FJR1300 - Good choice for Alaska Trip?

[swebb]

Greetings,

Beginning to plan a CA to AK trip in the summer of 2008.

The FJR1300 is on my short list (incl BMW R1200RT and Goldwing) of potential bikes for the trip.

GL 1800 Goldwings are heavy and relatively expensive.

BMWs are just plain expensive.

The FJR seems like a great long distance bike (especially for the money).

Shaft drive, hard luggage, power windshield, plenty of power, etc.

This may not be the most objective place to ask, but is an FJR a good choice for a 2-up trip

of this length (8-10K miles).

The bike fits me well (I'm 5' 11") and I'm guessing that power should not be an issue even with a

passenger and gear.

I have two main concerns.

Concern #1 is luggage capacity for two for a 5-6 week trip.

The side cases don't appear to hold an awful lot, and I'm concerned that even with a top box there

may not be adequate storage space.

Concern #2 is long distance passenger comfort.

If anyone has traveled extensively with a passenger and could provide some input I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

Steve

SoCal

 

[twowheelnut]

Stay on the asphalt and you'll be fine. As for 5-6 weeks worth of laundry? Good luck or buy a trailer.

 

[Fencer]

from what I've read about it (AK) a dualsport may be better. Just depending on your destination and road avail.

 

[Calimus]

FJR should do fine for your needs.

Top case plus the side bags can hold alot. A weeks laundry for 2 ppl can fit in one sidecase. No real need for more then a weeks worth as there are laundry-mats everywhere. Be sure to have a light toolkit, tire plugs and some sort of air system incase of a flat.

Also, as already said, if ya stick mostly to whats paved, you will haev better luck. The FJR will be ok on hard packed gravel, but it gets a bit figity on anything softer and experience with the bike on those surfaces always helps.

For 2 up riding, the only thing that could be much better would be a Wing. But then there is that pesky exspence issue. ^_^

 

[Duezzer]

If you have a chance take a FJR for a long drive before you make your decision

When I first got mine the butt burn was rather bad ( solved by putting a towel on the seating area )

and the throtle was so stiff that my hand hurt - since I have done the throtle spring fix and seems alot better

I have been riding for many years and I will say this is not the most comfortable bike I have had but in the top 4

I had a DL 1000 V Strom that was much more comfortable ( had a Corbin seat, bar risers and bigger winshield ) and I had no problem doing 1000 to 1300 km / day on it

I have not yet done anything like that on the FJR but have heard many of the riders on this site have

Later

 

[bikerskier]

FJR is a great bike for your trip, however I would plan on getting a Russel seat, especially for your passenger. No need for dual sport unless you plan on taking the Haul Road up to Prudhoe Bay. Start thinking about the gear you need. If you are not camping, the FJR has plenty of room for clothing assuming you can stop by a laundromat every 4 or 5 days which should not be an issue. We used to carry everything we needed for a 3-4 week trips on a Kaw Z1-B with canvas bags and a backpack in the late 70's, and we were camping!

 

[krashdragon]

Greetings,
Beginning to plan a CA to AK trip in the summer of 2008.

The FJR1300 is on my short list (incl BMW R1200RT and Goldwing) of potential bikes for the trip.

GL 1800 Goldwings are heavy and relatively expensive.

BMWs are just plain expensive.

The FJR seems like a great long distance bike (especially for the money).

Shaft drive, hard luggage, power windshield, plenty of power, etc.

This may not be the most objective place to ask, but is an FJR a good choice for a 2-up trip

of this length (8-10K miles).

The bike fits me well (I'm 5' 11") and I'm guessing that power should not be an issue even with a

passenger and gear.

I have two main concerns.

Concern #1 is luggage capacity for two for a 5-6 week trip.

The side cases don't appear to hold an awful lot, and I'm concerned that even with a top box there

may not be adequate storage space.

Concern #2 is long distance passenger comfort.

If anyone has traveled extensively with a passenger and could provide some input I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

Steve

SoCal

In addition to what everyone else has said...

1. practice on hard pack

2. get a sheepskin AND a different seat

3. Wear UnderArmor or something similar. It packs in WAY LESS space and will usually dry overnight.

Stay away from cotton tshirts, underwear, socks, they take up a lot of space and retain moisture.

No way can you not do laundry for 5-6 weeks. They have some pretty nice UA for both men and women.

The long brief type UA underwear also helps with daily riding endurance, like bicycle shorts do without the padding in the wrong places... <G>.

for both men and women.

Figure out what you need and then take half of that. You'll be fine.

Convincing the other half to take half will be the difficult part.

Oh yeah, they do make portable hairdryers. Great if its going to be chilly, especially with long hair....

Have fun!

Mary aka Krashdragon

Have Fun....

 

[Niehart]

Roads will treat you well on FJR unless, as some one said, you do Haul Road up to Prudhoe Bay.

Might think about setting up a tired change up there no matter what you buy.

One of our members spent his honeymoon on a FJR so...

 

[2WheelTiger]

Two friends just did the trip from Dallas, thru Seattle, and up the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay. One on a Strom and one on an old ST1100.

Unfortunately the ST1100 owner sorta has a heavy throttle hand and he hit a HUGE chuck hole on the return about 150 miles from Anchorage. Bent the front wheel and deflated the tire. The front wheel was toast.

So without going into a lot of tedious detail, make the trip in early July and ride conservatively on the Haul Road. The FJR will do just fine.

(Yeah, I wimped out and only did the Seattle to Dawson Creek leg of the trip with them.)

 

[BobG]

I have been there on a BMW montauk, Not the FJR yet. I ran one up.

My friends who have done it also have gone on all types of bikes.

It all depends on what roads you are going to ride. If you are going to stay on paved roads then the sport touring bikes work well.

The cruiser was nice for the long days, but I would have loved the FJR in the BC, Yukon, twisties.

I would have also loved to have a Enduro style bike to explore the dirt roads. Mud and a lot of rain is not uncommon up there. When I lived there anchorage had a summer with only 3 days of clear no rain. The last time I was in Juneau, we had 2 1/2 weeks of 75 - 80 degree days, it had clear and sunny skies, it rained only 3 days there.

The great thing about Alaska is most of the best places are not even accessible by roads. You may have to fly or boat in to see them.

Also don't plan on public transportation to be on time, if you use it. The weather is a real factor when it comes to travel.

I personally loved the unexpected delays when I lived there. I had to suffer by staying at some of the Greatest Lodges and ate some fantastic food because we couldn't fly out till the next morning. Silver salmon, sea food salad sandwich, made from real snow crab and salmon. Fresh halibut, dungeness crab. Reindeer sausage and eggs for breakfast. Fresh local blueberry pie.

God I moving back.

Bob

 

[sirryan]

FWIW, We just took a 5800 mile trip 2-up and were quite comfortable. We packed sidecases (one for each clothing and fleece sleepenig bag) yam trunk (mostly rain gear, and other riding clothes) and tank bag (wipes, visors, essentials, etc.) and under seat stored all tools and wiring, air pump, tape, etc. The most important things on the trip were custom seats (ours are Mayers, but others are great as well), cruise control, and full gear. We were not able to bring camping gear 2-up, but might find a way to make it work in the future. We stayed at the koa cabins where all you need is bedding and beer.

Would love to do Alaska sometime. Best of luck with your planning and have a blast!!

SR

 

[swebb]

Greatly appreciate all the feed-back.

We'll be traveling with another couple on a Goldwing and are planning to stay on

paved roads (whenever possible).

I'm going to try and arrange a long(ish) ride on an FJR before we make a final decision

on what bike to buy for the trip.

Again, thanks to you all for the responses and information.

V/R,

Steve

SoCal

 

[evil_henchman]

I won't ride 2 up for more than a couple of hours on my FJR. IMHO, a wing is the only choice for the trip you're planning. The FJR is a great solo bike but truely sucks (at least for us) for long 2 up rides.

 

[AdamJ]

I ran up to Anchorage and back on a Concours a few years ago. I took the Al-Can from Dawson Creek north, which was 98% paved. The unpaved sections were mostly 1-5 mile stretches where they had torn up the road for repaving, or shorter sections where they had thrown gravel chipseal down. One of the more difficult aspects of the ride was spotting chuckholes in the paved sections when they're filled with puddled rain water. Most of them would easily bend a rim and/or rider at 55 mph, and when the level sections of road are covered with water they're difficult to see. You might get lucky and not have to deal with much rain, but best to plan for it.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again using the FJR, but given the choice would prefer something with a bit more suspension travel. On the FJR I would definitely plan to setup the suspension a bit softer than you might for normal riding, taking into account the extra weight from gear and passenger. Might also be wise to find out if your wife can handle many very long days in the saddle before leaving. Definitely have new tires waiting "up north" with a plan for getting them installed. I made the mistake of thinking I could do the 8k roundtrip if I started on a new set of tires, but had to have the rear changed in Anchorage after ~5k miles due to severe cupping, running Avon Azaro's and hauling a lot of gear. The front was down well past the wear bars by the time I got home also. Some other thoughts: Plan for an oil change somewhere along the way. Consider installing headlight guards if you don't already have them - Ventura makes custom fit sets for the FJR. And sheepskin seat pads are worth looking into, I highly recommend these guys: https://www.alaskaleather.com/buttpads.html

Have fun and post some photos for the rest of us to drool over.

 

[BBQ]

I made a sililar trip this year in June and July. I agree with all of the previous advice given. One more observation based on my trip - stop early as the motels fill up quickly - otherwise bring camping gear. I was forced to camp out twice.

Enjoy your trip - if it is dry consider the Cassiar Highway.

 

[Spooker Two]

Made a similar trip this past June and July (2007). I was not riding two-up. The FJR made the trip just fine. During the 4 plus week trip we put about 5800 miles on the bikes plus spent 4 nights and days on the ferry between Skagway AK and Bellingham WA. I put new Storms on just before leaving and have around 50% of the tread left. There are some bottonless chuck-holes in the Alcan highway that normally cannot be seen until your front tire is about to disappear. So be careful!! Of the four bikes on our trip, two ended up with bent front rims, both Harleys (one Harley did not finished the trip as a result of it's bent front rim). As part of our trip we rode from Dawson City YK to Chicken AK over the "top of the world" highway then on to Tok AK. Was told it had around 60 miles of dirt roads, turned out it's about 117 miles (GPS calculated) miles of gravel or mud roads. The FJR handeled them just fine and was worth the adventure. By far the worst section of road we traveled on was from Tok to Haines Juction on Hwy 2. The FJR bottomed out more than once along this part of our trip. This section also had the most road construction going on. Dusty to say the least! Word to the wise "loose grave" signs can mean anything from 1" of gravel to gravel being over 6 " thick, allowing the bikes to sink, like in quicksand. Talked to one rider that spent a couple of nights in the hospital due to that sinking feeling. Another bit of information.........Canada is expensive. As soon as we crossed the boarder from Washington, gas went to over $4 per gallon. By the time we got to Whitehorse it was over $6 per gallon. Alaska's gas prices were lower than here in California. Both Canada and Alaska hamburgers cost over $15. Sticky Buns (although very good) are over $7 each. Have money available!

Good Luck, Have Fun............It's worth it!!!

 

[AGirl]

FWIW, I just returned from a 2 month 15,000 mile jaunt to the Last Frontier State albeit not on an FJR. I took about 99 billion photos (or so it seemed) and they are posted, along w/my daily reports, right: HERE. I'm linking this so that you can perhaps get a better sense of the roads & conditions from the pics.

As for would I take my FJR to AK (or better yet, *will* I since I'm going back)? Well, yes and no. I would ride an FJR to AK but not mine since it has the dreaded altitude sickness issue. (No way under no circumstances would I take it ). I personally think "successfully" riding to AK is more about the skill of the rider than a chosen bike. (I know of someone who rode a Busa to Prudhoe Bay, but not surprising, the rider had mad dirt skills). I'd guess 65-70% of all bikes I saw while in AK were of the cruiser variety if that tells you anything. (IIRC, I saw a grand total of three FJRs while rolling through AK, Yukon, BC). Road conditions can change dramatically over a few hours and certainly a few days in areas of construction. There was only one place (on the Cassiar) where I would not have attempted to proceed if on my FJR where rain washed the road out and had forced several days of closure prior. Yes, it would have been rather interesting riding an FJR in other non-paved areas (Denali Hwy/Top of The World/Salmon Glacier/sections of Cassiar), especially if a thunderstorm hit (thus mud). You could avoid these areas entirely but you'd miss a LOT. In fact, my fondest memories are from those 4 roads.

Hope this helps.

AGirl

 

[PA1195]

Greetings,
Beginning to plan a CA to AK trip in the summer of 2008.

The FJR1300 is on my short list (incl BMW R1200RT and Goldwing) of potential bikes for the trip.

GL 1800 Goldwings are heavy and relatively expensive.

BMWs are just plain expensive.

The FJR seems like a great long distance bike (especially for the money).

Shaft drive, hard luggage, power windshield, plenty of power, etc.

This may not be the most objective place to ask, but is an FJR a good choice for a 2-up trip

of this length (8-10K miles).

The bike fits me well (I'm 5' 11") and I'm guessing that power should not be an issue even with a

passenger and gear.

I have two main concerns.

Concern #1 is luggage capacity for two for a 5-6 week trip.

The side cases don't appear to hold an awful lot, and I'm concerned that even with a top box there

may not be adequate storage space.

Concern #2 is long distance passenger comfort.

If anyone has traveled extensively with a passenger and could provide some input I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

Steve

SoCal

Hello from Alaska...been here 42 years and have either driven or flown over all the State...If you want to stick to paved roads that are mostly paved gravel/asphalt then bring your FJR or tour bike, avoid the potholes and debris, and you'll have a wonderful time...if you want to Adventure Tour on un-paved roads, then bring an similarly equipped motorcycle designed for that surface and conditions...there's no way I'd drive a plastic fairing motorcycle over un-paved roads unless I wanted to sand-blast the finish and ultimately ruin the value of the bike...many Pilgrims have done so to prove their point of "doing" the 49'th State, and their blogs are fun reading...but the equipment is usually toast when they're finished with their little adventure...enjoy the improved areas, but don't climb a mountain in street shoes would be my advice.

Gary in Fairbanks

 

[swebb]

Appreciate all of the responses and feed-back.

Am planning to rent an FJR in the near future and go on an extended test ride (300+ miles).

Thanks again.

Steve

SoCal