
 
Paul Knight

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#5
#5
I too am planning a run to Prudhoe Bay and am trying to figure out the last 250-500 miles. I have limited time to make the trip so I need to be careful with my time.

I was thinking the safest use of time would be to have reservations in Cold Foot for two nights.

Leave Coldfoot in the morning to Prudhoe Bay 250 miles and return to Coldfoot the same day. This seems like it could be a short day if the weather and road conditions are favorable ( 500 miles / 10 hours ) or if the conditions are not favorable then there is plenty of time to make it back to Coldfoot.

Thoughts?
 
Patrick Ford

Patrick Ford

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#6
#6
Thinking of the cost of the rooms along the way, why not just do the 500 or so to Deadhorse, get a room and return to Fairbanks the next day? If the weather is not too bad you can make it to Deadhorse in 13-14 hours easy with a stop for a meal in Coldfoot.
Keeping this in perspective , its been 13 1/2 years since I was up there. My information is really dated.
 
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Paul Knight

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#7
#7
Patrick Ford said:
Thinking of the cost of the rooms along the way, why not just do the 500 or so to Deadhorse, get a room and return to Fairbanks the next day? If the weather is not too bad you can make it to Deadhorse in 13-14 hours easy with a stop for a meal in Coldfoot.
Click to expand...
Fairbanks is an option, but with trying to maximize my miles / day and coming from Key West my current stops are as planned
Thursday MCO to ATL (500 miles 8 hours after work)
Friday ATL to St Louis ( 500 miles 8 hours after work)
Saturday St Louis to Minot ND (1000 miles full day)
Sunday Minot, ND to Dawson Creek (1085 miles full day)
Monday Dawson Creek to Whitehorse AK (871 miles full day)
Tuesday Whitehorse AK to Coldfoot (841 miles full day)
Wednesday Coldfoot - Prudhoe Bay - Coldfoot (500 miles)
The rest is to return to home

Thoughts
 
Texas Tom

Texas Tom

Premier Member
#9
#9
I agree with Brother Ford...the schedule looks aggressive in CA and in AK, and it's been 3 years since I was up there. CA limits are extremely low (comparatively) and once you get into NT and Yukon, they're even slower given the expansive construction that goes on in the summer. However, YMMV....although I didn't run the limits, it was time consuming even before you hit the Dalton.
 
Lisa

Lisa

Staff member
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IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#10
#10
The mileage is probably doable, especially because you'll have added daylight. But do factor in time at border crossings and the ever-present road construction. I would also leave yourself some wiggle room because, as others have mentioned, the weather plays a big factor on the Haul Road. If it's bad, it can be REAL bad. We stayed the night in Fairbanks, leaving a lot of our stuff there at the hotel so the load was lighter. That was a good decision for us as the way up was very muddy/slushy/icy. We went straight through to PB with a Coldfoot stop for food, fuel and weather recon. We planned to stay in Wiseman but got a CB transmission from a trucker up ahead that Atigun had just re-opened so we made a run for it. That's kind of how it is up there so you don't want to box yourself in so much that you run out of days to complete the ride.
 
Paul Knight

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#11
#11
Is Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay with Overnight in Prudhoe Bay and return the next day to Fairbanks more "reasonable" ?

It seems that the only lodging is Fairbanks , Coldfoot, Wiseman and Prudhoe Bay.

With the scarcity of towns with lodging and my limited time I am struggling to with MAX distance per day.

Like most of us here I can eat 16 - 18 hour days back to back but I guess the concern is speed since the roads could be trouble..
 
Lisa

Lisa

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#12
#12
I know this seems like I'm not answering your question, but what is most reasonable is working with whatever the weather and road conditions dictate. In our case, just after we turned onto Dalton Highway, we saw a couple of small dust clouds approaching in the distance. Turns out it was Jack Gustafson and John Ryan, returning from being turned back by snow on Atigun, and headed back to Fairbanks. Knowing how things change up there, we pressed on and Atigun opened just as we reached the Wiseman turn off so we went on. John spent a couple of days in Fairbanks doing some bike repair before successfully reaching Prudhoe. This was to be the start of his record ride but he had to regroup and alter his schedule because of the weather and road conditions. I strongly suggest you give yourself at least a couple of days of wiggle room to be sure you reach your goal. We had some bike and tire issues and those things take some time to resolve in the remote areas.
 
PierJey

PierJey

Member
#13
#13
Thank you for all those reply and advice.
I like the idea of doing Fairbank-Wiseman-Prudehoe Bay and from there, so I can see how hard it will be.
Then I can see if I can ride it through Fairbanks directly.

I'll let you know how it is going to be.
A big project is on its way for this trip.....
 
IBRX3

IBRX3

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#14
#14
Was in Prudhoe in June on a 2003 FJR.
We originally planned to ride fairbanks to Coldfoot, then overnight and continue to Prudhoe the next day. However, because the weather forecast was excellent for two days and then a forecast of rain, we adapted our plan and departed Fairbanks at 4.00am and arrived Prudhoe early evening. I'd advise you to be adaptable as the weather and road conditions will have a big impact on your progress.
I ran the FJR with Michelin pilot road 2s. Held up very well mileage wise. Picked up quite a bit of damage to the exhaust and belly pan plastics due to big rocks clanging off the underside of the bike. Running at 40-50 mph was fast enough for me on the FJR - seemed to develop a horrible weave at higher speeds on the gravel. Of course, some sections we were down t0 less than 20 mph. Stay off the brakes, use the gears and be prepared to give a handfull of throttle when the front wheel starts to bury itself
 
Paul Knight

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#16
#16
tdragger said:
WHAT???
Click to expand...
Yes, when the front wheel starts to "bog down" or gets "buried" you use the throttle to lift the front up and stay on the rear wheel that is providing power and forward movement, otherwise the front wheel will sink and the rotation from the rear will make you go down.
 
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