What Worked What Didn't

What Worked
Tall windshield - I put on a shield that I just look over the top of. Much warmer, better for bugs and rain.
Heated grips/Heated vest - You don't have to put on so many layers to stay warm. With the temperature running from high 40's to mid-90s, turning grips and vest on and off works great. In a rain storm situation the temperature can drop 10 degrees or more and then warm back up.
Two Piece Rainsuit - Easier to get in to and out of then the one-piece. Works almost as well as the one piece. If I knew I was going to ride in the rain all day, the one piece would be my choice but we did not encounter an all day rain ride
Highway Pegs - It was nice to be able to stretch my legs out straight and rest my calves on the pegs
Two-way Radios - These were great. Especially in the larger cities where traffic is an issue. I would definitely use these again. We only used the low power transmit setting which was good for about a half mile range.
Ear Plugs - Howard Leight MAX LIGHT are very soft and comfortable for all day riding
Front Splash Guard - I fabricated this from aluminum sheet metal and and it protected the front of the engine from mud picked up by the front wheel. No indication that the big ran any hotter even though this shield covers the oil cooler.
GPS - This worked well in the larger cities where we did not know our way around. The streetmap software on Michael's GPS was helpful. There were only a few times it got confused and sent us in the wrong direction
My Bike - it ran flawlessly, it was fun to have a few more horsepower at sea level. I did lose a screw out of the front fairing which I suspect I had not tightened. I also had a rattle in the front fairing that needs more investigation. Duct tape fixed the rattle during the trip.
WalMart - We got engine oil at the Super WalMart in Fairbanks for an oil change. I paid the same price for the synthetic oil I use in Fairbanks as what I pay in Colorado. I don't know how WalMart can do this.
The MilePost - If you are doing a road trip through western Canada and Alaska you need this guide
Visitor Centers - For our trip we did not have advanced reservations for hotels. If we thought there was going to be a problem we picked one from the Milepost and called a day ahead to see how booked they were and if need be make a reservation. Most of the time we waited until we got to the town and went to the visitor's center. First we asked for B&Bs. We got smart enough to ask for new B&Bs. These were most likely to have openings. If no B&Bs we asked for hotels with rooms under $100/night. More then likely these were second tier hotels so we asked for the ones most recently updated.
Wi-Fi - a good portion of hotels and campgrounds provide free wi-fi access. The exception was at Whistler where they figure you can pay extra for it since you are paying a lot for the room already.
Riding Close to the Speed Limit - We were not the fastest vehicles on the road but we did not have any encounters with law enforcement. We had animals close to the road and I only had one tense moment with a sheep. I was slowing down as fast as I could and the sheep was deciding if crossing the road was a good idea. I was almost stopped when the sheep changed direction.
AARP Membership - I was insulted when I first got the invitation to join three years ago. But I joined for a year just before the trip . The hotels in Alaska gave discounts and I have more then paid for it. The Canadians did not give any discounts on room rates for AARP members.

What Didn't
Battery in radios - they lasted about 1.5 days which is OK except you have to stop and change them. I just ended up charging mine each night. A better solution will be to wire in to the bike electrical system. Also using the privacy codes did not work reliably. The idea is to select a channel and then a privacy code so the radios only work if the privacy code is detected at the front end of the transmission. Not sure what the problem is.
Rear Splash Guard - I made this one too tall for a fully loaded bike. It rubbed on hard bumps. I ended up taking it off and brought it home for modification.
Stock Seat - This seat is terrible for long distance riding. I knew this and have a Corbin seat that is much better. I decided against the Corbin because I can touch the ground flat footed with the stock seat. This is very important on technically difficult roads like the road to Prudhoe Bay. We did not make this part of the trip so I would have been much more comfortable on the Corbin seat. Fortunately our longest days were only 400 miles so it was not too bad. I also thought my butt would get tougher with riding, it did not.
Too Much Stuff - I took more clothes than I needed. There are other areas to cut back on weight and volume like spare parts I carried.