Road trip maps and plans...

[yukon_alex]

Sometimes, plans change!

Well the trip started off exactly as planned. I arrived in Vancouver and ONETRACK met me a the dealership in Richmond. Here's a pick of the two bikes outside the dealership. Notice which colour is in front? Hehe. My blue one looks bigger too!

Off to the Island to visit my nephew. ONETRACK graciously led me through traffic out to West Vancouver to catch my ferry. The second shot of my bike shows the luggage configuration for the trip home.

I spent two glorious nights on Gabriola Island and here's the FZ again in front of the very picturesque lighthouse just off the Island.

On Saturday, I rode across Vancouver Island to Uclulet (sp) and back. The fourth photo is a good shot of the road.

Sunday I spent riding the Sunshine Coast after catching a ferry from Comox, BC to Powell River. It is a great ride but you spend lots of time on Ferries. I included the shot of my bike on the ferry showing the little wooden block used to ensure it doesn't fall over during the ride.

Monday was the trip into Langley to have Dinner with "The Guys" See the other thread for more information...

Left today for the interior of BC. I skipped the Whistler portion because of forecasted snow. Made it to Penticton in pretty good time considering how difficult it was to get the bike out of the shop at the dealer. I will post a separate review of the dealership later.

I took the Crow's Nest Highway out of Hope and ended up being rained on, snowed on and enjoying the sunshine, sometimes all at once! The next photo shows the weather I was heading into. The next shows that maybe I had the wrong vehicle for this particular route and the final one for today shows me in my ice encrusted helmet and jacket at one of the summits along the way.

Having lots of fun so far, will post more when I get the chance.


(More photos after the break...)

 

[yukon_alex]

Re: Sometimes, plans change!

Here's the final three photos...

 

[OneTrack]

Re: Sometimes, plans change!

Great photos, Alex! :thumbup:
I drive that highway regularly this time of year, and it's a challenge in a Subaru. Kudos to your stalwartness.
I should point out to lurkers that I always spot the Blue Ones a couple of bike lengths just to even things up a bit.
Keep the reports coming...sorry I missed you all on monday night....I hate it when work gets in the way of real life.

 

[Cloggy]

Great pictures Alex, pleased that your trip went well. I think it's very brave of you to ride those roads on a bike, don't forget to keep the pictures coming during the yukon summer.

One track, loved your comment about giving the blue ones a head start :thumbup:

 

[yukon_alex]

A quick update. I am in Prince George for the evening with friends. It was a great days riding today. Little bit of this and a little bit of that...I stopped 200kms from here last night and it took me about 7 hours to get to Prince George today.

Yesterday was filled with a mix of great roads between Penticton and Williams Lake. Lots of twisty sections and elevation changes. Very nice roads but the weather sucked.

I had planned to travel from Quensel on the Blackwater Road but it turns to gravel about 60kms in. I turned around at that point. I started to go to Barkerville but apparently it is in the mountains. I turned around at about halfway as the temp was starting to drop. Funny thing is that I passed a number of trucks with snowmobiles heading up the same road.


This is a quick update. I will post photos and ride reports once I am back in Whitehorse. This is the last update until Sunday or Monday.

Ride safe everybody!

Having a great time! Love the bike! Woohoo!

 

[Whirlygirl]

Alex, you are hard-core! I was having second thoughts about driving to Vegas this time of year, and here you are heading north!!! :rockon: Ice-on-the-helmet FTW!

Great pics - enjoy the rest of your trip, and I'm sorry I didn't get to catch up with you and "the guys" while you were down - next time!

 

[Hellgate]

Hardcore! I love it, enjoy the trip, it sounds wonderful!

 

[OneTrack]

Hey Alex!
Glad to hear that you're already in PG....great riding!
I've been to Barkerville twice, and it's a neat place to visit. For the rest of the forum members, it's an old gold mining town that has been "refurbished". Not quite as big and active as Virginia City, but it's a very interesting place with a very interesting history.
Good call on turning back, Alex....it could have been tough to get there this time of year, even in a 4x4.
Just for reference, the Province of British Columbia (which Alex is riding through) is larger in land mass than Washington, Oregon and California combined!

 

[yukon_alex]

Home at last!

Wow! What a great trip! It has been a long time since I made a trip like that. Yesterday plans changed again, both kids were sick so there was no relaxing stop-over at Liard Hot Springs. I drove straight through from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse. 970kms in just under 12 hours. I had to stop to warm up, slow down so I could extend my fuel range, watch for animals, etc.

It was a real mixed bag as far as weather goes, rain, snow, sun were all there, and the temps never really got very high. I think the highest was about 9C and the lowest was about 2C. Made it kinda chilly.

I did see lots of animals including caribou, deer, elk, mountain sheep, coyote and lots of hawks, eagles, and falcons.

Here are some pics you haven't seen. The first is me at the giant peach in Penticton (apparently lots of tourists take this photo), the second is a shot of the Peace River Valley just past Hudson's Hope in Northern BC. This is one of my favorite roads anywhere! The third is getting fuel at Pink Mountain. Two days before I got there, there was a foot and a half of snow on the ground. Glad I waited! As you can see, they don't believe in snow removal. The fourth is one of the sheep. Distance from me? Six feet.

Of course running into a sheep would be bad but running into a bison would be lots worse. The last photo is a bison that was, fortunately, standing off to the side.

So what did I learn on my vacation?

1. The FZ6 is a SPORT-Touring bike. Don't let anyone tell you different. It ROCKS!
2. The FZ6 is amazingly comfortable for a wide range of riders. The only issue I had with comfort was the seat. Once my seat was broken, the seat on the FZ didn't seem that bad!
3. BIG difference in gas mileage between 5000 and 8000 RPM in top gear!
4. When riding in snow, get heated grips! The heated vest I bought was the saving grace but I think the grip heaters would have been heavenly.
5. The FZ6 powerband really extends from 4000 to redline. WOW!
6. I am going to have to do this again next year. Anyone want to come along?

 

[Admin]

Awesome pics Alex... Lemme know if you do it again...... Well have to go for Mexican next time :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

For all you cold weather riders who've been whining because you couldn't ride all winter because of the cold, rain or snow. Well look again. Kudos to you Alex!

 

[Whirlygirl]

Awesome pics and report, Alex! You make me feel like a proud Canadian!!! :Flash: I agree 100% about the heated grips - well worth it, although one of the wires on mine broke on day 3 of my trip and I was too lazy to get it fixed....

You're right about the seat too... not the most comfortable!

Glad you made it home safe and sound!!! :thumbup:

 

[jimbop]

Alex,
Firstly I want to say that you rock and are a proven FZ6 king of the road! What a trip and what conditions you dealt with. Your story was great to follow and I am sorry I didn't get to meet you in Vancouver. Hopefully we will see you in Vancouver next year and get to ride together. Also nice to here that the FZ6 performed so well. I think the seat is quite ok for stock, but I do a lot of cycling so I think I'm used to a little harder ride. Tell me with all those solo miles did you write a book in your mind? Did you listen to music at all? What kept you alert and focused for those long hours? Thanks also for the pics thay help bring the story so alive.

Cheers,

JimboP

 

[yukon_alex]

Alex,
Firstly I want to say that you rock and are a proven FZ6 king of the road! What a trip and what conditions you dealt with. Your story was great to follow and I am sorry I didn't get to meet you in Vancouver. Hopefully we will see you in Vancouver next year and get to ride together. Also nice to here that the FZ6 performed so well. I think the seat is quite ok for stock, but I do a lot of cycling so I think I'm used to a little harder ride. Tell me with all those solo miles did you write a book in your mind? Did you listen to music at all? What kept you alert and focused for those long hours? Thanks also for the pics thay help bring the story so alive.

Cheers,

JimboP

As far as the seat goes, I weigh 265lbs and that may have something to do with it!

It's funny you should ask about the staying alert thing. I did not listen to music and for the most part I was able to stay focused and alert just enjoying the ride and the weather.

Edited: See my post in the general forum about Autopilot.

 

[OneTrack]

Re: Home at last!

Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound, Alex.
I'm afraid if I made that trip, I would be in the motorhome in your pic getting gas at Pink Mountain.
If you do it again, I'll try to hang in a bit longer next time. :thumbup:
Between you and Crystal, I think the point has been made that the FZ6 is a very capable sports-tourer. Jury's still out on which is the most capable, however....Crystal's red one or your blue one.
Thanks for letting me be a (30 km) part of your trip, Alex!

 

[Whirlygirl]

Re: Home at last!

Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound, Alex.
I'm afraid if I made that trip, I would be in the motorhome in your pic getting gas at Pink Mountain.
If you do it again, I'll try to hang in a bit longer next time. :thumbup:
Between you and Crystal, I think the point has been made that the FZ6 is a very capable sports-tourer. Jury's still out on which is the most capable, however....Crystal's red one or your blue one.
Thanks for letting me be a (30 km) part of your trip, Alex!

I think the red one is obviously faster... but perhaps the blue is better suited to cold climates?

 

[Red Wazp]

Re: Home at last!

Ahh, what an adventure. Great trip report, I liked the photo with Carry Chains sign and your bike-says it all.
Heck ya, I'd ride with you next year if we could do it in the fall. I would cheat and ride my FJR.

 

[yukon_alex]

Re: Home at last!

I think the red one is obviously faster... but perhaps the blue is better suited to cold climates?

Do you think it is blue because of the cold weather? I actually bought the red one!

I think maybe the next trip I do will be to start in Whitehorse and go south for a number of days (Vancouver is two days so maybe 5 or 6) and then work my way back using a different route. I am also considering starting from Bellingham as the ferry can take me from Skagway, Alaska to Bellingham direct. Then I could head south and see where I end up. Of course, I also want to go to Texas...too many miles, too much work...

 

[OneTrack]

Re: Home at last!

I think the red one is obviously faster... but perhaps the blue is better suited to cold climates?

And to think that I was going to replace my OEM Dunlops for "better" tires at 2000 km's. Alex has the same tires on his bike as mine, and managed to plow through snow with them. And that's on a blue one.

 

[OneTrack]

Re: Home at last!

Do you think it is blue because of the cold weather? I actually bought the red one!

Now that was funny.

I think maybe the next trip I do will be to start in Whitehorse and go south for a number of days (Vancouver is two days so maybe 5 or 6) and then work my way back using a different route. I am also considering starting from Bellingham as the ferry can take me from Skagway, Alaska to Bellingham direct. Then I could head south and see where I end up. Of course, I also want to go to Texas...too many miles, too much work...

You're not even fully thawed out yet and you're already planning your next trip? :thumbup:
If you do decide to take the ferry to Bellingham, ride south on the I-5 for 20 minutes or so and drop into Skagit Powersports just south of Burlington. They are a Yamaha, Kawasaki and Ducati dealer. Lots of bikes and a nice accessory department.