Planning a bike trip from Southern California to Alaska, what should I get?
 

Hey all, this is my first post so please excuse any faux pas on my part.

I'm looking for a used bike to take on a road trip to Alaska and back. Obviously I would want something that's somewhat capable on gravel/dirt roads but the overwhelming majority of travel will be highways.

Budget for the bike is around $3,000.

I have great mechanical experience on cars but none on bikes. That being said, I feel confident in being able to do small repairs and maintenance with some kind of service manual.

Any tips for a good bike?

I've been looking at KLR 650, BMW K75 and F650, Vulcan 1500, and Honda Shadow 750

Should I be looking at any other bike? Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

Start by deciding whether you want a dual sport (KLR, F650) or some sort of cruiser/tourer/classic thing (the rest of your list, which appears to be all over the place). Most people here would opt for a dual sport, but that really just depends on what sort of travel you're intending.

It's easy enough to ride "to Alaska and back" without ever leaving good pavement, so any sort of bike might do--even that humongous Vulcan. If you want to explore a bit, especially if you decide to carry on up the Dempster or Dalton Highways, you'll probably have occasion to wish you were riding some sort of dual sport. The Kawasaki KLR, Suzuki DR, Honda XR, various BMWs, KTMs, Husqvarnas, and random others all qualify, in approximate order of the likelihood you'll find a good one for $3000 or less.

Hope that's helpful. You'll find that using the search function will yield more information than can be easily digested before next summer.

Mark

I own a 2003 F650 single, and I highly recommend that as first choice from your list. In the mid sized category, except for the saddle, vary capable moto for tarmac and gravel. No need for lots of modifications, ride it stock.

I've had mine on lots of gnarly gravel and also numerous long highway mileage days. I've owned a K100 and ridden a KLR several times, as comparison experience. At the time I bought my F650, it was that or a KLR, and I went with the F650.