One word: go! I set off a couple of years ago with a road atlas and my camping gear but no particular destination in mind and wound up in Alaska. The trip is utterly fantastic and something I'd recommend to anyone who likes to travel and has the time to go.
Any road info you obtain that's older than last month is useless. The roads are generally in good shape and paved all the way. The awful stretches of the AlCan where it heaved 2-3' into the air with each winter freeze have been completely reengineered and rebuilt, it's no longer the frontier it was even a few years ago. When you get into Canada's far north (e.g., the Yukon, not Alberta & BC) the roads are hardpack (rolled oiled gravel, chat, etc.) rather than the traditional asphalt we're used to down here but aside from sounding a little strange under your tires they aren't really much different to ride on. The only exception is that they tend to do road construction up there in stretches that can run several (e.g., 10-20) miles and they don't do it by building nice paved temporary bypasses, they do it by grading up the hardpack and putting traffic through one-way. On those stretches you'll be riding on gravel that'll range from something akin to pavement with loose bits on top (not bad at all) to gravel that's several inches deep (not fun on a bike with a narrow front tire and very high center of gravity). Plan on 40-50 miles of that along the AlCan. I did the trip on a Tiger but I met guys on sportbikes, cruisers, you name it and I have no doubt that my Daytona would have survived just fine as well. You will have *no* issues with the roads on any of the bikes you mentioned.
Most of the commentary on traffic is a bit overblown as well. There certainly are herds of humongous RVs roaming the highways (packed into bunches by the long waits at construction zones) but it's far from wall-to-wall and anyone acclimated to freeway traffic in any US city will find the roads to be downright deserted. Here's a shot of the massively overcrowded highway about halfway between Fairbanks and the Yukon border:
I parked the bike on one of those little yellow motorcycle parking strips you see in the bottom center portion of the photo, wandered over to the edge of the road to watch a moose for a couple of minutes, wandered back out into the road, shot this pic, then continued on my way. Try that here in the Bay Area. :razz:
But those comments apply to points well north of where you're planning to be (if I were you and I were going all the way from the east coast of the US to Juneau I'd just continue on to Alaska proper while I was at it). The road from Prince George to Prince Rupert is regular pavement and in better shape than most highways in the US. As a matter of fact if you stop at any Canadian tourist info stand and inquire about road conditions along the way to points north they'll look at you like you're from another planet before lecturing you about the fact that just because they're not Americans doesn't mean they're unwashed heathens who ride around on dirt tracks and don't know how to pave their roads properly. It's pretty but there aren't enough twisties to make it really interesting riding (the Skeena river valley comprising about the last 100 miles into Prince Rupert is very scenic and worth a trip in that direction in and of itself). From Prince Rupert you'll need to take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry to get to Juneau (no roads going in). Your friend with the truck will want to book weeks in advance as the ferries fill up quickly, but there's almost always room for them to shoehorn in another motorcycle at the last minute. Take a couple of good ratchet-style tie downs for the ferry trip though unless the weather is insane they won't be tested. I didn't want to ride the AlCan twice so I took the ferry from Prince Rupert (skip the historical cannery tour and head straight to the bars) to Haines then rode on into Alaska and all the way back. The Inside Passage trip from Rupert north is very cool if the weather cooperates (best bit is apparently the passage through a canyon into Skagway which I didn't see as I got off too early). Don't bother with a cabin, just pitch a tent on deck and watch the scenery roll by.
Some of the best scenery (though not necessarily the best motorcycling) in North America lies between Banff & Jasper in Alberta. That area is well worth the time even though it's a bit crowded and touristy. Be sure to stop and see Lake Louise (preferably very early in the morning, go directly to the lake & skip the ride up the ski lift). The short hikes & views from the top of Mt. Revelstoke are worth a day trip as well. The Colombia Icefields are worth a stop as you can hike up the glacier which is interesting.
Regarding what bike to take: as I mentioned I took a Tiger but IMHO that's actually a poor choice. The massively overloaded (as any bike will be for a trip of that sort) outriggers / panniers coupled with the fact that it's already a but unweildy with it's bulk & high center of gravity made piloting that bike a bit more interesting than it needed to be through the deep gravel bits. Give me a cruiser with a nice fat front tire and a low center of gravity for that any day. The hard bags on the Tiger were a bit worrisome as even a low-speed drop woud've sent me to the side of the road for an hour or two of duct-taping a shattered pannier back together as well as possible. In my opinion you'll not only be fine on the Rocket, you'll actually be better off than I was. :-D
The biggest issue you'll have is the fact that you're going to be *far* from any Triumph dealers so be sure that the bike is in top shape before you leave and if you're going to need a scheduled service on the road plan ahead & call it in at least a few weeks in advance. I took spare relays (didn't need), fuses (didn't need), brake pads (didn't need), oil filter (didn't use), small air pump (didn't need), headlight bulbs (didn't need), tubes (didn't need), tools (didn't need), etc. It's good to be prepared but there's only so much you can carry (or would want to). If I were you I'd spend my money putting good progressive shocks on the Rocket and thinking about how to keep things dry in my bags (though with a friend in a truck going along that's less of an issue for you). I'd also think seriously about putting some Ride-On tire sealant in your tires as it can be a looooong stretch between tire shops up there. Ride-On isn't corrosive and works *very* well. If I were making the trip again the only thing I'd take that I didn't have last time is a clutch cable ... go ahead, ask me why.
Other than that: ride safe, take your time, & enjoy the trip!
[ This message was edited by: JohnGalt on 2005-06-20 19:21 ]
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