ALASKA WINTER ON VALK

[F6TRVLR]

  Some of you know me, most don't. I live in Southern California and have 2 Valkyrie Interstates. An '01 and a '99. I have ridden the '01 from Ushuaia, Argentina to California and to Prudhoe Bay twice from SoCal. The '99 has a sidecar on it I bought from Solo1 a few years back. I plan to ride the '99 to Prudhoe Bay and The Dempster Highway this coming January. I have just about completed all the modifications to the bike for the extreme cold weather I will see there, -40 degrees or more.  Engine block heater, battery heater, studded tires, Hippo Hands to name a few. I will start a webpage before I go so anyone can see where I am and all my adventures. I have a friend who has made this same trip before. I have wanted to do this trip for many years and now is the best time for me. I will keep you informed.


  Mike Hahn

[saddlesore]

WOW! That sounds ambitious and dangerous.  Any back up vehicle?  Any other safety measures?

[PAVALKER]

Wow.... I look forward to the webpage with updates.   

Make sure you get a little section on that studded snow tire on the bike.   

[Valkorado]

Brrr.  Sounds like a beautiful cold trip.  We see -40 in our neck of the woods, on a cold night in the dead of winter.  I sure wouldn't ride in those temps.  It is not fit for man nor beast, just breathing in the air is a lung freezer.  Make sure you have good heated gear and be careful.   

[97ValkSteve]

Wow!  Good luck and safe travels. Steve

[BF]

  Some of you know me, most don't. I live in Southern California and have 2 Valkyrie Interstates. An '01 and a '99. I have ridden the '01 from Ushuaia, Argentina to California and to Prudhoe Bay twice from SoCal. The '99 has a sidecar on it I bought from Solo1 a few years back. I plan to ride the '99 to Prudhoe Bay and The Dempster Highway this coming January. I have just about completed all the modifications to the bike for the extreme cold weather I will see there, -40 degrees or more.  Engine block heater, battery heater, studded tires, Hippo Hands to name a few. I will start a webpage before I go so anyone can see where I am and all my adventures. I have a friend who has made this same trip before. I have wanted to do this trip for many years and now is the best time for me. I will keep you informed.


  Mike Hahn

I don't mean to insult you....really I don't, but....are you crazy?

I freeze full size aircraft for the DOD down to -65 for a living and I can tell you first hand that -40 is not a joke. 



If you're serious about experiencing that kind of journey, I sincerely hope that you are very very very prepared. 

[Rio Wil]

Hey Mike.....if I was a few years younger I would do this with you...... Life can be  about challenging ones self and experiencing what few in this world have the balls to do....climb Everest, hike Death Valley in the summer, eat at McDonalds....whatever floats your boat.

I had a friend that spent 20 years in Fairbanks working for IBM, he made various trips to the outback and if I remember correctly he said one of his winter trips to Prudhoe, he encountered -90.....he needed to make a trip from his hut to the computer room and it was only a block distance....they made him take a car and not attempt to walk it.....would crystallize your lungs with ice.....brrrrrrr.

Are you taking a tracking device like SPOT (which is what I used), it allowed everyone to track my location on 10 minute intervals and it had a emergency now button for immediate help and it had evac insurance.

Just prepping for the trip will be a hoot......studded M/C tires.....WTF!!!!!.

When you hit the Haul Road, take a picture of the sign, I want to see if my black duct tape X is still in the sign.  BTW, that was a great chocolate chip cookie you S.A. friend passed out celebrating the successful round trip on the haul road.

I suspect you won't find many people on this board that will have any interest in this trip.....look at the responses so far......but, damn the torpedo's, post your prep progress....it's gonna be a WHALE of an ADVENTURE!!

[saddlesore]

I for one would find it interesting. I've challenged myself in life but never on that scale. You got balls and I hope you make it through safely.
     

[Daniel Meyer]

Oh, I'm interested. 

[Gary]

You got balls and I hope you make it through safely.

I'm pretty sure the balls are non-existent after -20 on a bike... 

[Serk]

I'm definitely interested. I had been planning for a wimpy summer time ride to Prudhoe from Texas a few years ago, was pretty far along in the planning stages actually, but then the wife somehow got pregnant with triplets, so that scuttled any long bike rides for me for the next while.

[flsix]

I will live vicariously through your prep and ride from the comfort of the hot and steamy Fl. swamp area.
Good luck with this adventure.

[Petotoronto]

Hi Mike,

I met the guy who did it on Yamaha r1. Maybe you woul like to check his website www.r1goesextreme.com
It was very nice talking to him over a few beers here in Lake Louise national park.
I just bought the my first Valkyrie a few weeks ago and I love it!
I wish you a good luck with your new adventure.
Cheers,
Peter

[Mapper]

I met you briefly a couple months ago during our Valkyrie meet up in near San Jose.  I will look forward to your updates.

I lived in Fairbanks/Ft. Wainwright for some years.  -40F by the end of January most winters... got colder than -65F one year (without windchill).  These temperatures are NO JOKE.

You've been through Canada and Alaska, so you know how barren the land can be, especially so in the winter time.  I'm sure you know exactly what you are doing, I wish you a safe journey with no issues and all the best of luck!

[cookiedough]

You're tougher skinned than me.  I drove once my ATV's about 15 miles going 30 mph (but no windshield) in about 8 degree temps fully dressed and bundled up with 30 mph winds blowing and drifting snow.  Froze my keester off and I am pretty tough can take the cold more so than most.

Good luck and be safe.

[Rio Wil]

I have pretty much been a southern half o the US boy.....did spend a year at Lowery AFB in Denver about a hundred years ago and encountered -8 degrees......standard AF issue winter clothes doesn't do the job for that temp....can't imagine -40 or more below....

[YoungPUP]

Just my .02  but I'd ditch the stock battery and use a car type battery mounted in the side car.  Optima would be my choice.   That leaves you a lot more CCA to play with for the COLD starts.

[Mapper]

I remember in the winters, we plugged our cars in to an electrical outlet.  It is cold enough that without  it, the oil had the consistency of soft clay - cold enough the engine basically runs without oil until it heats up enough to soften the oil. 

Early winter may not be a problem...

[F6TRVLR]

  Will, always a pleasure too see your post. It has been alot of fun and a challenge prepping the bike. I will have a SPOT with me and will post on the board the access site. I can put you on the e-mail list so you get a direct mail every 34 seconds, just kidding. I will not have an assist vehicle and I will ride the whole way. I have a studdable car tire on the rear and a rear drive M/C tire on the front to stud too.

  A friend of mine that is working in Brasil for the next year has asked me to wait one year so he can go too. He is a very close friend and we have been through alot together ( the untimely death of his wife ) so I will wait for him. He has a BMW, so he will need my help, and I don't know if he will do a sidecar. Should be an interesting ride! I don't fear the cold. The worst thing that could happen is we have to turn back. I'm more of an adventure rider, I just do it on a Valkyrie. After all it is a dual-sport! I rode 22,000 miles in 21 countries in South and Central America and never was uncomfortable or had a problem. The Dalton is a cake walk, just adding some ice and snow. I'll try to get the website started soon.

  Thanks again for your post and hope to see you soon.

  Mike Hahn

[flsix]

Mike when I was a much younger man we did some winter camping in upstate NY. The coldest we camped in was -27 degrees. That was the temp down in town, we didn't know what it was up in the hills where we were. I wouldn't look forward to doing that again now but it was fun and challenging at the time.
I wish you and your friend the best of times with your trek.

[Rio Wil]

I know it must be disappointing to wait, but if there is a opportunity to share a ride like this with a friend, I would do that too.  My kids made me that the SPOT so they could keep track of our progress, it turned out to be quite a hoot, there was one location reported that put us out in the middle of this huge river.  Took about 2 hours for my daughter to text me and ask what the hell were we doing in the river!!!! Must have been some sort of glitch in the SPOT application. 

We also went to Whittier and took a boat ride out in Prince William Sound to see some glaciers, I left the SPOT on the bike....it would have been fun to see the reaction from the family when we were 20-30 miles out in the sound....

Before it was over, I must have had a hundred friends and relatives following our progress, so you definitely have to publish the link so we can follow your trip.

Ride safe ....

Wil

[F6TRVLR]

My buddy is debating as to do the trip with or without a sidecar. I think he is leaning towards the car (all puns intended). It will probably end up attached to a BMW as he is that fanatic. Hope to do the Dalton and Dempster Highways both in a total of about 6-8 weeks. His bike will be much easier to prep as it being air cooled and single sided swingarm. It will still need an oil heater. I have my studdable car tire on the way here and the studs. Still haven't picked an exact departure date yet. I will keep you updated.

[F6TRVLR]

  It looks as though the list of riders is growing. Another friend of mine from Brasil is commited to the ride. He will be on a Valkyrie and possibly a sidecar too. We are up to 3 now. I will be going to Quito, Ecuador in November to ride with some friends of mine for a week or so. I will also ride the length of the Colorado River in October from its headwaters near Denver to the Sea of Cortez. Just 4 months ago no one wanted to ride Alaska in the winter, now the group is growing. My next project is to start a webpage.


  Mike Hahn

[flsix]

Wow, your ride is getting more interesting all the time.

[Daddie O]

It was nice meeting you at our Northern California Valkyrie meetup a couple months ago.  It's one heckuva journey you have planned, and it sounds like you will have some company to enjoy the trip with.  I look forward to hearing about your exploits.

[cajunito]

Just one question, Mike... How did you get that `01 across the Darien Gap?

[old2soon]

I'm 68 years on this sphere we call Earth. If I was 30 or 40 years younger i'd be thinking long and hard bout hookin up with ya'll and making that ride .  Will be looking forward with a lot of anticipation to your website and updates. The old green eyed jealousy monster has not only reared his head-he be screaming in my ear. RIDE SAFE.

[F6TRVLR]

  In response to cajunito's question, the guy I was riding with was on a Valkyrie too. We put the both of them on a sheet metal shipping skid and sent them on a plane from Bogota, Columbia to Panama City. When I shipped the bike from California to Brasil it was air cargo too. Way easier and cheaper than on a boat to Brasil. About $3000 to ship from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo, Brasil and $350 from Bogota to Panama City. I'd do the trip again in a heartbeat!

[Rams]

Sounds like an interesting trip.   You'll see sites none of us will ever see.   That's for sure.   
Not a trip that would interest me though.   I've flown helicopters at -78 degrees F and that turbine engine didn't have enough bleed air to keep the windscreen clear much less me warm and I was dressed in Artic gear.   I do like the cold much more than the heat but, there are limits to what trips my trigger now.   

Even if I could afford such a trip, there are other places I'd rather go ride.   New Zealand would be fun, I think.