Alaska But When It’s Cold
 

Due to work constraints I predominately ride during the winter. I’m from a small town in Alaska and have had the opportunity to ride in a few countries both on road and off road. I have a “spare” bike up in Alaska in the Anchorage area, a 2008 990 Adventure. After watching some other guys riding and looking at my disused bike I decided to ride it around town which has morphed into wanting to ride it around the state of Alaska and maybe Canada during the winter. I’ve begun equipping the bike and riding it consistently in temperatures down to-20. This is where I will talk about technical challenges, warm weather gear and how far I make it this season prepping for 2024.

First matter of business is traction. I tried three patterns, one conservative, one semi aggressive and one hyper aggressive. I settled on the very aggressive pattern because I should always have snow and icy conditions while riding. I went with Grip Stud auger type tungsten studs in Shinko 804 and 805 tires. The front has 100 short studs while the rear has approximately 225 mixed short and long studs giving me an incredible amount of traction but severely decreases my top speed as the studs get hot on asphalt.

To keep the bike running at extremely low temperatures the standard 10-50 Motorex oil wasn’t going to hack it. The factory recommended oil is only supposed to operate down to 32f which I had been running well below for some time. I purchased SkiDoo OW-20 with an operating temp from-76/77f because I couldn’t find any OW-30. I also replaced the coolant which had severely degraded in 68k miles with SkiDoo Premium which shouldn’t slush until -36.5f. I flushed the radiator with water and white vinegar which severely needed to be done. The bike starts quicker at -20. I’m not sure if the lighter oil will degrade any engine components quicker. The gear box which is also lubricated by engine oil appears to be unaffected.

Working on comfort I’ve added a sheep skin, Hippo Hands and neoprene rubber to the knee grip areas as my legs slip on the frost.

On Tuesday I set out toward Fairbanks and on toward the arctic.

Much respect, my limit is about -6ºC!

Are you camping? Did you go for heated grips under the handlebar mitts, or heated gloves?

I do have heated grips and big Hestra mitten liners. And I’m not camping thankfully. I’ve only ridden down to -25 c but this trip should reach -34c

I am now 100 miles south of the arctic circle