Days 8 through 11

6/30 - Valdez to Anchorage - 310 miles
7/1 - In Anchorage - 0 miles
7/2 - Anchorage to Fairbanks - 392 miles
7/3 - In Fairbanks - 0 miles

Day 8 - Riding back out of Valdez was cloudy and raining. Good thing we too some pictures the day before because we were in the clouds when we started to climb out of town. At one point it was so dense I could only see 30 yards in front of me. The ride to Anchorage was cool and wet. Going by the Matanuska glacier it felt like being in a refrigerator. As we got closer to Anchorage the clouds thinned and the sun came out. 13 miles outside of Anchorage Michael's bike stopped running. We had been pulled over to the side of the road for about 15 minutes when a van with a flat bed trailer stops. The gal driving is from Alaska Rider (http://www.akrider.com/). She is just coming back from a tour. I think this was the chase van. The flat bed trailer is empty except for one bike. We load the bike on the flat bed and are taken to their shop in Anchorage. We get the bike unloaded and start working to figure out the problem. This was not the first time this had happened and Michael had had the bike in to the Honda dealership and they had not been able to recreate or fix it. The problem had not recurred since. This time we were more fortunate, we had a solid failure to work on. This bike has a carburetor but also a fuel pump. Typically gravity is all that is required to get the fuel to the carbs. The tank is designed so that the part of the fuel is lower than the carbs so a fuel pump is needed. With fuel hose removed and the starter engaged no fuel..... a bad pump. We take the pump out, connect directly to the battery and it works..... an intermittent pump. Put the pump back in and drive the three miles to my friends Tim and Lori's house. Park the bikes and go out to dinner.

I think we used all our good luck up today. What is the likelihood that a motorcycle touring company with an empty flatbed trailer would come along within 15 minutes of when you really really need them, they stop, and take your bike to their shop? They did not charge us anything but we both bought t-shirts. By the way we have not seen any other bikes stopped on the side of the road needing assistance.

Day 9 - We are at Tim and Lori's house, have a heated garage to work in, and Tim's truck to chase parts down. It is Sunday, no bike shops are open, but I don't know that it mattered. Michael's bike is not imported to the US and I don't think we could have found a replacement part. We decide on a small auto pump that puts out a few psi. Spend the day assembling the parts and fitting it. In the process of modifying the wiring harness we discover an intermittent section of wire in the wiring harness on the old pump....... good pump, bad wire. We cut out the 10" section of wire, splice in a new one and put in the original pump. We now have the bike back together and ready to go. We also have the auto pump configured with the right connections so we can swap out the fuel pump in 10 minutes.

Day 10 - We stop in Talkeetna on the way to Fairbanks for breakfast. Neat little town but very commercialized in the last 12 years since I was there last. It starts to rain after breakfast and it is in the low 50's F. The further north we go the warmer it gets. It is 80 F by the time we get to Fairbanks. Finally after 10 days of riding I don't need the rain suit. Tim and Lori's son, Charles is a firefighter in Fairbanks and we are able to stay with him for a couple of days. We go out to dinner and get some motor oil. We're changing oil a 10 PM. It never really gets dark this time of year.

Day 11 - We stay in Fairbanks. We went through the Museum of the North on the University campus. A nice museum that covers all the native culture and history as well as up through modern times. We also visited the Honda/Harley dealership and saw a Honda ST1300 that did not make it up the pipeline road. It had been crashed hard on the right side. The rider had two broken arms and a broken collar bone. We had already decided not to go any further north this trip and will not be riding the pipeline road to Prudhoe bay. A combination of weather reports and the problem with Michael's bike change our minds. There is always next time. And I think a smaller bike like the KLR650 may be the ideal bike for this kind of ride to Alaska. We are riding at 55-70 miles per hour. The KLR has a tank range of 300 miles vs. my current 200. Fuel mileage is closer to 60 vs 43. And rear tires last 12,000 miles vs 8,000. The KLR weighs at least 80lbs less and is much more off road capable.

We wrap up the day going to Trails End BMW. Run by world famous George Rohn for the past 40 years. What a character. We are warned at the Honda dealer to call first because if you just drop in you are a risk of getting an unfriendly welcome. Virtually impossible to describe the collection of bikes, parts, tires, cars, and stuff spread out in the yard, the house and the garage area. When you see the pictures you will understand. But George warmed up to us, gave us license plate frames for our bikes and let us take his picture with us.