JSHRAM
08-20-2006, 10:29 PM
With the summer disappearing fast I had to jump on the last weekend of the summer that the state wasn't blanketed by rain (we've had steady rains since and major flooding of the rivers, fall is here, summer is over). I've always wanted to do a documented SS and the acquisition of my '04 ST this year was the ticket.
I do have to say that riding in Alaska is much different than riding the big roads down states. My wife and I came across the country last year on my '98 Triumph Trophy 1200 and did an 850 mile day with relative ease... understandable with many highway speed limits at 75mph and traffic flowing at almost 90mph... anyway roads are different up here and anyone who has ridden the Alcan or in the Yukon in Canada can attest to it.
I started my trip in Wasilla then road north to Fairbanks, SE to Delta Junction, S to Paxson, W to Tangle Lakes, E back to Paxson, S to Valdez, N to Glennallen and SW back to Wasilla for 1050 miles in 22hrs. Mostly the speed limits are 55 with rough winding roads. Some of the views are spectacular and some of the streaches are very lonely.
Weather was overcast most of the way except it rained like cats and dogs on me to Vadez and from Glennallen back to Wasilla... that was the worst. It was a very windy road, raining, in the dark.. yuk.
I rode the stock seat which before the addition of a custom made Alaska Leather Sheepskin Buttpad was limited to 400 miles before butt-burn... after the sheepskin, no problem.
I had zero mechanicals and had a total of a little over 4 hrs of stops along the route.
I have to say I love this ST, it is all Honda superior engineering.
Here's a few photos of the trip.
John
:04biker:
I do have to say that riding in Alaska is much different than riding the big roads down states. My wife and I came across the country last year on my '98 Triumph Trophy 1200 and did an 850 mile day with relative ease... understandable with many highway speed limits at 75mph and traffic flowing at almost 90mph... anyway roads are different up here and anyone who has ridden the Alcan or in the Yukon in Canada can attest to it.
I started my trip in Wasilla then road north to Fairbanks, SE to Delta Junction, S to Paxson, W to Tangle Lakes, E back to Paxson, S to Valdez, N to Glennallen and SW back to Wasilla for 1050 miles in 22hrs. Mostly the speed limits are 55 with rough winding roads. Some of the views are spectacular and some of the streaches are very lonely.
Weather was overcast most of the way except it rained like cats and dogs on me to Vadez and from Glennallen back to Wasilla... that was the worst. It was a very windy road, raining, in the dark.. yuk.
I rode the stock seat which before the addition of a custom made Alaska Leather Sheepskin Buttpad was limited to 400 miles before butt-burn... after the sheepskin, no problem.
I had zero mechanicals and had a total of a little over 4 hrs of stops along the route.
I have to say I love this ST, it is all Honda superior engineering.
Here's a few photos of the trip.
John
:04biker: