These are pics from Mike’s solo trip back across the country to home, after we split up in Missoula, Montana when Jaryd and I had the bike troubles.
Mike made it almost all the way back, until his rear knobbie tire tread finally gacve up the ghost from the high-speed, high-temp stress on the asphalt, and the tire separated an hour or two from his parents house….luckily without causing an accident. Mike’s Dad brought their truck to pick Mike and bike up, and take him the last bit home, where he later re-installed his old street tire to ride the last distance home to South Carolina. Tough dude, this guy!
Barbecue, anyone?
A little breezy along the I-90, perhaps? 
An abandoned house, but maintained yards…
A great pic of Mike with his little nieces!
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Hi Grig and Nik
Tires.
It really depends on the roads you plan to ride. If you are going to do much the same kind of trip as this, with only about 1000 miles/ 1600 kms of dirt roads and mainly normal asphalt/tarred roads, then I would NOT take another set of tires like we did on this trip. I would run a semi-knobby 50% on/off-road tire on the front like the Continental TKC80 or Cheng Shin C858 and a 30% on/off-road tire like the Kenda K270 rear tire, which can last maybe 7000-8000miles if you don’t ride too hard. Changing the ties on the side of the road is NOT fun for me, so I would try to avoid it again.
Average gas consumption was quite heavy because we were VERY over-loaded. We took much too much stuff (extra tires, etc)
I think we averaged about 45-50 MPG which is 5.2 L /100 KM. (US gallon = 3.78 litres)
You should take spare gas cans with you on this trip only for safety on the Dempster Highway, where there are sections that are approx 250 miles without gas stations. Otherwise, plan to stop every couple of hours of riding to fill up. If you ride these roads between May and September, you won’t have a problem with gas.
I will say if you want to know some camp sites along this same road, you should get a decent GPS with up to date POI (Points of Interest) database in it, and search for campgrounds along the way. We never planned any specific stops or knew exactly where we were going to sleep except for the first night. When you get up to the Alcan Highway, you should take with you a very good campsite book called “Traveler’s Guide to Alaskan Camping: Alaska and Yukon Camping with RV or Tent”
This is a fantastic book and you can buy it at Amazon.com. It is better than the more famous “Milepost” book for finding nice campsites and it tells you all about the roads in North Western Canada and Alaska and the camping facilities, etc, etc.
Parts.
Take the usual…spare tubes for the tires, tire changing equipment, chain links and tools, spare cables, light bulbs, spark plug, electric tester, KLR650 workshop manual, 1 can of oil, spare electric wire, toe rope if you have to pull one of the bikes, spare nuts and bolts, air pump, etc, etc.
Best time.
I would not leave too early. You can still have snow and cold in May, and there is LOTS of road construction in the early summer months. I would leave towards the end of summer, maybe late August is best time. It can be snowing again in late September/October. Be prepared for LOTS of mosquitoes! Bring caps with mesh screen to wear when you stop, and long sleeve shirts and lots of DEET mosquito repellant. Bring bear spray for the big bears! Take precautions like not leaving toiletries and food, fruit, etc in your tent if you’re sleeping in bear country.
Have fun!
OB
Hi,
The pictures and the comets under every picture of Your trip are very nice and giving so much information and navigation for people like me who are planning to take this trip also.
I have several questions.
Can you tel me more about your experience with the tires. Is it Ok to have 2x pairs, for road and for of road tires?
What was your average gas/100km? Did you need somewhere additional gas tanks?
If it is possible, can you send me the adr or GPS coordinates of the campings and motels which your would recommended.
We ere two Grigor and Nikolay. We are from Bulgaria, EU. We have KLR 650 like you. Can you recommend what kind of part would be good to have as a reserve?
Last my question is about the wheather. Which time between 01-May until 31-Aug is the best for the same trip.
Thank you in advance.
Grig & Nik